Atlantic Canada airport thread

[J81]

Thats because there was only 1 Lufthansa flight. So 100 tons max id say. The airport authority is really having a tough go at shipping seafood overseas. Halifax seems to be garnering more attention but is also having a hard time filling freighters on a weekly basis. The issue isnt filling the planes here or there, its getting the backhauls to make both ways pay. There just isnt much freight from Europe to the maritimes.

[MonctonRad]

In the T&T today, they mentioned that there would be two new daily flights out of the GMIA by this summer - a new daily Air Canada flight to Montreal beginning in May, and a new daily WestJet flight to Toronto beginning in July.

There was no additional information on this in the T&T article, and there is no mention of this on the GMIA website.

I know this is behind a paywall, but here's the link to the article:
https://www.telegraphjournal.com/tim...mbers-in-2016-

If true, this would increase the frequency of WestJet's Toronto service to 3X daily, and the frequency of Air Canada's Montreal service to 5X daily.

[L'homard]

I stand to be corrected (I don't travel much) but I think Westjet has 3 flights to TO every summer. No?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by L'homard

I stand to be corrected (I don't travel much) but I think Westjet has 3 flights to TO every summer. No?

Nope.

IIRC, when WestJet first arrived at the GMIA, they started with once daily service to Hamilton JC Munro International Airport. The timeline then became:

- daily to Hamilton, with seasonal second daily flight to Hamilton in the summertime.
- daily to Toronto, with seasonal flight to Hamilton
- daily to Toronto, daily to Ottawa
- twice daily to Toronto
- apparently now 3X daily to Toronto (I'm not sure if this new flight is seasonal or not)

I'm not including the seasonal WestJet service to Orlando & Cancun in the calculation......

[L'homard]

Thanks MonctonRad!

[J81]

Watch westjet go full encore at YQM. They said when they started Encore that the mainline service would not fly the same sectors as Encore and thats exactly what we have in moncton right now. It would be disappointing to lose the 737 morning flight as its so much more comfortable then the Q400.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by J81

Watch westjet go full encore at YQM. They said when they started Encore that the mainline service would not fly the same sectors as Encore and thats exactly what we have in moncton right now. It would be disappointing to lose the 737 morning flight as its so much more comfortable then the Q400.

I was thinking exactly the same thing.

3X daily Encore service would give the GMIA the same WestJet service level to Pearson as currently enjoyed by Fredericton.

It's one step forward and one step back really. You're trading increased frequency for lesser equipment. Overall, I think capacity will still be up slightly compared to the current situation........

At least the WestJet flights to Cancun and Orlando will still be 737s.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by J81

Watch westjet go full encore at YQM. They said when they started Encore that the mainline service would not fly the same sectors as Encore and thats exactly what we have in moncton right now. It would be disappointing to lose the 737 morning flight as its so much more comfortable then the Q400.

Indeed it would be sad loosing the Westjet 737 service to Toronto. But one thing that I am still disappointed in seeing is that we don't have a direct US connector to either New York or Boston. Making the Halifax and Bangor international Airport the airports that New Brunswickers will drive to to have direct access to all the major connecting airports in the USA.

For example the Bangor International Airport this week the airport announced a direct summer flight to Charlotte NC with American Airlines Using American Eagle.

But only time will tell on what will happen with the aiport and i wish we had more options rather than driving to Bangor or Halifax and connecting through Toronto or Montreal to take a US flight. I feel it puts us at a disadvantage business wise.

[J81]

I just did some digging and indeed we are getting Encore'd at YQM. Shame. It does allow for better connections to Westjets airline partners though. Showing the staple early morning flight as well as early afternoon and an evening flight. It will make using westjet an easier choice when flying to Europe on their aircraft or another airline. I made that trip last August when we only had the morning flight and the layover in YYZ was 11 hours. Capacity will go up by 19 seats per day. They will also have to adjust their scheduling for Cancun next year as the aircraft that came in from YYZ Friday night flew the Cancun flight on Saturdays.

