[Bigtime]

Its the darn recession hampering this! But 4x weekly in winter is still not that bad. I thought it was 4x weekly right now instead of 5.
Didn't someone say AC will reinstate its YYC-NRT flight next spring using the 77L because of that lone slot in Tokyo with our name on it? THAT I can't wait!
Maybe then slowpokes like KE, JL, NH or our gov. will wake up and ease the rules..

You're right Bo, I think the rumour was an announcement sometime in September for that AC flight to Japan. I wonder if anything will happen.

KLM going 4x weekly for the winter isn't that bad, perhaps by next spring/summer they will be able to go daily on the route as they hoped.

[evolv]

Just a heads up... AA is bringing back YYC-ORD with American Eagle

[Bigtime]

Just a heads up... AA is bringing back YYC-ORD with American Eagle

Interesting, I believe AC Jazz has dropped their YYC-ORD flight for the winter. Leaving only the United flights there on Star Alliance.

[Bigtime]

Air Canada mainline is also taking over the YYC-San Diego (SAN) route from AC Jazz. They will be operating it with a E-190.

[lubicon]

Interesting, I believe AC Jazz has dropped their YYC-ORD flight for the winter. Leaving only the United flights there on Star Alliance.

I was going to mention that too.

Nice to see the return of AA to the ORD market. They used to fly it mainline but dropped the route a few years back.

Does anyone know what the frequency will be? I would think at least 2x daily but haven't seen a schedule yet.

[Bigtime]

I found the AMR press release but it doesn't make any mention of the frequency of the ORD flight. However they are adding/resuming about 57 destinations from Chicago in this announcement.

[lubicon]

I found the AMR press release but it doesn't make any mention of the frequency of the ORD flight. However they are adding/resuming about 57 destinations from Chicago in this announcement.

That's what I was looking at as well. Big increase for ORD, about 10% if my math is any good.

DFW is also beefing up, but not by as much although AA operates nearly twice as many flights there compared to ORD. Nothing new out of DFW for YYC that I can glean (unless they up the frequency of their flights), but the rumor from a reliable source over on the YEG thread has AA starting DFW-YEG service. That would be a return to YEG for AA, but the first non-stop flights between DFW-YEG, unless they plan on doing YEG-YYC-DFW again.

[Bokimon]

cool, good news to hear some more.
I also remember the days when there were not 1 mad-dog but TWO mad-dogs at the airport..
Oh the days, I think this will be first time that AA Eagle has served Calgary.

[MasterG]

I was at the U of C last week, and happened to be looking at the sky for no reason and i noticed a large plane. It was a 4 engine and quite large, definately a passenger plane ( looked like a A340, if i had to guess) but i couldnt recall a plane of that size frequenting YYC very often. I couldnt make out the airline, but it was light coloured (similar to air canada's, except i dont believe they have any planes of the large, 4 engine variety).

Any guesses to who flies a big plane like that into Cal? and how often? I only thought it was worth posting because i cant recall a single time seeing a plane that big over Calgary :)

[Bigtime]

I was at the U of C last week, and happened to be looking at the sky for no reason and i noticed a large plane. It was a 4 engine and quite large, definately a passenger plane ( looked like a A340, if i had to guess) but i couldnt recall a plane of that size frequenting YYC very often. I couldnt make out the airline, but it was light coloured (similar to air canada's, except i dont believe they have any planes of the large, 4 engine variety).

Any guesses to who flies a big plane like that into Cal? and how often? I only thought it was worth posting because i cant recall a single time seeing a plane that big over Calgary :)

Probably was Lufthansa with their daily A340 from Frankfurt. Was it arriving or departing? What time? Lufthansa arrives around 11:30am and departs around 1:15pm.

Edit: Did it look like this?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3507/3897694787_2c668f663b.jpg
Link (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36221109@N04/3897694787/in/pool-358476@N21)

[KrisYYC]

KLM brought an MD-11 in yesterday... of course I wasn't at work when it came!! I always miss the goodies.

[Bigtime]

KLM brought an MD-11 in yesterday... of course I wasn't at work when it came!! I always miss the goodies.

I found out about it via Flickr this morning:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3496/3929954991_aa26efafeb.jpg
Link (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24390255@N03/3929954991/)

Hopefully it will happen again and I can catch it!

[Bokimon]

oh wow/.. I'd love to see the MD11. I also heard that they sometimes sub the 777 I think I remember Kris saying about this.

[Bigtime]

As I was leaving work I could have sworn I was making out a KLM MD-11 on the downwind for 16, but I could be wrong. It was probably still around 8000' and 10 kilometers out, but I swear I saw more horizontal white on the tailfin where the 3rd engine would be.

