Atlantic Canada airport thread

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by JHikka

It is but it will be short term. Airlines always have incredible initial sales on new routes.

True, when WestJet started the YYT-Dublin route, flights begun at $199. They're nowhere near that price now, so if you're curious about traveling to Paris, do it sooner rather than later.

Good to hear that WestJet is doing this Halifax-Paris route. I have friends who just moved to Grenoble, so when I visit it'll be nice to be able to transfer through Halifax, and not Toronto or Montreal.

[Trevor3]

Porter Doubles Stephenville Schedule

orter Airlines released its 2018 schedule for Stephenville, N.L., featuring new spring and fall service. Fifty round-trip flights will operate between Halifax, beginning April 14, 2018, through January 5, 2019, with schedules varying by season. This more than doubles service from the previous year.

“We are ready to begin our fifth year of service in Stephenville with more flights than ever,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines. “This area of the province deserves more service and we believe people will respond to having options during the most popular times of year.”

This is huge for our airport. Going from 2 month service to 8 months is substantial, and a huge step toward rebuilding year round service. There was a time when this airport moved close to 200,000 passengers per year. Last year I think we did about 10,000.

Given the runway length, physical position, and preferable weather, YJT is substantially more reliable than YDF and only about 15 minutes further from Corner Brook. Which is why this happened:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...logy-1.4482790

The Stephenville airport is getting $1 million worth of updated equipment that will keep it in the business of being an emergency or alternate landing site for transatlantic flights.

"Very few people understand the importance of Stephenville's airport," said Brenda Martin, the manager of the facility.

The seven-figure financial boost comes from Nav Canada, which was considering whether the aging instrument landing system should be upgraded.

[q12]

Westjet's ultra low cost carrier called Swoop launched today from Halifax to Hamilton with almost daily service starting in June.



http://www.FlySwoop.com

[JHikka]

I was able to find Halifax-Hamilton from $200 roundtrip which is....average? Some of the flights out west are far cheaper.

[ghYHZ]

Launch of the new YHZ-CDG flight brings back memories of when Moncton also had nonstop service to Paris:

Portion of an article from 1999:

MONCTON (CNB) -- New Brunswick's Paris-to-Moncton direct flight was officially launched on Saturday, June 26, at the Greater Moncton Airport, by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture.

The Canada 3000 Airlines direct Paris-to-Moncton flight is considered key to developing an international market for tourism in New Brunswick. Officials with the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture have spent months cultivating the French market.......

The flights began June 12, 1999, and will continue every Saturday until September 25.

(I believe the Canada 3000 flights were on an A330. (Canada 3000 ceased operations in Nov 2001 with the downturn after the 9-11 attacks)

And from 2005:

FREDERICTON (CNB) - The French airline Corsair will expand its Moncton-Paris direct flight in 2005 by adding two more flights and servicing it with a Boeing B747 jet.

The French airline Corsair will offer 12 weekly flights between the Paris-Orly Airport and the Greater Moncton International Airport commencing June 30. The flight will be mainly serviced by the 580-passenger Boeing B747, commonly referred to as a "jumbo jet." As part of its inaugural flight last year, Corsair offered 10 flights that were serviced by a 350-passenger jet.

[MonctonRad]

If there ever was hope for new European route from a Maritime city (other than Halifax), it would be Moncton-Paris

[q12]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I was able to find Halifax-Hamilton from $200 roundtrip which is....average? Some of the flights out west are far cheaper.

I found this $0 fare (only taxes and fees) on flyswoop.com last night.

$76 return ticket ($38 one way).

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

If there ever was hope for new European route from a Maritime city (other than Halifax), it would be Moncton-Paris

I think with Halifax now having a flight to Paris (long overdue), the odds of Moncton getting one is even more remote. With Halifax being the regional hub, I do wonder if someday they will upgrade the flight from Halifax to Moncton to a larger aircraft or more frequency as Halifax gets more international flights.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

I think with Halifax now having a flight to Paris (long overdue), the odds of Moncton getting one is even more remote. With Halifax being the regional hub, I do wonder if someday they will upgrade the flight from Halifax to Moncton to a larger aircraft or more frequency as Halifax gets more international flights.