I still despise the Q400 though.

Also checked out AC and there is indeed 5x daily to YUL. Interestingly it shows 6x daily YUL-YQM. Schedule must not be fully finalized.

One more point. The new service from Bangor to Charlotte is only on Saturdays with an RJ. Not a huge deal. We have i think 4x weekly service to Orlando during the winter on the 3 airlines flying south out of YQM.

[q12]

If you want to dig around at flight schedules out of an airport just use Google Flights to check the airline schedules (You can select Non-stop). I find that Google Flights is the easiest way to find the cheapest flights as well.

https://www.google.ca/flights/

Charlottetown looks like it will have all jet service this summer except to Halifax. Here is a sample schedule from Charlottetown this summer (Based on a random date of August 15)

YYZ-
Air Canada Rouge 2x Daily A319
Westjet 2x Daily 737

YUL-
Air Canada Rouge 1x Daily A319
Air Canada Express 1x Daily RJ

YOW-
Air Canada Express 1x Daily RJ

YHZ-
Air Canada Express 4x Daily Beech 1900


Charlottetown was up 12% in 2016 at 354,234.

http://www.flypei.com/news/Charlotte...record-in-2016

January 12, 2017

CHARLOTTETOWN AIRPORT BREAKS ALL-TIME PASSENGER RECORD IN 2016

Charlottetown Airport is reporting a 12 per cent increase in passenger traffic in 2016 over 2015. And the 354,234 passenger movements in 2016 set a new, all-time passenger traffic record. The previous record was 317,827 in 2014.

"We are very pleased to see these results,” says Doug Newson, CEO of Charlottetown Airport Authority. "It’s the first time in the airport’s history that we’ve surpassed 350,000 passengers in a year. It demonstrates to our air carrier partners that when new air service and capacity is added out of Charlottetown, both Islanders and visitors will support it.”

Newson says that increased service to Toronto in 2016 by both Air Canada rouge™ and WestJet was very popular and contributed to the record passenger numbers. In addition, Air Canada extended the popular summer flight from Ottawa to operate for six months last year.

Over the past 10 years, passenger traffic at the Charlottetown Airport has grown by 57%. Global and domestic travel continues to rise and with the celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation taking place this year, expectations are that these numbers will continue to rise over the coming months.

This winter season, WestJet returned with direct flights from Charlottetown to Orlando, Florida running from December 16, 2016 to May 12, 2017.Sunwing also returns with a seasonal weekly service to Varadero, Cuba departing Charlottetown on Wednesdays from February 15 to May 10, 2017.

[habs33]

NewLeaf drops Moncton from summer flight schedule
https://www.telegraphjournal.com/tel...412/?nopromo=1

NewLeaf has dropped the Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport from its summer flight schedule.

Released late Thursday, the young low-fare airline will only fly between Abbotsford, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Halifax starting on May 1st, leaving Moncton and Kelowna without service from the airline.

“We have a highly concentrated route network that we are very pleased with,” said NewLeaf president and CEO Jim Young in a prepared statement.

[J81]

Won't be long before they cease to exist

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by J81

Won't be long before they cease to exist

Indeed - they're down to their core routes now.

I can hear the agonal respirations.

I doubt there will be any NewLeaf routes anywhere this summer.

Not a big loss for the GMIA in any event. Didn't they only have one flight weekly anyway??

[J81]

Mondays and Fridays. Going to be hard for any new airlines to make headway in Canada with 2 well established carriers and another successful and popular regional airline in Porter.

[Taeolas]

I've been doing some price checking for a flight to Edmonton this May, comparing Freddy and Moncton; and a bit surprising to me, is that Freddy and Moncton prices are very comparable now; often I'm finding Freddy is actually a bit cheaper.

Is that what other people are noticing? Is this the Westjet effect now that we have WJ and AC flying out of YFC?

