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Old Posted May 31, 2008, 5:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swilley View Post
Regina Mayor Waits For Answers
By Nigel Maxwell
Updated May 29, 2008 - 5:18pm

The Mayor of Regina is waiting for a phone call from Westjet.

Pat Fiacco says he cannot understand why Westjet is offering direct flights from Saskatoon to Las Vegas; and not Regina. Westjet initially announced that both cities would offer the flights, but Customs Canada said they could not schedule their staff to accommodate the flights.
Fiacco is not happy arrangements could not be made for Regina. The Mayor is offering his services to the airport authority as a lobbying tool.
He says this is not a question of which city is the better choice, but rather why people in southern Saskatchewan are not being provided with a service.

Source


Recently Saskatoon International Airport has added direct flights to Denver and Las Vegas. Does this move signal that Saskatoon's airport will become the main international transportation hub for the province, or will Regina Airport get the same flights somewhere down the road?
Regina will receive more flights in due time.

Which city will become the international hub of the province (whatever that means)?

Here are some realities to reflect upon...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Saskatoon Airport Authority - History of Saskatoon Airport Authority
The Airport Authority hit its stride in 2000, approving an expansion and renovation of the Air Terminal building (ATB) to facilitate continued growth of both airline travel and the economy of central and northern Saskatchewan. The project was a significant step toward the vision of making John. G. Diefenbaker International Airport Saskatchewan's premier airport.

[....]

The completion of the first two phases of terminal redevelopment was the most significant news over the first 5 years of operation. The redeveloped and expanded terminal, officially opened in 2002, has the capacity to welcome 1.4 million passengers annually. Recently there has been a renewed focus on promoting and expanding the capacity of the airport as a tool for economic facilitation. In addition, the redeveloped terminal will provide a catalyst to continually improve the "airport experience" for the customers.
Source

Quote:
Originally Posted by Leader Post
Regina International Airport is gearing up to handle 1.5 million passengers by the year 2027, which could necessitate expansion of the existing terminal building and other facilities, according to the airport's 20-year master plan.

Jim Hunter, president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, conceded the projected 1.5 million passengers a year -- based on a growth rate of two per cent per year for 20 years -- is a far cry from the 32-per-cent growth in passenger traffic in the last three years.

"We can't reasonably expect that kind of growth over the 20-year period,''
Hunter said. "We're trying to be conservative in our estimates.''

Similarly, aircraft movements are expected to increase to 87,888 movements per year by 2027 from 61,000 in 2007.

The master plan concludes that the existing terminal building, which was recently renovated at a cost of about $20 million, could be expanded to accommodate the additional traffic. Terminal expansion would likely occur in the northwest, allowing room for expansion of cargo facilities.

"Even with the 1.5 million (passenger) estimate, we will be able to expand the current terminal, rather than look for what's called 'greenfield' expansion -- in other words, building a whole new building.''
Source

Smart money is on Saskatoon (If I were a betting man using the above references).

I'll admit, my knowledge of airport service and the airline industry is fairly weak. However, based on earlier expansions of John G. Diefenbaker and comparing with Regina's future expansion I concluded Saskatoon is ahead of Regina both in terms of passenger capacity/demand, both of which lead to increases in frequencies and direct flights (e.g. international destinations).

Or both cities will become international hubs
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