Calgary International Airport II

[Johnny Aussie]

UA has further tweaked the summer scheds

YYC highlights:
SFO - 4th flight added on Saturdays (no sign of mainline)
ORD - mainline replacing an Express on Saturdays (so 2 mainline and 3 Express on Saturdays). More E70 flying as well.

A few other minor equipment changes.

[CalgaryLankan]

United operating 744 today ORD YYC BZZ

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL1840

[Cage]

Originally Posted by CalgaryLankan

United operating 744 today ORD YYC BZZ

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL1840

UA flight numbers in low 1800s indicate this is a charter operation. BZZ is Brize Norton, British Air Force Base.

Picking up couple hundred British soldier and taking them home after a tour at Suffield.

Big question is whether the UA 744 will be at YYC the same time as AC 77W to FRA and the KLM 332 to AMS. AC also 333 on LHR tonight. Could have good spotting possibilities.

851 and the UA charter have the same ETA according to FR24... 12:18 pm. Then KL arrives 13:30, UA charter leaves ~14:40, then AC845 (77W) arrives ~14:50, then KL leaves 15:30. Should be a fun afternoon.

[Aegis]

Please post pics!

Via Ethan Stokes on Facebook, click for source.



Plenty of spotters were there so high quality pics/vid will be coming, I imagine.

[Bigtime]

Here are my shots, looks like I was probably right near Ethan:

[Aegis]

Very nice pics. Reminds of me SFO and the abundance of UA 747s at the maintenance shop and elsewhere.

[Bigtime]

Was having lunch at the 35L viewing spot yesterday, and despite some stiff winds out of the west (250 @ 15 knots) 35L was still getting a lot of use for arrivals. You guys/gals in ATC starting to get YYC pilots used to taking more crosswind in anticipation of the parallel opening up?

[Bigtime]

WestJet announces daily flights YYC-Penticton, operated by Encore. Route starts October 26.

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deals/offers/canada2.shtml?sm_cid=sm-tw-info-ge-20140411&mrd=0

We're on our way, Penticton!

Get on your way, too, with non-stop flights from Calgary

CALGARY, April 11, 2014 /CNW/ - WestJet is tickled peach to announce Penticton, B.C., as its newest destination. Non-stop service between Penticton and Calgary takes off October 26, 2014, on board WestJet Encore's Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, so "wine-not" take advantage of WestJet's low introductory fares available now on westjet.com.

In addition to the great selection of Canadian wines and vineyards in the area, visitors can enjoy a true four-season destination with activities ranging from beaches and peaches to skiing and spas. WestJet Encore service to Penticton offers guests another route to the Okanagan Valley and its many amenities while connecting the people of the southern B.C. interior with WestJet's extensive network via Calgary.

"Penticton's community support and business case fits with our ongoing commitment to serving the Okanagan Valley," said Ferio Pugliese, President, WestJet Encore. "We are excited to bring our low fares, great guest experience and convenient schedule to a community in need of air service options. Guests will now have access to 18 same-day connections to WestJet destinations out of Calgary."

"This is phenomenal news for the City of Penticton and the entire South Okanagan region," said Penticton Mayor Garry Litke. "There has been an overwhelming demand locally for increased air service to Alberta. The City has been working hard to secure this eastern route and respond to the region's needs, opening the door for increased business and tourism opportunities. We can't wait to board the first non-stop flight to Calgary."

Details of WestJet Encore's new daily, non-stop service between Penticton and Calgary are:

Flight Departing Arriving Effective

3281 Calgary at 2:05 p.m. Penticton at 2:21 p.m. October 26, 2014
3280 Penticton at 2:55 p.m. Calgary at 5:00 p.m. October 26, 2014

[Johnny Aussie]

^ great news to see this route open up again after a few years.

I remember Pacific Coastal had a crack at this a few years back too.

I went into my steamer trunk where I have heaps of airline memorabilia including a lot of old timetables. Found a stack of PWA timetables dating back into the late 70s and into the late 80s. Imagine YYF-YYC used to be served with 2 daily 737-200s. One was a daily non-stop and the other via YXC. I used to love the little milk runs flying from YYC-YVR... Loved the 2 stoppers usually via YXC and YKA. Ahhhh the memories!

The summer 1979 timetable had YYF with 10 daily flights on 737-200s to YYC, YCG, YXC, ZGF (Grand Forks), YLW and YVR. The flights to YLW had a block time of 16 minutes. Exciting times for flying then.

If anybody needs me to look anything up send me a private message. I have plenty of timetables from many Canadian airlines and plenty from around the world.

[Denscity]

Hey Johnny would love to see some old YCG stuff. We had 737s as well for years.

[tuffyy]

A little love from CUN for the porn lovers!

http://youtu.be/P7g7_TlJQ7w

[cyeg66]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Was having lunch at the 35L viewing spot yesterday, and despite some stiff winds out of the west (250 @ 15 knots) 35L was still getting a lot of use for arrivals. You guys/gals in ATC starting to get YYC pilots used to taking more crosswind in anticipation of the parallel opening up?

Nah, pretty standard. Where it gets problematic is when the wind gusts into the high-20's and 30+. You then start to get plenty of refusals for 35L and lots of airborne crossovers happen i.e. It gets messy, so that usually triggers the polish parallels. When there are enough planes for both runways you can actually land a lot of tin on 29/26. Our published arrival rated is 28 (it's admittedly a lowball number) but the last hour I worked a few days ago, I managed to cram in 34. Parallels are going to be so nice and simple that I see myself looking forward to going sideways simply to get to vector the shit out of airplanes sometimes. Believe me when I say some ATC's are better at it than others....

UA 738 from IAH yesterday is now sitting on the Avitat ramp, had a hydraulic failure yesterday around noon while on final for 29. Manually dropped the gear and landed 35L.

A United Boeing 737-800, registration N12218 performing flight UA-1652 from Houston,TX (USA) to Calgary,AB (Canada), was on approach to Calgary's runway 29 when about 10nm before the runway threshold with the gear still retracted the crew received indication of #1 hydraulic pump low pressure and the quantity in hydraulic system A at zero. The crew aborted the approach and entered a hold to work the relevant checklists including manually extending the landing gear. The crew subsequently landed safely on runway 35L about 30 minutes after aborting the first approach.

The Canadian TSB reported the #1 engine driven hydraulic pump was replaced.

http://www.avherald.com/h?article=472ee6b8&opt=0

[Bigtime]

Monarch 752 inbound to YYC from KEF, eta is 1035:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/MON8663

[Johnny Aussie]

New airside transfer bus operation to get to gates A1-A8....

http://www.yyc.com/News/tabid/91/article...age/en-US/Meet-YYCs-Newest-Addition.aspx

[MMMBeer]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

New airside transfer bus operation to get to gates A1-A8....

http://www.yyc.com/News/tabid/91/article...age/en-US/Meet-YYCs-Newest-Addition.aspx

Sweet, the hike to/from A2 and higher can seem like forever. Especially since the inside of that hallway has all the ambiance of a prison (metal shack, asphalt ground, that weird metal railing dividing half the hallway, etc.).

Even nicer would be if the regional gates were like YVR's...

[Johnny Aussie]

Waiting at SQ lounge in MEL airport for my flight to SIN thought I would have an avgeek moment so listening to LIVEATC then thought I would check out Canadian airports ATC and flight radar24.

Sounds like flights to YYC being held. Looked at some weather cams and looks pretty snowy....

Snow wasn't really accumulating today, but the ceilings were really low, and visibility was less than a mile at times. Parallel will be a dream come true on days like today.