[MasterG]

Probably was Lufthansa with their daily A340 from Frankfurt. Was it arriving or departing? What time? Lufthansa arrives around 11:30am and departs around 1:15pm.

That was probably it. it was early afternoon and was definately climbing. Its a really big bird!

[Bigtime]

Another shot from the Wednesday MD-11 switch by KLM, however this photo was taken yesterday afternoon. Why did it take over 24 hours to leave back to AMS? They didn't have a second MD-11 crew in YYC, so the original crew had to complete their rest period before operating the flight.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2520/3932658369_5ba80b5bcf.jpg
Source (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24390255@N03/3932658369/in/photostream/)

[Bokimon]

I'm trying to track down some specs on the parallel runway, I found this rendering of it on the airport website:

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1362/yycrunway.jpg

Edit: I found it, on the YYC website it says 4270m x 60m (200 feet)

Double edit: Seeing YYC with parallel runways makes us look like the airport we should be.

Oh wow! I didnt see this one!!
Man it will be an additional challenge for us spotters driving around the length of that monster runway. Cohos is designing the new terminal and that layout must be a rough version of what they are trying to do. It looks alright, I prefer if the layout can be more balanced/symmetrical etc like in some of the major airports in the world. Oh well..

[Riise]

Air Canada Weighs Direct Calgary-to-Asia Flights
Service From Calgary Could Start Next Year

September 23, 2009
Calgary Herald
Gina Teel

CALGARY - Air Canada could offer direct flights to Asia from Calgary as soon as 2010, if the business community shows the airline the level of support it needs to make such a service viable.

Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada's chief executive, said Asia is among potential destinations being pondered by Canada's largest airline, but the carrier will need the business community fully on board to make it happen.

"As we start thinking of new destinations, including possible direct flights to Asia from here, we want to engage, and we will need to engage, the support of the community to make those types of flights viable," Rovinescu said Tuesday.

Rovinescu was in Calgary Tuesday as part of what will be two days of receptions and meetings with the airline's premium Super Elite customers and the business community.

Among the events is an executive meeting today that will see Rovinescu joined in Calgary by 20 of Air Canada's top brass for the first off-site executive meeting he's held since becoming chief executive.

The events are about making sure it's well understood that Air Canada is serious about Calgary and Alberta, Rovinescu said.

A direct connection to Asia has been a long-held priority of the Calgary Airport Authority, whose stakeholders and business travellers have requested non-stop service to Asia for years.

"We're very excited to work with Air Canada to provide the missing link, finally, in the Calgary network, which is Asia," said Stephan Poirier, the authority's vice-president and chief commercial officer.

Bruce Graham, chief executive of Calgary Economic Development, said he would be pleased to sit down with Air Canada and see how to move that agenda forward.

"For us, obviously, it's important in positioning Calgary as a global business centre," he said.

Rovinescu said an Asian destination would also have to be viable in both Calgary and Vancouver, Air Canada's traditional gateway to Asia in the West, to make it happen.

"That's where having a carrier like ourselves, if we can get the right kind of support from the community, makes sense, because we can obviously feed the foreign flight with lots of domestic connections," he said.

Some airline analysts have suggested Air Canada's move to increase its presence in Calgary is designed to take a direct shot at rival WestJet Airlines Ltd.

Air Canada announced earlier this year it will begin direct flights to Hawaii from Calgary in December. The carrier will offer up to five weekly flights from Calgary.

The carrier already offers 15 weekly flights during peak winter from Vancouver to Hawaii.

WestJet, Canada's second-largest carrier, also flies to Hawaii, but doesn't offer direct flights.

WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer said the airline has been looking at Calgary nonstop to Hawaii for some time, "and continues to evaluate the economics of the route."

Rovinescu said Air Canada is the preferred carrier in Calgary as far as the business community is concerned.

As of August 2009, Air Canada operates approximately 850 flights per week from Calgary, which represents 69,000 seats a week.

Air Canada has more destinations from Calgary than WestJet, and serves 35 nonstop destinations per week.

WestJet cost-comparative numbers work out to 520 flights per week, representing approximately 70,000 seats to 28 destinations.

Rovinescu has also made strides in making Air Canada more customer-friendly.

Jacques Kavafian, an airlines analyst with Research Capital Corp., said Air Canada has eliminated irritants like the call centre fees, and brought back pets in the cabin, among other customer-friendly initiatives.

They seem to have worked, he said.

"What Air Canada has done since Calin came on board is they've stopped WestJet's market share gain, and they've done that by becoming more customer-friendly," Kavafian said.


© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald (http://www.calgaryherald.com/Canada+weighs+direct+Calgary+Asia+flights/2022034/story.html)

[Bigtime]

So this was the rumour that we heard about many months ago. At the time it was stating that we would have an announcement of service sometime in September '09, but I'll take this as an encouraging step towards it happening.

[tuffyy]

And I the rumor starter was told a announcement could be made as early as sept 09.

I bank that if the support is there buisness wise a YYC-NRT weekly flight is likely on the way...

Just what I was told, thats all...

[tuffyy]

You would also be looking at a once weekly 763.

[evolv]

Someone on airliners.net stated that his firm did some due diligence on the route. Here is the quote by Astral:

The market study that our company had done in 2004 is still with me. Even though it was brief, but was important for us at that time with our plan to service Asia (China was the target market).
YYC best non-stop Asia destination is Tokyo, followed by Seoul, then Osaka. Market composition would be 55% tour, then student, and finally VFF, while business travel ranked rather low on the percentage scale.
YYC can support B767-200 size load at 5 times per week between May and October to Japan and Korea. Winter at best would be 3 times per week. Consultant cautioned low-yield problem, weather related IROPS cost in winter. Suggestion was - Best with seasonal service only. Year-round schedule must be supported with 5th Freedom, such as YYC-NRT-SEL, or YYC-NRT-PEK.

[Bigtime]

Someone on airliners.net stated that his firm did some due diligence on the route. Here is the quote by Astral:

The market study that our company had done in 2004 is still with me. Even though it was brief, but was important for us at that time with our plan to service Asia (China was the target market).
YYC best non-stop Asia destination is Tokyo, followed by Seoul, then Osaka. Market composition would be 55% tour, then student, and finally VFF, while business travel ranked rather low on the percentage scale.
YYC can support B767-200 size load at 5 times per week between May and October to Japan and Korea. Winter at best would be 3 times per week. Consultant cautioned low-yield problem, weather related IROPS cost in winter. Suggestion was - Best with seasonal service only. Year-round schedule must be supported with 5th Freedom, such as YYC-NRT-SEL, or YYC-NRT-PEK.

Thanks for the info, I was meaning to check my thread over there today!

[Yume-sama]

Wasn't the talk of Calgary getting one of the less desirable time slots at Haneda (like, middle of the night), not Narita? The only reason I could see Air Canada not liking this is because it funnels less people to Vancouver (or Toronto, perhaps?) and thus means less money. Literally over half the people on early morning flights to Vancouver are connecting to go to Tokyo or Hong Kong. These flights would probably be empty with a direct flight.

Nearly all of the people on early morning WestJet flights are also connecting with JAL or Cathay Pacific, from my experiences.

For some reason I do think a flight to Korea would perhaps be more desirable by the population.

[evolv]

That is the problem with people (many of the airliners.net forumers) not in know deciding whether service is viable or not. Who knows how many connect in Vancouver, only Air Canada and the people they chose to give info too, which I assume they are very selective about. Also how many would come over from Westjet so they can fly direct (something AC would not know, maybe be able to make a good guess but not know). Also something to consider is how much has changed since 2004, i realize this is a recession but when we come out of it, it maybe a very viable route. How much does your leisure market grow when people are given the option of non-stop?

[Bigtime]

I also find a lot of the a.net forumers have a hate on for YYC (and even YEG) and will come out with all guns firing to shoot down any positive news for us.

[Yume-sama]

I also find a lot of the a.net forumers have a hate on for YYC (and even YEG) and will come out with all guns firing to shoot down any positive news for us.

:whip: There's a lot of Calgary hate. All us being dirty, polluting, conservative, cowboys and all. Yeehaw.

Closest I've come to a farm is the petting zoo at the Co-op during Stampede breakfast, though... :haha:

[Johnny Aussie]

"As we start thinking of new destinations, including possible direct flights to Asia from here..."

This sounds pretty vague to me. So I wouldn't get too excited until a more concrete announcement is made.

[evolv]

Just did a check on fares on Air Canada

LAX - LHR via YYC C$950
YYC - LHR C$1350

On the same dates in October

I wonder if you could buy the LAX-LHR fare check in online as if you were boarding in Los Angeles then simply show up for the YYC-LHR leg of the flight. You would most likely not be able to check baggage

[Bigtime]

"As we start thinking of new destinations, including possible direct flights to Asia from here..."

This sounds pretty vague to me. So I wouldn't get too excited until a more concrete announcement is made.

However Tuffyy and his connections have been hinting at this route for months now. So I hardly doubt it is something recent that AC just started considering.