Moncton as of late has been getting the rotten end of airline industry with Halifax taking the cake. Although the southern flights are good its just the challenges in sustaining other international/ transborder flights. But time will tell but the Halifax International has been solidifying its stranglehold on it being the main maritime hub. The major issue with Moncton as I said it time and time again is that it has to compete with two other marginal airports less than 2 hours apart from each other.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

I think with Halifax now having a flight to Paris (long overdue), the odds of Moncton getting one is even more remote. With Halifax being the regional hub, I do wonder if someday they will upgrade the flight from Halifax to Moncton to a larger aircraft or more frequency as Halifax gets more international flights.

Moncton-Halifax is short enough that a lot of people probably drive. Google Maps says the drive from Moncton to YHZ is 2 hours and 10 minutes right now.

VIA has been talking about adding more trains within the Maritimes. This could work out well for the Halifax-Moncton route, which runs right by YHZ. With track upgrades it doesn't seem far-fetched to imagine a train that runs from Moncton to YHZ in, say, 1.5-2 hours.

[homebody]

Originally Posted by someone123

Moncton-Halifax is short enough that a lot of people probably drive. Google Maps says the drive from Moncton to YHZ is 2 hours and 10 minutes right now.

VIA has been talking about adding more trains within the Maritimes. This could work out well for the Halifax-Moncton route, which runs right by YHZ. With track upgrades it doesn't seem far-fetched to imagine a train that runs from Moncton to YHZ in, say, 1.5-2 hours.

I Agree with someone123 that there is a lot of people driving to Halifax from Moncton. It is also true that the same thing happens with New Brunswick's other airports. YHZ is the only airport that you can book direct flights to places other than Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal (Not including the charters).That probably will not change. If the Canadian Dollar keeps making gains against the greenback you will eventually see more drain into Portland/Bangor. Lets face it. Right now Air Canada, Porter And Westjet is serving the 3 cities of New Brunswick with relatively the same product and prices. Bright side is: at least there would be more trains leaving from Moncton.

[MonctonRad]

I'm a big proponent of increasing rail serve in the region (including re-establishing passenger rail to Saint John, but I never envisage any more than about three trains per day to Halifax from Moncton. This level of service would be marginal for people wanting to make connections at Halifax Stanfield.

I fly a couple of times per year, and almost always, the destinations I want to go to require connecting flights. Usually these connections are easier in Toronto than they are in Halifax.

For example, if I'm going to a conference in San Diego, I currently can take a 10 minute taxi to the Moncton Airport, fly to Toronto and take a single connecting flight in Toronto to San Diego. Why would I want to complicate things by driving/flying/taking the train to Halifax Stanfield if I still need another connecting flight anyway???

Truth be told, all three NB airports have decent connections to hubs like Montreal and Toronto where we can get the connecting flights of our choice. We also have a good selection of sun destination charters. About the only reason to use Stanfield would be for direct flights to Europe.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I'm a big proponent of increasing rail serve in the region (including re-establishing passenger rail to Saint John, but I never envisage any more than about three trains per day to Halifax from Moncton. This level of service would be marginal for people wanting to make connections at Halifax Stanfield.

I fly a couple of times per year, and almost always, the destinations I want to go to require connecting flights. Usually these connections are easier in Toronto than they are in Halifax.

For example, if I'm going to a conference in San Diego, I currently can take a 10 minute taxi to the Moncton Airport, fly to Toronto and take a single connecting flight in Toronto to San Diego. Why would I want to complicate things by driving/flying/taking the train to Halifax Stanfield if I still need another connecting flight anyway???

