I don't have a link, but I read in the paper that YQR's passenger numbers for 2013 are 1.22 million PAX through the facility. That's about 37,000 more people than 2012. I don't recall, but I believe the YQR terminal can handle 1.3 million PAX per year. So I would think with 8 years in a row of record passenger numbers, we will for sure see an expansion to the airport announced in the next couple of years, with construction to probably start in 2016/17. This is just my speculation.
The Regina Airport Authority's board of directors has been studying another expansion to its air terminal building, but has not made a decision to go ahead with the project.
I don't have a link, but I read in the paper that YQR's passenger numbers for 2013 are 1.22 million PAX through the facility. That's about 37,000 more people than 2012. I don't recall, but I believe the YQR terminal can handle 1.3 million PAX per year. So I would think with 8 years in a row of record passenger numbers, we will for sure see an expansion to the airport announced in the next couple of years, with construction to probably start in 2016/17. This is just my speculation.
After the expansion in '05, the terminal's capacity was 1.3 million. (But that figure could be now be 1.4-1.45 million due-to-the-fact that last year, the post-security area was expanded.)
In any case, an expansion would be an order in the near future.
After the expansion in '05, the terminal's capacity was 1.3 million. (But that figure could be now be 1.4-1.45 million due-to-the-fact that last year, the post-security area was expanded.)
In any case, an expansion would be an order in the near future.
I would assume that Regina has the same issue as Saskatoon with demand being quite variable through the day. Normally the 4:30 am to 9:00 am time period has long lines, and crowded conditions as all the aircraft that overnight get back to their hubs. After that early morning rush your down to one or two aircraft at a time. The lines at security are almost non-existent for most of the day.
It would also be interesting to see what happens over the next few winters with the Air Transat wide-body aircraft (A310 and A330) that come into Saskatoon and Regina. They are apparently adding 737-800 aircraft to the fleet. Likely that eventually means more flights but on slightly smaller aircraft.
It also looks like the airlines that operate the CRJ are slowly phasing them out for larger aircraft such as the Dash-8 400s.
Once Saskatoon is done with its expansion and Regina does its it might be quite a while before another expansion is needed. This would be especially true if the airlines reach the point where they start to add capacity by adding flights through the day or slowing increasing the size of the aircrafts during peak periods.
I really think Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg are all facing the same issues in terms of airports. That is the airlines that service them are likely to be reducing service on narrow bodies such as 737 for smaller planes like the Q400 and the CSeries taking people to and from hubs instead of the limited direct routes these cities have. The smaller planes will also likely take over routes between other Canadian cities but see limited service on the cross border routes.
from YQR.ca "Regina International Airport, is very busy this time of year with sun destination and holiday travel, it is recommended you arrive at the airport early 2.5 - 3 hours prior to your departure time and 3 hours or more if you are traveling to an international destination - to allow ample time for parking, check-in and the security process. Click here for more winter travel tips or check with your air carrier if you have any additional concerns."
I haven't travelled significantly in the last couple years but I used to and every once in a while on an early am flight I would be confronted with a big ass line all the way back to the news stand. The problem was the compressed number of sun destination flights in the winter months leaving early in the morning but it was compounded by CATSA only having half the security lines open. It was like CATSA never bothered checking flight loads when doing their staffing or they had multiple employees sick.
For the frequent flyers - are the lines still bad in the morning? Regularly bad or just once in a while? Having to get to the airport 2.5 to 3 hrs early as opposed to the normal 1 hr early really does call in to question the effectiveness and accessibility of air travel from your city. Who has time to show up at an airport 3hrs early for a weekly trip to Calgary or Toronto?
from YQR.ca "Regina International Airport, is very busy this time of year with sun destination and holiday travel, it is recommended you arrive at the airport early 2.5 - 3 hours prior to your departure time and 3 hours or more if you are traveling to an international destination - to allow ample time for parking, check-in and the security process. Click here for more winter travel tips or check with your air carrier if you have any additional concerns."
