Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW/CYOW)

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

I think Miami might work just for connecting to South and Central American destinations and Phoenix will continue to be a draw for snowbirds, many of whom own condos/houses/trailers in the area.

I don't think I've ever met anyone from Ottawa who winters in Phoenix. I thought it was a Western Canada thing. Maybe golfers?

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

Why LGA only in 2029?

Because there willl hopefully be a sane person at the helm in the States by then.

Today’s departure count: 78

Sun flights count (both transborder & international): 12

Today's cancellation count (so far): 0

[YowItaliano]

"Ottawa to Frankfurt non-stop
With our non-stop seasonal flights from Ottawa to Frankfurt you can easily connect to the rest of Europe."
This was taken from Air Canada website.
https://www.aircanada.com/en-ca/flig...n-to-frankfurt
Mistake or something coming soon!!?

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by YowItaliano

"Ottawa to Frankfurt non-stop
With our non-stop seasonal flights from Ottawa to Frankfurt you can easily connect to the rest of Europe."
This was taken from Air Canada website.
https://www.aircanada.com/en-ca/flig...n-to-frankfurt
Mistake or something coming soon!!?

Either the announcement of YOW-FRA's return is imminent or that's a really old webpage.

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Either the announcement of YOW-FRA's return is imminent or that's a really old webpage.

I'd bet the latter given if you choose other destinations (including London), nothing shows up in that text.

Today's AC889 was 17/20 J and 17/21 PY. AC888 tonight is 11/21 PY and full in J.

On the PD note - my money is also on MIA returning next year but PHX being a three-month wonder. The nice thing about the TB routes is loads won't be a secret, we just need to wait for the DoT numbers to release. I also see they've loaded YOW-CUN as daily from 16DEC this upcoming winter. Still early days, but I'm surprised they've loaded in specifics for PVR/CUN, but not any of LIR/NAS/GCM/TPA/RSW, even with a dummy schedule from this year as a base.

And finally, it seems AC is ending YOW-NAS a couple weeks early on 20MAR. One of those routes probably better suited to a 223 rather than a 189-seater 7M8. Given Bahamas tends to skew a bit more premium, I wonder if running an all-Y aircraft hurt them as well. Though PD only flies it 1x weekly, so perhaps the market from Ottawa isn't that big to Bahamas in general.

[Dominion301]

As a further sign that PD aren't done with adjusting the summer schedule, check out the current schedule for YOW-YYG:

PD 2221 YOW-YYG 13:30-16:35
PD 2364 YYG-YOW 11:50-13:03

As it currently stands, that'd be one heck of a long RON.

I wonder whether some of these scheduling gaps are waiting to be filled-in by whenever the YHU announcement will be? YHU-YYG would be an odd one to announce for YHU's initial list of destinations, which you'd think would consist of YYZ, YTZ, YHZ and maybe YVR to start.

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

As a further sign that PD aren't done with adjusting the summer schedule, check out the current schedule for YOW-YYG:

PD 2221 YOW-YYG 13:30-16:35
PD 2364 YYG-YOW 11:50-13:03

As it currently stands, that'd be one heck of a long RON.

I wonder whether some of these scheduling gaps are waiting to be filled-in by whenever the YHU announcement will be? YHU-YYG would be an odd one to announce for YHU's initial list of destinations, which you'd think would consist of YYZ, YTZ, YHZ and maybe YVR to start.

Good point, if they were planning a RON anyways, it would make a lot more sense to have a late PM departure from YOW with the early AM arrival to hit the morning west coast departures back, similar to YYT/YHZ. I think those can typically be performed with the same crew too.

[RomanR27]

AF has loaded the post-summer peak reductions, going down to 5x weekly from the start of September. I believe last year it was daily until mid-September, so a slightly shorter peak season. I don't see any 77Ws in July/August, but they are sprinkled in for September/October.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

AF has loaded the post-summer peak reductions, going down to 5x weekly from the start of September. I believe last year it was daily until mid-September, so a slightly shorter peak season. I don't see any 77Ws in July/August, but they are sprinkled in for September/October.