[Bigtime]

Northern airline ends flights to Hay River

By Bill Mah, edmontonjournal.com September 24, 2009 12:02 PM

EDMONTON — Canadian North, an aboriginally owned airline with a mandate to serve the North, announced Thursday it is cutting all flights to Hay River, NWT.

Effective Oct. 25, all scheduled flights to Hay River are cancelled. All flights to Calgary will also be cut, while service between Edmonton and Yellowknife will be reduced.

The Yellowknife-based airline blamed a struggling economy, a glut of seats on routes served by competitors based in the south and underperforming routes.

“These are demanding times and we are taking the steps necessary to address these challenges in line with our mandate to provide essential air services to the people and communities of the North,” said Canadian North president Tracy Medve.

“Having said that, we can no longer justify competing at current levels on routes characterized by an oversupply of seats and a price structure that compromises our commitment in other areas.

“Neither can we continue to provide service to areas that have not met our market expectations.”

Five Canadian North employees based in Hay River will lose their jobs.

The company said customers who had booked now-cancelled flights will be accommodated or receive refunds by calling their travel agent or the airline call centre at 1-800-661-1505.

Canadian North cuts flights, lays off staff
Last Updated: Thursday, September 24, 2009 | 6:54 PM CT

Northern airline Canadian North announced Thursday it is cancelling and scaling back some of its routes, in part because a saturated market in Yellowknife.

Canadian North said it is cancelling flights from Yellowknife to Calgary effective Oct. 10 and cutting flights to Hay River, N.W.T., as of Oct. 25.

The Yellowknife-based airline cites a slowdown in the oil and gas industry in its decision to end the Calgary flights, and not enough passengers on the Hay River flights.

Link (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/09/24/cdn-north-cuts.html?ref=rss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So the direct flight to Yellowknife is gone, but it appears that they will still be operating some of the YYC-YEG routes.

[Yume-sama]

Just did a check on fares on Air Canada

LAX - LHR via YYC C$950
YYC - LHR C$1350

On the same dates in October

I wonder if you could buy the LAX-LHR fare check in online as if you were boarding in Los Angeles then simply show up for the YYC-LHR leg of the flight. You would most likely not be able to check baggage

:haha: Don't you love how that works. Somehow flying is ALWAYS a good bit more expensive out of Canada, even if you are from America and have to connect here. :sly:

[Johnny Aussie]

However Tuffyy and his connections have been hinting at this route for months now. So I hardly doubt it is something recent that AC just started considering.

I don't dispute that fact. AC has been considering A LOT of options lately. But if you read the words carefully, "as we start thinking of new destinations" and "possible direct flights," this is just a bunch of giving the people what they want to here. AC seems to be focussing more on European expansion with their upcoming new services to ATH and BCN. They have done nothing but reduce capacity to Asia. Also, take AC's words with a grain of salt. Remember years ago when Canadian was still around and they promised new flights to HKG would originate from YYC. Only to launch them from YVR and YYZ when they were granted the actual rights to HKG.

[Yume-sama]

And by process of elimination, AC would most likely have to be the one to go to Tokyo from here.

JAL, no chance. They are downsizing, cutting 6800 jobs and 50 routes.
ANA, no chance. They are part of AC's alliance, and do not serve Canada at all.

[Bigtime]

I don't dispute that fact. AC has been considering A LOT of options lately. But if you read the words carefully, "as we start thinking of new destinations" and "possible direct flights," this is just a bunch of giving the people what they want to here. AC seems to be focussing more on European expansion with their upcoming new services to ATH and BCN. They have done nothing but reduce capacity to Asia. Also, take AC's words with a grain of salt. Remember years ago when Canadian was still around and they promised new flights to HKG would originate from YYC. Only to launch them from YVR and YYZ when they were granted the actual rights to HKG.

Well I guess I'm a "half glass full" guy. More fun to be optimistic then muddle about in the negative all the time.

[Johnny Aussie]

So the direct flight to Yellowknife is gone, but it appears that they will still be operating some of the YYC-YEG routes.

If you look at the Canadian North Website schedule page, it says

"PLEASE NOTE: Calgary service ending on October 9, 2009"

And the schedule pages effective Oct 25 2009 do not show YYC at all. YEG is going down to only 15 weekly flights.

[KrisYYC]

I'm keeping myself plugged into the airline matrix as best as I can.

And it wasn't just Calin Rovinescu and a few others that were here, it was the entire AC senior staff from all departments. That would be overkill for just some vague announcements to placate the locals.

[wmp.dll]

Ugh I really want to fly on an MD11. The KLM Livery is perfect on that plane.