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I've been doing some price checking for a flight to Edmonton this May, comparing Freddy and Moncton; and a bit surprising to me, is that Freddy and Moncton prices are very comparable now; often I'm finding Freddy is actually a bit cheaper.

Is that what other people are noticing? Is this the Westjet effect now that we have WJ and AC flying out of YFC?

I think that's been the case for a while.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by OliverD

I think that's been the case for a while.

I haven't been following prices from the two airports much, but I think I do recall they've been slowly converging. Westjet may have basically forced them into parity basically.

Certainly, if you're flying to a hub like Pearson or Montreal, it doesn't seem to matter much which one you go with (other than the actual flight departure/arrival times with respect to your connections).

[magee_b]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I've been doing some price checking for a flight to Edmonton this May, comparing Freddy and Moncton; and a bit surprising to me, is that Freddy and Moncton prices are very comparable now; often I'm finding Freddy is actually a bit cheaper.

Is that what other people are noticing? Is this the Westjet effect now that we have WJ and AC flying out of YFC?

Both YFC & YSJ lobbied AC pretty hard in the previous few years (before YFC got Encore service) to equalize pricing across the three main NB airports (at least on the main routes to YYZ & YUL).

Westjet definitely has an impact, but the good thing is it also means all three benefit as AC flights at all three will usually be fairly comparable - my experience has shown I can usually find flights to Canadian destinations departing from YQM, YFC or YSJ within $30 of each other (which wasn't the case before the equalization)

[Taeolas]

Very wise of those airport authorities; and it certainly is paying off (at least as far as YFC goes). YQM is likely more than self sufficient enough to not miss the Freddy and SJ traffic too much.

I think were I YQM, my next major goal would be to (re)gain a US connection, like to Boston or New York or similar. That would pull traffic back from Freddy and SJ, and literally open up the world to Moncton Airport. Are there any less obvious US connections Moncton might go for to dodge around the crowded BOWASH corridor? Philly or Pittsburgh maybe?

YFC's next goal of course is the Terminal expansion/renovation. Hopefully that will be kicked off this year one way or another.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I think were I YQM, my next major goal would be to (re)gain a US connection, like to Boston or New York or similar. That would pull traffic back from Freddy and SJ, and literally open up the world to Moncton Airport. Are there any less obvious US connections Moncton might go for to dodge around the crowded BOWASH corridor? Philly or Pittsburgh maybe?

Further route expansion for YQM may be tough.

1) - the US northeast (especially Boston and/or New York) would obviously be very high on the list, but finding a carrier to service the route will be difficult. Air Canada is far too wedded to their hub & spoke model of operation. WestJet or Porter might be more amenable, but the focus of neither airline is really the Maritimes. Most US regional carriers don't even know NB exists, and Moncton would therefore be a tough sell.

2) - St. John's NL has long been a favourite of mine for service expansion, but again I imagine Air Canada would be very resistant to consider this. WestJet or Porter might however, especially as a pit stop on a St John's/Moncton/Toronto routing.

3) - a western Canadian route (likely to Calgary) would be very nice, but again, unless the stars align and the oil sands become a hot commodity again, this likely isn't going to happen.

4) - more sun destinations - possible, but most of the popular resort destinations have already been covered by winter charter services out of YQM. We've actually done quite well in this regard. A Miami/Fort Lauderdale route might be nice, or a flight to the Bahamas, but again, service expansion may be difficult.

5) - summer charters to Europe - Definitely possible. This is a market segment that could be explored. Paris would be an obvious choice (the Acadian connection), and at one point in the past, Moncton did have a Corsair charter route to Paris. This could happen again. Dublin, Glasgow or London might be possible, but only if we could find a European airline that might be interested. Apparently Ryan Air is thinking of establishing a trans Atlantic business, but I don't know how I would feel about having to pay for using the bathroom on a trans Atlantic flight.......

Overall, I am rather pessimistic about too much further expansion at YQM beyond increasing service frequency on existing routes, but we'll see...........