Yeah wasn't it September 19th when daily service ended in 2025? This year it goes X46 on 03SEP26, so that's just over two weeks or about 5 fewer departures this coming September offset by a few 77W upgauges. September international should still be up overall though with TS at 3x weekly the full month and PD to CUN 2 or 3 weekly, but it'll be more modest growth compared with May to August.

Today’s departure count: 86

Sun flights count (both transborder & international): 14

Today's cancellation count (so far): 0

[GeoNerd]

Anyone know what happened with PD1299 yesterday? Delayed hours, then departed just to divert back, then finally departed again.

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

Anyone know what happened with PD1299 yesterday? Delayed hours, then departed just to divert back, then finally departed again.

Likely a maintenance issue, the aircraft that returned to YOW was different than the one that completed the flight.

Edit: Listened to the LiveATC archive, it was a de-icing issue.

Unrelated to the issue, there were 73 souls on board - so assuming two pilots and three crew, that's 68 pax, roughly a 50% load factor.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

Likely a maintenance issue, the aircraft that returned to YOW was different than the one that completed the flight.

Edit: Listened to the LiveATC archive, it was a de-icing issue.

Unrelated to the issue, there were 73 souls on board - so assuming two pilots and three crew, that's 68 pax, roughly a 50% load factor.

Given it's a 1xxx flight number, it's a replacement flight, so I wouldn't be surprised if they flight lost 20 or more pax because of that.

[Dominion301]

Today’s departure count: 89

Sun flights count (both transborder & international): 17

Today's cancellation count (so far): 0

Looking ahead to tomorrow on the online FIDS there's this:
10 h 35 Phoenix (PHX) Porter Airlines POE637 11 À l’heure

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Today’s departure count: 89

Sun flights count (both transborder & international): 17

Today's cancellation count (so far): 0

Looking ahead to tomorrow on the online FIDS there's this:
10 h 35 Phoenix (PHX) Porter Airlines POE637 11 À l’heure

By 0725, all gates 1-18 (except gate 2) had a departure.

Still just short of 90, but next Friday should be the day barring any weather related cancellations. Next Thursday ORD is back up to 3x daily, then PD has more a peak schedule ahead of the Family Day weekend, with YQT, EWR, YQM and YHZ each having an additional frequency next Friday. WS will have a second YYC flight which they don't appear to have today, either.

I also noticed that at some point PD reduced the YTZ schedule to 5-6x for the winter (originally 8x), so the upper limit is 97 which can be hit in March when the aforementioned routes are all running around March Break and AC begins their 6th daily YTZ.

AC889 was 16/20 J and 21/21 PY today. AC888 is 19/20 J and 20/21 PY tonight.

[RomanR27]

Not surprisingly, YOW-YMM won't be launching this summer either: https://flyymm.com/2026/02/06/porter...ervice-update/

Truly a bizarre saga. Porter announced it and pulled it after bookings were open for three weeks.

The Fort McMurray Airport Authority (FMAA) has been advised by Porter Airlines that the previously announced non-stop service between Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) and Ottawa International Airport (YOW) will not proceed this spring as planned.

Porter Airlines has revised its network plans for the upcoming season and will not be launching Fort McMurray to Ottawa service at this time. Porter has made the decision to focus primarily on strengthening existing markets in 2026. New capacity will largely be directed toward seasonal destinations, locations that support connectivity with airline partners, and the continued development of hub airports, including the new Montreal Metropolitan Airport.

The Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region remains of interest to Porter, and the airline will continue to engage with the airport and community as it evaluates opportunities for future service.

“This news is disappointing for our community and our team,” said Denean Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fort McMurray Airport Authority. “We were excited to offer travellers an additional airline option from YMM. While this decision reflects Porter’s current network priorities, we respect their position and remain encouraged by their continued interest in our region. We look forward to staying engaged and hope to welcome Porter to Fort McMurray when the timing aligns.”