I haven't travelled significantly in the last couple years but I used to and every once in a while on an early am flight I would be confronted with a big ass line all the way back to the news stand. The problem was the compressed number of sun destination flights in the winter months leaving early in the morning but it was compounded by CATSA only having half the security lines open. It was like CATSA never bothered checking flight loads when doing their staffing or they had multiple employees sick.
For the frequent flyers - are the lines still bad in the morning? Regularly bad or just once in a while? Having to get to the airport 2.5 to 3 hrs early as opposed to the normal 1 hr early really does call in to question the effectiveness and accessibility of air travel from your city. Who has time to show up at an airport 3hrs early for a weekly trip to Calgary or Toronto?
Part of the issue is certainly security (and trust me, it's no better and may even be worse in other airports) but it's a combination of things. As the website says, a lack of parking makes leaving Regina an issue. More and more often, you have to park in the overflow parking which is a decent hike away from the terminal. Looking for a parking spot, then walking 10 minutes to the terminal can add close to 30 minutes to the flight prep. And yes, with more and more sunseekers, there are more and more long-term parking issues.
Part of the issue is certainly security (and trust me, it's no better and may even be worse in other airports) but it's a combination of things. As the website says, a lack of parking makes leaving Regina an issue. More and more often, you have to park in the overflow parking which is a decent hike away from the terminal. Looking for a parking spot, then walking 10 minutes to the terminal can add close to 30 minutes to the flight prep. And yes, with more and more sunseekers, there are more and more long-term parking issues.
No one I know drives themselves to the airport for a trip. We all either cab it or have friends/family drop us off. Is it really that common to drive oneself to the airport and park one's car for a week+?
No one I know drives themselves to the airport for a trip. We all either cab it or have friends/family drop us off. Is it really that common to drive oneself to the airport and park one's car for a week+?
You may not have a choice, ie early flight / late arrival that you don't wan't to trouble your friends/family. You may have kids that need car seats so you need your vehicle. 1+ Million people in Saskatchewan and only half of them live in Saskatoon or Regina, tough call to get family to drive you to the airport from Swift Current, Prince Albert etc.
You may not have a choice, ie early flight / late arrival that you don't wan't to trouble your friends/family. You may have kids that need car seats so you need your vehicle. 1+ Million people in Saskatchewan and only half of them live in Saskatoon or Regina, tough call to get family to drive you to the airport from Swift Current, Prince Albert etc.
Fair enough re: out of towners... But the time of day has never really been a barrier to getting family/friends to help. But I guess the people I know sort of feel an obligation of sorts no matter the time. A blessing when it's you leaving/returning... a curse when it's you doing the driving.
Regarding long term parking though.. there will never be a large parkade in front; IIRC, the airport authority doesn't want to obstruct the view of downtown from the terminal. I suppose they could try something off to the side... possibly...
Fair enough re: out of towners... But the time of day has never really been a barrier to getting family/friends to help. But I guess the people I know sort of feel an obligation of sorts no matter the time. A blessing when it's you leaving/returning... a curse when it's you doing the driving.
Regarding long term parking though.. there will never be a large parkade in front; IIRC, the airport authority doesn't want to obstruct the view of downtown from the terminal. I suppose they could try something off to the side... possibly...
I used to use the airport parking lot frequently - depends on the length of trip. I don't know the relative cab/parking rates now but a couple years ago for a 3 day or less trip it was cheaper to drive and park. Or if you were running late and didn't have time to wait 20 min for a cab that may or may not show up - just drive. Its also a lot safer leaving your car at the airport for a few days than at your work parking lot (my work parking lot anyway).
I was quite disappointed that there are no immediate plans to expand parking at YQR other than paving some distant satellite lot. No that it matters to me now as the few flights I take now are personal and I cab it from home.
No one I know drives themselves to the airport for a trip. We all either cab it or have friends/family drop us off. Is it really that common to drive oneself to the airport and park one's car for a week+?
