Atlantic Canada airport thread

[Helladog]

I still like the idea of an airport on highway 7 between Saint John and Freddy, to replace the ones in both cities. I'd be insulted to loose the airport entirely to another city.

[Helladog]

If Install a helipad in my back yard, can I call it an airport?

[Marty_Mcfly]

St. John's International Airport has released a pdf highlighting their ten-year capital plan for the expansion and upgrades to the airport. It looks like a substantial expansion is expected for the building. Check out the pdf linked below for more details about the ideas and timelines of the project.

http://www.stjohnsairport.com/media_uploads/pdf/310.pdf

[Steelcowboy]

I couldn't help but to notice that the past couple weeks, the once a week cargo flight from Hamilton to Moncton and then onward to Cologne/Bonn Germany has changed its routing to Ham-Hali-Cologne...The flight didn't operate this week at all. I watched them load the plane about a month ago in Moncton and it was pretty much a full plane. What happened? all of a sudden the cargo dried up or moved to Halifax. Everyone was so joyeus to get this flight and within 2 months it has disappeared.

[MonctonRad]

Direct flight from Moncton to St. John's being considered
Friday, July 13, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Viola Pruss

Business community being surveyed on viability of new route

People traveling between Moncton and St. John's could soon get a direct flight between the two cities.

It only depends on the opinion of the local business community.

The Greater Moncton International and St. John's International Airport brought out a survey yesterday to find out whether members of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce are interested in a direct airline connection between the two cities.

Julie Pondant, corporate communications specialist for the Greater Moncton International Airport, said the survey should determine the level of interest in the non-stop flight.

read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=9354

[statbass]

Source: The Telegram, July 14, 2012

St. John’s International Airport is poised for another record year of passenger traffic, with an 8.4 per cent increase in travel over 2011’s total at the same time last year.

From the beginning of January to the end of June this year, there have been 660,666 arrivals and departures at the airport, compared with 609,417 over the same period in 2011, which is the busiest year on record for the airport so far, with about 1.4 million people travelling through the airport.

Every month this year so far has seen an increase in passengers, with the biggest bump coming in the first four months of the year; each month from January to April saw double-digit percentage increases. February saw 14.5 per cent more passengers this year over last, April had 13 per cent more passengers, and January and March each saw an increase of 10.2 per cent.
Marie Manning, the airport authority’s director of marketing and community relations, said the strong St. John’s economy is the reason for the increase.
“That’s led to a lot more business travel,” she said. “And also because our economy’s really strong, there’s a high level of disposable income within our community, so more people are travelling for leisure as well.”

Combine that with rising tourism numbers over the last couple of years, and the higher traffic numbers at the airport aren’t a surprise, she said. St. John’s is also an increasingly popular conference destination she said, which is helping to spread traffic out beyond the busy May to August season.

...

http://www.thetelegram.com/Business/...-every-month/1

... and even more growth if a direct flight can be established between Moncton and St. John's, as mentioned by MonctonRad above. This would be a definite plus for both regions.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by statbass

... and even more growth if a direct flight can be established between Moncton and St. John's, as mentioned by MonctonRad above. This would be a definite plus for both regions.

For a brief time about 10 years ago (when CanJet was a fully scheduled airline), there was a direct 737 service between Moncton and St. John's. I believe it was popular. The service disappeared when CanJet reverted to a charter service only. It would be good to see this re-established.

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Direct flight from Moncton to St. John's being considered
Friday, July 13, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Viola Pruss

Business community being surveyed on viability of new route

People traveling between Moncton and St. John's could soon get a direct flight between the two cities.

It only depends on the opinion of the local business community.

The Greater Moncton International and St. John's International Airport brought out a survey yesterday to find out whether members of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce are interested in a direct airline connection between the two cities.

Julie Pondant, corporate communications specialist for the Greater Moncton International Airport, said the survey should determine the level of interest in the non-stop flight.

read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=9354

Well lets look at reality. AC/Jazz - Making too much money having pax go through Halifax. Westjet - Aircraft have too much capacity and needed elsewhere. Porter - Our only hope but not enough aircraft at the moment. It is my understanding that if you talk to the business community, they want direct flights AND alot of frequency based on other information sources I have read in other markets. I think the service would only support regional jets. So, I hope I'm wrong but, AC won't do it, Westjet can't do it and Porter wishes they could. So, anybody want to start an airline and service this city pair? I hear you will make all kinds of money.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

Well lets look at reality. AC/Jazz - Making too much money having pax go through Halifax. Westjet - Aircraft have too much capacity and needed elsewhere. Porter - Our only hope but not enough aircraft at the moment. It is my understanding that if you talk to the business community, they want direct flights AND alot of frequency based on other information sources I have read in other markets. I think the service would only support regional jets. So, I hope I'm wrong but, AC won't do it, Westjet can't do it and Porter wishes they could. So, anybody want to start an airline and service this city pair? I hear you will make all kinds of money.