Truth be told, all three NB airports have decent connections to hubs like Montreal and Toronto where we can get the connecting flights of our choice. We also have a good selection of sun destination charters. About the only reason to use Stanfield would be for direct flights to Europe.

I pretty much agree with this but would like to add the only other benefit I see with Halifax is they have a direct flight to NYC early morning. I recently booked a flight with Delta, leaves at 6am and you get into NYC at 7am thanks to the short flight and time change.

The flight is also relatively inexpensive, I got it for $350 round trip but would have been $300 had I booked it a few days before. With pre-clearance done in Stanfield this is about as convenient of a flight to the US as you could get around here. All other options with connections added 4-5 hours to the travel. Of course I have family in Halifax to stay with near the airport so I don't have to factor in a night at a airport hotel.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

About the only reason to use Stanfield would be for direct flights to Europe.

Not to sound like a broken record, but also for the dramatically lower fares on WestJet compared to Air Canada.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

Not to sound like a broken record, but also for the dramatically lower fares on WestJet compared to Air Canada.

If that's important, then yes, that is a consideration. There is however the convenience factor, the cost of driving to YHZ, the cost of parking and perhaps hotel accommodation. It may end up being a wash.

To me, it's important to support your local airport. It's the only way the airlines measure whether new routes or increased frequency is necessary. If you go to the airport down the road, then it is this (competing) airport that benefits from these usage statistics......

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

If that's important, then yes, that is a consideration. There is however the convenience factor, the cost of driving to YHZ, the cost of parking and perhaps hotel accommodation. It may end up being a wash.

To me, it's important to support your local airport. It's the only way the airlines measure whether new routes or increased frequency is necessary. If you go to the airport down the road, then it is this (competing) airport that benefits from these usage statistics......

And that's all well and good, but when flying out of YHZ is so much cheaper that even with the cost of parking and gas it's still a huge difference, and when my travel budget is tight enough that I literally cannot afford to fly out of YSJ, then I have no recourse but to use YHZ.

In my case, we were talking a full halving of the fare. ~$600 round-trip out of YHZ on Westjet, ~$1200 out of YSJ on Air Canada. The <$1000 total cost to fly out of YHZ was enough of a strain on my finances; at $1200 I plain and simply could not have afforded to go.

Maybe if wages in NB could keep pace with its airfares, people like me would actually be able to support local airports.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

And that's all well and good, but when flying out of YHZ is so much cheaper that even with the cost of parking and gas it's still a huge difference, and when my travel budget is tight enough that I literally cannot afford to fly out of YSJ, then I have no recourse but to use YHZ.

In my case, we were talking a full halving of the fare. ~$600 round-trip out of YHZ on Westjet, ~$1200 out of YSJ on Air Canada. The <$1000 total cost to fly out of YHZ was enough of a strain on my finances; at $1200 I plain and simply could not have afforded to go.

Maybe if wages in NB could keep pace with its airfares, people like me would actually be able to support local airports.

When I fly to the US I drive from Moncton to Bangor and fly out of there. What i like about Bangor its the convenience and ease to fly out. Also on some flights that i have taken it saves me 300-600 depending on the flight.

[q12]

Park'N Fly Halifax Airport is only $49 a week right now.

https://www.parknfly.ca/Location/Hal...t-Parking.aspx

[q12]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

With Halifax being the regional hub, I do wonder if someday they will upgrade the flight from Halifax to Moncton to a larger aircraft or more frequency as Halifax gets more international flights.

I think it would be a real positive for Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John and Charlottettown if Westjet starts competing with Air Canada to and from Halifax like they do in Sydney.

Just look at how cheap a one-way ticket is to Sydney from Halifax:



Round trip:


Westjet is launching Westjet Link on 34-seat Saab 340b aircraft (Pacific Coastal Airlines) this summer. We could see something similar here in the Maritimes soon.

[MonctonRad]

To catch a WestJet flight to western Canada or to Europe, I would have no problem with that (as long as the flight being connected to is direct).