[Bigtime]

Sir Richard Branson is in town for a conference with the Dalai Lama:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/3973072047_6ae8a862f8_b.jpg
Wee in YYC (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wee_in_yyc/3973072047/)

[YYCguys]

Lubicon mentioned in the YEG Int'l Airport thread that an annoucement was made by Westjet today in Calgary about a new non stop route. I know that Westjet is going to be making an annoucement about a major non stop route out of YEG in the days ahead, but I have heard NOTHING in this regards about YYC. He mentioned that Suzanne Fox on BT said something about the Calgary announcement. Can anyone shed any light on this?

[Bigtime]

I have heard nothing about it.

[Riise]

Westjet To Launch Non-Stop Flights To Hawaii From Calgary, Edmonton

October 2, 2009
Calgary Herald
Gina Teel

CALGARY - WestJet Airlines Ltd. will offer non-stop flights to Hawaii from Calgary and Edmonton starting in March.

The eight week runs will offer non-stop flights from Calgary to both Maui and Honolulu, and Edmonton to Maui, through to the end of April.

WestJet, Canada’s second-largest carrier, currently flies to Hawaii, but doesn’t offer non-stop flights.

The Calgary-based carrier will make the official announcement later today and said unlike its main competitor, it will offer non-stop flights from Edmonton to Maui.

The wait is related to aircraft availability. WestJet will take delivery of six new aircraft between now and March, part of its confirmed orders for 54 aircraft through 2016, and those aircraft will be used for the new flights and other new destinations on its winter schedule.

Earlier this year, Air Canada announced it will begin direct flights to Hawaii from Calgary in December. The carrier will offer up to five weekly flights from Calgary.

Canda's biggest airline already offers 15 weekly flights during peak winter from Vancouver to Hawaii.


© Copyright The Calgary Herald (http://www.calgaryherald.com/WestJet+launch+stop+flights+Hawaii+from+Calgary+Edmonton/2059626/story.html)

[Bigtime]

Everything I have heard is that the 737's would be weight restricted on the YYC-HNL routes.

I would assume YEG would have the same problem.

[lubicon]

Everything I have heard is that the 737's would be weight restricted on the YYC-HNL routes.

I would assume YEG would have the same problem.

You would have to think so. I'll have to ask my buddy at WJ and see what he knows.

[MalcolmTucker]

wikipedia has longer ranges listed for 737 with winglets than last time I looked, and it seems they could make it easily without weight issues. Only issue may be the etops level 737s are qualified at, and whether that could cause a longer flight path.

[lubicon]

wikipedia has longer ranges listed for 737 with winglets than last time I looked, and it seems they could make it easily without weight issues. Only issue may be the etops level 737s are qualified at, and whether that could cause a longer flight path.

I think you nailed it. The 737's have the range to do YYC-HNL, based strictly on mileage (although it might be tight). It's the ETOPS requirements that really make it interesting. And I must admit I am surprised that they think they have found a way to do this route.

Then again, when they started the YVR -Hawaii route there were a lot of technical stops at first but as they gained experience and knowledge they have it down to the point where they rarely have to stop anymore. My friend says he can't remember the last time he had to do a tech stop.

[thager]

what did the Dalai Lama fly in on?? anything special ?

[Bigtime]

what did the Dalai Lama fly in on?? anything special ?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/3970383552_5e35052909.jpg
Wee in YYC (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wee_in_yyc/3970383552/)

[YYCguys]

I am absolutely gob smacked about the YYC/YEG -Hawaii flights! As a Westjet employee, I understand that the range in terms of mileage under ideal conditions is there, but I was always told there are a lot of factors that interfere with that range on such a route, such as winds, etc. Should be interesting! Twitter states that the -700 series, which has a longer range than the -800 series, will be used!

[wmp.dll]

Okay, that is awesome for Westjet. I'm not entirely sure I would want to sit that long on a 737, but I'm willing to give it a shot. :notacrook:

[YYCguys]

Around the Westjet Campus halls, I'm hearing that the loads will be capped and that middle seats will be blocked. Hopefully that will make the ride more comfortable for you! :)

[Bigtime]

Around the Westjet Campus halls, I'm hearing that the loads will be capped and that middle seats will be blocked. Hopefully that will make the ride more comfortable for you! :)

I'm hearing from WJ sources at AvCanada that the flights will be capped around 95 seats.

[MrBigStuff]

I'm hearing from WJ sources at AvCanada that the flights will be capped around 95 seats.

Would there be Extended Range B737's, with seats that don't crowd passengers in like sardines???

[Bigtime]

Would there be Extended Range B737's, with seats that don't crowd passengers in like sardines???

Westjet has none of the ER 737's in their fleet, and none on order.

