Flight to Toronto upgraded
Published Thursday September 8th, 2011
D1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Passengers arriving at Fredericton International Airport on Wednesday were greeted with sugar-coated cookies emblazoned with Air Canada's maple leaf symbol in bright red icing as the Fredericton International Airport Authority celebrated new aircraft on its daily flights to Toronto.
Air Canada Express, formerly Air Canada Jazz, has upgraded its aircraft on the run between the capital city and Ontario with Bombardier-manufactured Q400s instead of the older Bombardier regional jets.
Audrey Hawkins travels regularly from her home in Winnipeg to visit her mother and sister in Fredericton and she enjoyed the new wings.
"It's so much nicer. It's quieter, more roomy and much more comfortable," Hawkins said.
Sonya Hope, another frequent traveller to Toronto, also gave her trip a top score.
"The plane is much nicer. I've taken this flight several times before and you can just tell it's been upgraded. There's a lot more leg room and the seats are a lot more comfortable," Hope said.
Air Canada Express ordered 15 of the turboprops with an option on 15 more for deliveries this spring.
Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said the design of the aircraft has a noise and vibration suppression system.
"Our overall year-over-year winter capacity between Fredericton and Toronto will remain very similar, as we are replacing four 50-seat regional jet flights a day with three daily 74-seat new Bombardier Q400 aircraft," Arthur said.
"Our adjusted schedule to Toronto facilitates convenient connections to the rest of our domestic and international networks.
"It is also the most fuel efficient aircraft in its class, burning less fuel per seat than most regional jets and narrow-bodied aircraft."
Airport authority CEO David Innes was pleased to see the new roomier aircraft land on the Fredericton tarmac, but he is disappointed to hear that Air Canada may cut the four flights per day to three with the new service.
That would represent a net gain of 22 seats per day for the capital city airport.
"It looks like a Dash-8, but it's much more powerful and faster than a Dash-8 ever was," Innes said. "Pound for pound, it delivers a lot of service very economically ... Hopefully the increased economy will be passed onto consumers."
Having connectivity to Toronto is important to the city's business community and the travelling public, Innes said.
The airport is going to continue to pitch its case with the airline industry to increase landings here.
Normal traffic is 500-600 seats per day in and out of Fredericton. Annually, the airport sees 135,000 passengers depart and 135,000 passengers arrive through its gates.
The purchase of the 74-seat turboprops is expected to put Air Canada in competition with Porter Airways at the Toronto end of the routing.
Looking ahead to the winter travel season, Innes said Fredericton will have increased capacity with winter flights to sunny destinations, particularly in Mexico.
"We have quite a bit more capacity this winter than we had last year ... We're getting a longer season this year and significantly more seats than last year," Innes said.
Punta Cana in the Domincan Republic and Varadero, Cuba, will be on the winter travel itineraries out of Fredericton.
http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast....rticle/1438262
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