Atlantic Canada airport thread

[gtsoc]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Telegraph Journal article states that Saint John will be cut to 1x daily Air Canada service to Pearson after Labour Day, and that Fredericton will be cut to 2x daily service.

Meanwhile, Air Canada service from YQM Moncton to YYZ Pearson will remain at 3x daily.

https://tj.news/telegraph-journal/102151533 (paywall)

Airport executives at both YSJ and YFC are most displeased, especially the CEO in Saint John who muttered darkly about Air Canada showing "favouritism" towards Moncton.

I believe that now leaves YSJ with only one daily flight to YYZ and one daily flight to YUL (they dropped early morning Montreal flight as well) - Certainly not ideal if you are trying to connect elsewhere.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by gtsoc

I believe that now leaves YSJ with only one daily flight to YYZ and one daily flight to YUL (they dropped early morning Montreal flight as well) - Certainly not ideal if you are trying to connect elsewhere.

Especially annoying Dec- March when you can't count on highway conditions for the drive to Moncton or Bangor.

[magee_b]

I checked the AC timetable pdf which which updated for this... It indeed only shows 1 flight per day from YSJ to YYZ for September, and it is on the Rouge A319... the timetable also shows a return to 2 per day CRJ service in November, but these days anything 3+ months out is always in flux. Indeed also dropping to 1x per day to YUL starting in September.

I don't like the published tantrum from the YSJ rep, but as a YSJ flyer who frequently has to revert to flights in/out of YFC due to YSJ flights being full/unavailable/unworkable for connections, it does often come across as a slap in the face given the constant "use it or lose it" mantra from AC.

[MonctonRad]

To me, a minimum service level is 2x daily (with the option of a same day return flight). I hope that YSJ goes back up to 2x daily in November, even if it is on a CRJ.

[Bishop2047]

The Fredericton reduction is just reverting to off peak season of 2 daily AC flights to Pearson but now one will be an A320 (one A319 one A320). Still disappointing as they had claimed they would continue the 3X daily. That was before Lynx came around though and that adds seats to Pearson as well.

SJ does seem to be unfairly beaten up on, and has been dealt the most irregular schedule from AC. Perhaps Flair can step up. They already added a SJ-Orlando Route starting in Jan 2024 (link below).

https://www.country94.ca/2023/08/01/...rlando-flight/

[homebody]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Telegraph Journal article states that Saint John will be cut to 1x daily Air Canada service to Pearson after Labour Day, and that Fredericton will be cut to 2x daily service.

Meanwhile, Air Canada service from YQM Moncton to YYZ Pearson will remain at 3x daily.

https://tj.news/telegraph-journal/102151533 (paywall)

Airport executives at both YSJ and YFC are most displeased, especially the CEO in Saint John who muttered darkly about Air Canada showing "favouritism" towards Moncton.

Air Canada is always such a disappointment. Their fares are outrageous! service, cancellations and delays into YSJ are horrible. Like someone else mentioned about Flair maybe they will step up to the plate, or perhaps even Porter. If we had other options besides Air Canada. I could care less if they left completely.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by homebody

Air Canada is always such a disappointment. Their fares are outrageous! service, cancellations and delays into YSJ are horrible. Like someone else mentioned about Flair maybe they will step up to the plate, or perhaps even Porter. If we had other options besides Air Canada. I could care less if they left completely.

Small operators like Flair or Porter are options if you only want to go to Toronto but they lack flight frequency and an extensive route system. Since Westjet pulled back from eastern Canada AC is really the only choice of a "full" airline if you want to travel to the westcoast or a variety of US or overseas destinations. I fly from SJ to Vancouver frequently and this new schedule could make that a 2 day journey.

[MonctonGoldenTri]

Originally Posted by lirette

One of the fastest growing urban areas in Canada moving its airport to a small farming town is one of the funnier things I've read on this forum in a long time .

Lets also not forget that people using the airport in Moncton potentially come from Shediac, Bouctouche, Cap Pele, Sackville, Amherst, Richibouctu etc. Adding anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to your travel time to the airport in a small province like NB is not the same as people travelling 1.5 hours to Pearson. The more difficult you make it and earlier you have to get up people will just start looking elsewhere for flights. I might as well start looking for flights in Halifax or Bangor if I'm going to have to overnight for my 6am flight in Sussex in the winter so I can sleep in till 3:30 AM>

This doesn't even address things like lack of amenities upon arrival in a place like Sussex. Cabs / Rental Cars / etc.

As others have said, better to spend this money on improving non existing high speed rail service in NB if we want to think about convenience of travel. If we had a quality rail service that was affordable and fast I would use it 5-6 times per year for trips to SJ/Fredericton/Halifax

This is reminding me of that guy who had that plot of land in the middle of nowhere that was proposing to move Avenir Centre out towards Hillsborough NB.

Moncon airport also serves the majority of PEI residents. The airport services likely 2-3x more population than either SJ or Fredericton.

[DyAm00394]

Bathurst airport steps up efforts to stay alive, asks province for cash

“The Bathurst Regional Airport is once again experiencing financial difficulties and has upped its efforts to save the service from closing.

The Northern New Brunswick Airport Authority has formed a committee responsible for tackling the crisis.

Alain Guitard, president of the authority, said the airport needs to see $700,000 per year in funding over the next two years in order to stay afloat.

He said the airport tapped into some pandemic relief support from the federal government, but since that is no longer available, the airport has blown through its $1.2-million reserve.

Now, Guitard is calling on the provincial government to provide the money.

"We need a resolution by October. We really need to ask the province and the federal government to come up with some sort of program because we're not the only airport in that situation," said Guitard.

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure did not provide comment or an interview before publication on Wednesday.