They will most likely just block off the middle seats for these flights for booking. So you will get some extra space that way.

[MrBigStuff]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/3970383552_5e35052909.jpg
Wee in YYC (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wee_in_yyc/3970383552/)

Bigtime - is that by any chance the Boeing 717 that was built, shortly after Boeing bought out MacDonnell Douglas???

[tuffyy]

Nope that is a vip configured MD-87, the regi is VP-CNI and is actually Canadian owned just registered elsewhere.

[evolv]

Calgary is getting direct service to Zurich starting in May with Edelweiss Air... swiss will codeshare on the route

[Bigtime]

Calgary is getting direct service to Zurich starting in May with Edelweiss Air... swiss will codeshare on the route

Just a seasonal flight right? I remember seeing Edelweiss here in the summer over the last couple of years.

Just checked the Edelweiss website:

-Looks like the flight is 1x weekly arrival from ZRH is 11:30am
-YYC-ZRH has a stopver in YVR, departure time is 12:40pm
-Equipment is an A332

[evolv]

Ya i think the big news is that swiss will codeshare on the flight... its 1x weekly on monday... the flight continues on to Vancouver

Maybe this is swiss testing the market would be cool to get service to zurich on swiss

[lubicon]

Calgary is getting direct service to Zurich starting in May with Edelweiss Air... swiss will codeshare on the route

Well for once we got the term correct!! If there is a stopover in YVR on teh way to ZRH then the service is indeed direct, it's just not non stop.

Sorry, for whatever reason the misuse of the term 'direct; really irritates me.

[Bigtime]

...and Zurich gets a non-stop flight to YYC! :D

[MalcolmTucker]

Lufthansa (Swiss's owner, which is Edelweiss's owner ) must really love Calgary - even if it is just 1 more flight a week, and mostly for holiday makers.

[Blader]

Well for once we got the term correct!! If there is a stopover in YVR on teh way to ZRH then the service is indeed direct, it's just not non stop.

Sorry, for whatever reason the misuse of the term 'direct; really irritates me.

And the term direct in airline lingo has always irritated me. Most people equate it to non stop. You will never change this. To me, there is non stop, one stop etc. I believe direct is a confusing marketing term the airlines dreamed up and defined many decades ago. I wish that they would abandon the term and call a spade a spade.:shrug:

[Aegis]

And the term direct in airline lingo has always irritated me. Most people equate it to non stop. You will never change this. To me, there is non stop, one stop etc. I believe direct is a confusing marketing term the airlines dreamed up and defined many decades ago. I wish that they would abandon the term and call a spade a spade.:shrug:

In other words, all flights are direct, from someone's perspective? What is the use of the term "Direct flight" if it doesn't mean "non-stop"?

[Bigtime]

In other words, all flights are direct, from someone's perspective? What is the use of the term "Direct flight" if it doesn't mean "non-stop"?

I believe direct means the plane may stop on the way to your ultimate destination, but you do not have to change planes.

Example: When I flew from Toronto to Buenos Aires the Air Canada flight actually did this:

-Toronto-->Santiago, Chile-->Buenos Aires

Now we did have to get off the plane in Santiago, and clear through a small security area to be allowed back into the boarding area for the continuation of the flight to Buenos Aires. We didn't have another set of boarding passes for Santiago-B.A., just the original YYZ-B.A. ticket.

[Blader]

I believe direct means the plane may stop on the way to your ultimate destination, but you do not have to change planes.

To me 'direct' means:
A---------------->C - same plane


and anything else is 'indirect' if your headed from A to C:
A------>B------->C - same plane

At least to the average sap.:)

Still, plain English and logic aside, the airlines have long ago decided to define it their way and that is not about to change.

[tuffyy]

The Zurich flight is nothing new other than the codeshare with Swiss, right??? Balair, Belair and Edelweiss have all flown this route off and on over the years as summer charters.Edelweiss is also very unreliable for ontime performnce with there small fleet atleast here in MMUN.

[Bigtime]

The Zurich flight is nothing new other than the codeshare with Swiss, right??? Balair, Belair and Edelweiss have all flown this route off and on over the years as summer charters.Edelweiss is also very unreliable for ontime performnce with there small fleet atleast here in MMUN.

You are correct. Edelweiss was the carrier in here about 2 years ago, Belair has run the route since. It is really only notable in the fact that it has the Swiss codeshar.

[tuffyy]

FYI, sounds like MX is pulling the plug on Alberta with YEG gone in Jan and YYC by Spring.I will try to confirm this ASAP.No doubt the Visa issue played a roll.

[MalcolmTucker]

& H1N1... they must have been bleeding this past spring like nobodies business

[Bigtime]

That's unfortunate, hopefully they can take another run at it in the future.