[Dominion301]

The only way YOW-YMM makes sense without at least another 10 connection city pair options is if PD has some sort of contract lined up to transport like 250 oil and gas workers weekly. I suspect they had a tentative deal, announced the route and then it fell through.

Today’s a new all-time record for sun flights. Gates 12B (actual 13 & 14) and 13B (actual 11 & 12) got used a lot today, so lots of swing gating.

Today’s departure count: 78

Sun flights count (both transborder & international): 19

Today's cancellation count (so far): 0

[RomanR27]

Looks like the rest of the WestJet summer schedule has been loaded for peak summer. YOW-YVR, which just ran between the end of June and Labour Day, has been dropped. YOW-YEG seems to still be down to 1x daily in the peak summer. YWG will be daily over the summer peak. YOW-YYC seems to be up to 5x daily over the peak summer (4x on weekends).

So since this post, we have PD adding YQG and YSB, and now we have -1 YVR but +2 YYC, so the benchmark for summer is 96.

YYC will have up to 8 flights per day, whereas YVR will have between 5-6 flights at the summer peak. Capacity on YVR won't actually be down that much - 4x 321 on AC is still almost 800 seats alone, and the 2x 7M8 and 1x 789 last summer is just under 650, not including the three days a week when the 321 is upgraded to a 789. That should offset the loss of the WS flight.

[solo748]

Haven't been here in a while, good to see everyone still at it

Been travelling a lot and, anecdotally, really unsure how well PD are doing. Between the load factors on the flights I've been on or the close-in pricing it's not a good picture for PD, I fear.

It's a dream to have n/s, scheduled access to markets like PHX, MIA and all the Sun markets

Was on PVRYOW last week and every flight in airport seemed booked to brim. We were maybe 50%, and they gave a comp UG to reserve for my family and I, and still it wasn't full

YOWPVR was maybe 80%

You get the service you deserve. Ottawa has proven itself to be weak time and time again. Will be a shame to lose PD, if it ends that way

[solo748]

Originally Posted by YOWflier

Glad to have Phoenix but it’s somewhat perplexing. Porter surely knows something more than me but I have to wonder why they didn’t just go all the way to LAX, which has to be (?) a bigger market from YOW. Are those PHX connections on AA really that enticing?

PHX is a real treat. Too bad it's launched w all the elbows up drama ongoing. The AA connections and the lower capacity, and lower cost, tipped the scales to PHX

Obviously, YOWPHX can capture all the eastern canada traffic which is fantastic

Assuming the northbound is too late?

Wonder if they'd consider routing jets YYZ-PHX-YOW and pulling the YYZPHX flight sooner to get back to YOW to connect with some atlantic markets?

Leave YYZ to o/d and fill the YOW flights w connecting pax

[fanofYOW]

Originally Posted by solo748

Haven't been here in a while, good to see everyone still at it

Been travelling a lot and, anecdotally, really unsure how well PD are doing. Between the load factors on the flights I've been on or the close-in pricing it's not a good picture for PD, I fear.

It's a dream to have n/s, scheduled access to markets like PHX, MIA and all the Sun markets

Was on PVRYOW last week and every flight in airport seemed booked to brim. We were maybe 50%, and they gave a comp UG to reserve for my family and I, and still it wasn't full

YOWPVR was maybe 80%

You get the service you deserve. Ottawa has proven itself to be weak time and time again. Will be a shame to lose PD, if it ends that way

According to the interview, apparently YOW is doing very well for PD. The 50% may be a once in a while thing. Also Anecdotally, I know a flight attendant who is based in YOW who does domestic, TB, and International flights and apparently according to them, the flights are either full or close to full. Their manifest constantly show many connecting pax, not just O&D. One thing to note, apparently LIR is doing exceptionally well, again anecdotal.

https://openjaw.com/videos/tv-room/t...mmer-schedule/