The Save the Airport committee will be responsible for convincing the provincial and federal governments to provide assistance in the short and medium term. The committee is made up of Denis Caron, CEO of the Belledune Port Authority, former MP Roger Clinch, Gaëtan Thomas, CEO of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, Caraquet Mayor Bernard Thériault and Denis Roy, executive director of the Community Business Development Corporations Chaleur.

"To be able to get compliance with Transport Canada you need a minimum of staffing, and you need a minimum of things that you need to do. And right now we're looking at maybe $5,500 a day to keep the airport operating," Guitard said.

"We were operating at $3 million annually. And now we're below the $1 million [mark]. … We had 20 employees, we're now down to 12."

The Bathurst Airport only operates four flights a week now, compared to two or three per day before the pandemic, said Guitard.

But he said the demand for more flights is there. The airport also gets roughly 300 air-ambulance flights per year.

The airport is "vital for our economy. And pretty much everything is linked into the airport."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...nces-1.6952158

[Bishop2047]

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/frede...member_desktop

Lynx is finishing up their first year of seasonal service out of Fredericton, and state that they plan to expand to a 4X weekly to Toronto continuing to Calgary from the current 3X weekly.

[ivegotaname]

Who owns Atlantic Canada airports? Is it one company or multiple maybe it's owned by government if it is I think we should ask them to sell it to off shore just like Sweden airport it's not owned by anyone in Sweden it's foreign owned I think we can do the same in New Brunswick

[MonctonRad]

Work is ongoing at YQM for the expanded de-icing pad, the airside access for the Extreme Cold warehouse, and, the expanded long term parking lot. These are all side by side, and, there is heavy duty earth moving going on.

The bed of the expanded tarmac appears complete, and, the base level of gravel for the expanded parking lot has been installed. I wonder if the expanded parking will be ready for the winter flight season? There is always parking overflow problems in Moncton every year during winter sun season.

[homebody]

Flairs 2024 schedule is out. They return to Saint John on May 5 ( earlier this time) with three times weekly to Toronto then in June they go to four times weekly. Once weekly flight between Saint John and Orlando Sanford beginning in January as well. I believe YSJ to SFB what is the only flight to Orlando in the Maritimes with Flair

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by homebody

Flairs 2024 schedule is out. They return to Saint John on May 5 ( earlier this time) with three times weekly to Toronto then in June they go to four times weekly. Once weekly flight between Saint John and Orlando Sanford beginning in January as well. I believe YSJ to SFB what is the only flight to Orlando in the Maritimes with Flair

Fantastic news. YSJ flights have been incredibly full lately. Glad that our schedule increases starting next week.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Fantastic news. YSJ flights have been incredibly full lately. Glad that our schedule increases starting next week.

Thanks goodness, we've been operating on barebones schedules for far too long now.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

Thanks goodness, we've been operating on barebones schedules for far too long now.

I was looking at the YSJ AC schedule for Nov-Jan and it looks like it's only going to 2x a day to Montreal and TO and only mid day and supper hour departures.....still no early morning departures or late arrivals so connections to and from other destinations will continue to be a PITA (can you say 'overnight layover'?). As for same day return business travel to either city......forget it All in all still a really bad schedule that will see people continuing to have to drive to Moncton, Bangor, Halifax, Portland etc Unless flights to Montreal/Toronto come back to 3 flights/day ( was 4 to TO in the busy season) with a schedule that facilitates same day connections YSJ's future looks questionable.



https://services.aircanada.com/porta...metable-en.pdf

[magee_b]

I try to fly in and out of YSJ when I can. But even when I can book, i'm often faced with schedule changes that require me to fly in and out of YFC/YQM.

Last month had an international flight into YSJ scheduled - A delayed mid-day arrival in Montreal and I was faced with either staying the night and part of the next day in Montreal as there were no other flights to YSJ, or to fly into YQM. I chose the YQM option to get home.

Same itinerary outbound was booked from YSJ to an international flight via Montreal, but 2 weeks before the flight schedule changed to a later time which would make me miss the international connection (in fact it would make most of the early evening international AC flights from YUL impossible to make for someone from YSJ). I was given the choice of leaving the day before and spending the night and most of the next day in Montreal or changing which airport I flew out of. I switched to a departure from YFC to keep my trip intact.

Beyond frustrating

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by magee_b

I try to fly in and out of YSJ when I can. But even when I can book, i'm often faced with schedule changes that require me to fly in and out of YFC/YQM.

Last month had an international flight into YSJ scheduled - A delayed mid-day arrival in Montreal and I was faced with either staying the night and part of the next day in Montreal as there were no other flights to YSJ, or to fly into YQM. I chose the YQM option to get home.

Same itinerary outbound was booked from YSJ to an international flight via Montreal, but 2 weeks before the flight schedule changed to a later time which would make me miss the international connection (in fact it would make most of the early evening international AC flights from YUL impossible to make for someone from YSJ). I was given the choice of leaving the day before and spending the night and most of the next day in Montreal or changing which airport I flew out of. I switched to a departure from YFC to keep my trip intact.

Beyond frustrating

A cynic might suspect that Air Canada is trying to make flying in or out of YSJ so inconvenient that they can then point at low passenger numbers to justify dropping it from their schedule.

[magee_b]

Originally Posted by sailor734

A cynic might suspect that Air Canada is trying to make flying in or out of YSJ so inconvenient that they can then point at low passenger numbers to justify dropping it from their schedule.

The VIA rail playbook

[homebody]

Originally Posted by sailor734

A cynic might suspect that Air Canada is trying to make flying in or out of YSJ so inconvenient that they can then point at low passenger numbers to justify dropping it from their schedule.

Oh well. I’m sure someone would fill the void. Flair 2x daily year round to Toronto and Montreal!! Morning and evening.