[Aegis]

Anyone notice that regional jet circling Calgary right now? It's been circling for the last 20 mins, flying lower than most planes, and not in a usual flight path. It's got a white underbelly, the top of the plane is blue, and jets mounted on the tail fin.

[Bigtime]

Anyone notice that regional jet circling Calgary right now? It's been circling for the last 20 mins, flying lower than most planes, and not in a usual flight path. It's got a white underbelly, the top of the plane is blue, and jets mounted on the tail fin.

That is the NavCanada CRJ. They use it to test the ILS and other guidance systems at the airport.

[Policy Wonk]

That thing freaked the hell out of me on 14th Street today, it looked like it was going to fly right into the side of Nose Hill.

[Aegis]

That is the NavCanada CRJ. They use it to test the ILS and other guidance systems at the airport.

Very cool!

[tuffyy]

AC upto three times per week to NRT??? Seems a little much with so little O/D traffic.But AC does like to push it at Canadian tax payers dollars.

[jeremy_haak]

AC upto three times per week to NRT??? Seems a little much with so little O/D traffic.But AC does like to push it at Canadian tax payers dollars.

Uh, what?

[Bigtime]

AC upto three times per week to NRT??? Seems a little much with so little O/D traffic.But AC does like to push it at Canadian tax payers dollars.

Is that what you are hearing for YYC Tuffyy?

[Bokimon]

what does O/D mean again? Overseas and domesitc?

Oh ya you were the one who tipped us of about the AC NRT route earlier in the year. I can't believe it is now possibly 3x/wk.. Maybe this is for seasonal flights then I can understand as its not too bad. Year round, I'm not sure either..

[MalcolmTucker]

Origin & Destination

[tuffyy]

Rumor, has it.AC is looking at ''upto'' three weekly YYC-NRT flights per week using 763s with three summer flights then a weekly during the winter months.It could possibly work if that is the case.But numbers would indicate weak yields even with buisness class and first full.

[evolv]

Whatever the case it is pretty impressive when an airline is considering starting service to Asia from a city of 1.1 million, amidst the worst economic recession since when???

[Bigtime]

Thanks for the update Tuffyy. Nice to see that this is still being worked on, I hope YYC can give it the support to last if it becomes reality.

[Blader]

If, AC, does inaugurate flights between NRT and YYC, and I haven't seen any scuttlebutt, then I believe it is Japanese tourism. Fly to Vancouver, take a bus, and return from Calgary, and vice versa.

[tuffyy]

Korean air returns to YYC with three weekly charters in the spring, tickets are only available for sale in Korea, Canadian citizens cannot use the service.Flights are on 777-200's.

[Bigtime]

Korean air returns to YYC with three weekly charters in the spring, tickets are only available for sale in Korea, Canadian citizens cannot use the service.Flights are on 777-200's.

Thanks for the info Tuffyy! Doesn't Canada have an open skies agreement with Korea now? So they are potentially one of the carriers that could start more schedules service to Canada?

[freeweed]

Korean air returns to YYC with three weekly charters in the spring, tickets are only available for sale in Korea, Canadian citizens cannot use the service.Flights are on 777-200's.

That's bizarre. Are there lots of planes taking off from YYC that I'm not allowed to fly on due to my citizenship? I've never heard of such a thing.

[evolv]

on airliners they are saying 747 and Canadians can buy tickets. They are called public charters and operate like any other scheduled flight KE fly

[MalcolmTucker]

That's bizarre. Are there lots of planes taking off from YYC that I'm not allowed to fly on due to my citizenship? I've never heard of such a thing.

I think you can buy, but Korean isn't allowed to market in Canada. I believe this is standard for charter airlines if I am not mistaken.

[Bigtime]

Reading the thread over at a.net they are saying you can book the flights now over at orbitz.com

[Stang]

I find marketing restrictions/regulations like that quite amusing in the internet age... Do they think that people won't find these fares on the various travel sites?

[Bigtime]

I just tried out a dummy booking over at orbitz.com. Entering in Calgary to Seoul this is the routing I got:

Outbound Thursday, July 29th
YYC -> Seoul (ICN)

Return Thursday, August 5th
Seoul (ICN) -> YYC

So it does book you in on the non-stop flights.

[Aegis]

That's bizarre. Are there lots of planes taking off from YYC that I'm not allowed to fly on due to my citizenship? I've never heard of such a thing.

I thought that was the standard M.O of the airline industry here. Foreign airlines aren't allowed to service two points within the same country and sell to that country's domestic market. They could fly between two points in the same country for non-connecting passengers only? Or do I have that mixed up.