It also depends on how frequently you travel. If you have one-two business trip every week or every other week, then there is a point where you don't want to impose on friends and family to be constantly taking out to the airport. Not certain about Regina but Saskatoon has a bit of a taxi shortage at times.
There is public transit (Saskatoon) however it is geared to geared to connecting downtown with the airport. Never understood why STC did not have their inter-city buses swing by the airport on some routes. That mighty pickup passengers from some of the smaller communities.
It also depends on how frequently you travel. If you have one-two business trip every week or every other week, then there is a point where you don't want to impose on friends and family to be constantly taking out to the airport. Not certain about Regina but Saskatoon has a bit of a taxi shortage at times.
There is public transit (Saskatoon) however it is geared to geared to connecting downtown with the airport. Never understood why STC did not have their inter-city buses swing by the airport on some routes. That mighty pickup passengers from some of the smaller communities.
That's actually an interesting idea; having a secondary drop-off/pick-up at the airports of Regina and Saskatoon could bring the STC a bit of a passenger boost. I wonder if they've thought about this yet.
Fair enough re: out of towners... But the time of day has never really been a barrier to getting family/friends to help. But I guess the people I know sort of feel an obligation of sorts no matter the time. A blessing when it's you leaving/returning... a curse when it's you doing the driving.
Regarding long term parking though.. there will never be a large parkade in front; IIRC, the airport authority doesn't want to obstruct the view of downtown from the terminal. I suppose they could try something off to the side... possibly...
The reason as to why there will be no parkade [within the 'near' future] is due to financial priorities. The terminal needs to be expanded first before any other major project can be undertaken.
I wanted a bit more historical information to see the growth, so I went and looked up some tables in the CANSIM section (2000-2010 = 401-0039, 2010-2012 = 401-0044)... not sure why these tables don't jibe with each other; they appear to be the same topic (Transborder passengers), but, nevertheless, I made a graph as it was easier to see (in case any of you were curious):
You can definitely tell when the Saskatchewan economy started to pick up.
I wanted a bit more historical information to see the growth, so I went and looked up some tables in the CANSIM section (2000-2010 = 401-0039, 2010-2012 = 401-0044)... not sure why these tables don't jibe with each other; they appear to be the same topic (Transborder passengers), but, nevertheless, I made a graph as it was easier to see (in case any of you were curious):
You can definitely tell when the Saskatchewan economy started to pick up.
And about a third of these are not U.S. but rather international passengers (Mexico, Cuba, DR, Jamaica, etc.)
Transborder, and international are two different catagories. I'm pretty sure those transborder numbers are US only.
You can tell when we started to get the United flights to Denver and Chicago, and the Westjet flights to Vegas and Phoenix. That is when our transborder numbers really shot up. We went from 2 flights a day to Minneapolis, to 5 flights a day with Denver and Chicago added. And then even more with 3 times a week to Vegas and 3 times a week to Phoenix. It makes it that much more convenient to fly transborder out of YQR and YXE than it did before.
Transborder, and international are two different catagories. I'm pretty sure those transborder numbers are US only.
You can tell when we started to get the United flights to Denver and Chicago, and the Westjet flights to Vegas and Phoenix. That is when our transborder numbers really shot up. We went from 2 flights a day to Minneapolis, to 5 flights a day with Denver and Chicago added. And then even more with 3 times a week to Vegas and 3 times a week to Phoenix. It makes it that much more convenient to fly transborder out of YQR and YXE than it did before.
Yes, I did not see the Transborder title on the graph. I was looking at this chart:
Canada's 20 busiest airports by domestic, transborder and international passenger traffic[edit]
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That's about 37,000 more people than 2012. I don't recall, but I believe the YQR terminal can handle 1.3 million PAX per year. So I would think with 8 years in a row of record passenger numbers, we will for sure see an expansion to the airport announced in the next couple of years, with construction to probably start in 2016/17. This is just my speculation.
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