Ie: A plane departing Montreal, stopping in Calgary, and continuing to Seoul. A passenger couldn't buy a ticket from Montreal to Calgary only on this flight..

[MalcolmTucker]

Yeah. Canada has never signed an agreement that permits cabotage.

[Bokimon]

So basically the KE service is a scheduled flight. Rather than a yearly or a seasonal service it is just condensed into a 1 month stint. If they say it as public charter then I say its a full service scheduled flight.

It is a good thing to hear once again. I agree with many of you that its a good start and hopefully leads the way for permanent service. Just imagine a little city like ours with only 1.1 million and we get the likes of BA, LH, KL, KE, and several AC flights to europe and possibly NRT. Its good to live cocky in this city :D

[agent_imperial]

FYI, sounds like MX is pulling the plug on Alberta with YEG gone in Jan and YYC by Spring.I will try to confirm this ASAP.No doubt the Visa issue played a roll.

Guess that's not the case after all according to this Herald Article. Good for us, bad for Edmonton.



Mexicana to increase service to Calgary


BY GINA TEEL, CALGARY HERALD NOVEMBER 17, 2009

CALGARY - Nearly a year-and-a-half after launching service from Mexico City to Alberta, Mexicana Airlines said it’s dropping service to Edmonton but adding an extra flight to Calgary beginning in January.

Mexicana will increase its service to Calgary to five flights per week, as Mexico’s largest international airline moves to consolidate its presence in Alberta using YYC as its gateway.

The carrier will suspend its thrice-weekly service to Edmonton on Jan. 15, but it could resume the service down the road, officials said.

The move to consolidate its Alberta presence at YYC came as a result of market research, Mexicana added.

Independent airlines analyst Rick Erickson said the loss of the service to Edmonton is unfortunate but the simple fact is there are more aviation business attractors in Calgary.

“Once again, this completely underscores the fact that Calgary is unquestionably the leading economic business community on the Prairies; unequivocally,” he said.

Jorge Goytortua, Mexicana’s regional vice-president, North America, said as a result of the global economic downturn, the H1N1 flu crisis and the restrictions imposed on Mexican nationals travelling to Canada, the airline “had to take a deep look into the bottom line, making difficult decisions in order to maintain the company afloat.”

Announced in December 2007, Mexicana commenced flights to Alberta in June last year.

Traci Bednard, spokeswoman for Edmonton Airports, said though disappointed, they look for an opportunity to re-establish the link with Mexicana, which she called a great partner.

Garth Atkinson, president of the Calgary Airport Authority, said he’s pleased that Mexicana has reaffirmed its commitment to serve YYC and the Alberta marketplace.

“We are confident they will continue to do well using YYC as their international gateway to Alberta.”

Mayor Dave Bronconnier said adding more frequency from Calgary to Mexico City means more flexibility and ease for travelling on business, “and more opportunity for Calgarians and others from across the province who are seeking some sun and fun at Mexico’s world-famous beaches, resorts and beyond.”

GTEEL@THEHERALD.CANWEST.COM

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

[Bigtime]

Oh shit, the YEGers are going to freak out when they see this.

As always as a lover of aviation I wish them all the best, and hope they can get the non-stop flight again.

[CTrainDude]

I'm mainly a lurker in this forum, but thought this might catch a few glipses here...

Air Canada launches Calgary-Tokyo direct flight


By Gina Teel, Calgary HeraldNovember 18, 2009 9:38

CALGARY - A decade-long effort to land direct flights connecting Calgary to Asia is over, as Air Canada will start flying between YYC and Tokyo non-stop on March 27, 2010.

In what’s being called extremely good news for Calgary, particularly from a business and tourism perspective, Air Canada will offer the flights three times a week, the maximum currently allowed under the bilateral air agreement between Canada and Japan.

Air Canada, the nation’s top carrier, intends to provide daily service from Calgary to Tokyo's Narita Airport as soon as the respective governments can reach an agreement on more capacity.

The flights go on sale online today.

In September, Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu told the Herald that the carrier could offer direct flights to Asia from Calgary as soon as 2010, provided it had the support of the business community.

The Calgary Airport Authority has worked diligently to secure a direct connection from YYC to Asia, long considered the missing link in the Calgary network - until today.

More to come...

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Canada+launches+Calgary+Tokyo+direct+flight/2236984/story.html

[Bigtime]

I just heard this on QR77 in my car.

BOOYA! :tup:

This calls for a "Quad Yeah":

N7UFOmVFT8o

[Wooster]

That's awesome! I'm hoping more direct flights like to Hong Kong and Shanghai follow!