Westjet's new regional airline perhaps?

[Sunnybrae]

I thought of that but it was my understanding that it was going to focus on western Canada first so it could be years before it swings this way. Same with Porter, any new aircraft they are getting are heading south to open new U.S. destinations from Toronto.

As I have said before, I'm sure the airlines know where the pax are going and what the traffic could be, the question is how much money can they make on this city pair versus other routes.

"People traveling between Moncton and St. John's could soon get a direct flight between the two cities.

It only depends on the opinion of the local business community."

Direct flight from Moncton to St. John's being considered
Friday, July 13, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Viola Pruss

Contrary to what the quote says, it's not the Moncton business community that descides where an airline opens a new route. At most, maybe our airport can intice an airline by offering a lower landing fee, other than that, it's not like either airport is slot rescricted. I'm not on the inside so I could be way off base and maybe Moncton has an "in" with one of the airlines, I hope so.

[MonctonRad]

Some interesting statistics regarding the Moncton Area Control Centre operated by Nav Canada

Employees - 230 (120 of whom are air traffic controllers)
Number of flights handled per year - 447,000 (1,224 per day)
Area of responsibility - all of Atlantic Canada & eastern Quebec (920,000 sq km)

Virtually all flights between eastern North America & Europe pass through Moncton ACC airspace.

[MonctonRad]

It was reported in the T&T today that the Greater Moncton International Airport has been accepted for the NEXUS program.

[MonctonRad]

Further to the above, NEXUS had previously only been available in the country's eight largest airports (including Halifax Stanfield).

The program has now been extended to five additional airports, including the GMIA and the international airport in St. John's NL.

So, three of the 13 airports with NEXUS will be from our region.

[SignalHillHiker]

^ Sorry if it's a stupid question - what is Nexus?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

^ Sorry if it's a stupid question - what is Nexus?

NEXUS is a program where pre-approved frequent flyers to the US can get preferential treatment when passing through security screening at airports. You go to the head of the line at screening (so to speak) and, being deemed to be low risk, are much less likely to be taken aside for secondary screening and inspection.

You have to apply for a NEXUS card, and need approval from the US State Department and Foreign Affairs Canada (I believe). The cost is around $50. It might be a bit of a hassle, but frequent business travellers appreciate it.

NEXUS would be a valuable selling point for airlines thinking of establishing new cross border routes.

[SignalHillHiker]

^ Fantastic.

Well, then - congrats to us both!

[Smevo]

Cross-posted from the Sydney thread...

http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/L...-renovations/1

Laura Jean Grant - Cape Breton Post

Bernie MacNeil, with Joneljim Concrete Construction, goes over plans for the new security area at JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport, Friday afternoon. Renovation work at the airport began Thursday and is expected to take approximately six months.

Airport undergoing renovations


Published on August 24, 2012
By Laura Jean Grant - Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Renovation work is underway at the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport but officials expect there will be minimal impact on passengers during construction.

Helen MacInnis, CEO of the airport, said the project started Thursday and is expected to last about six months. The work is part of a $5 million capital improvement plan by the Sydney Airport Authority that will see several areas of the airport upgraded.

...

Seating capacity in the departure lounge will increase from 110 seats to 238 seats.

...

According to statistics provided by the airport, passenger traffic at the Sydney airport has grown 25 per cent in the last four years — the passenger count was 139,000 in 2011, up from 91,700 in 2008. The two major carriers operating out of the Sydney airport are Air Canada Jazz, which operates on a year-round basis, and WestJet, which has been offering seasonal service since 2009.

MacInnis said they’re seeing continued growth in passenger numbers in the first half of 2012 and the renovation project will allow them to better serve their growing customer base.

...

In June, the airport also received $363,000 through Transport Canada’s airports capital assistance program to purchase a runway condition reporting system and to replace the airport’s emergency power system.

...

[SignalHillHiker]

St. John's airport workers poised to strike

[MonctonRad]

Interesting article in the T&T today:

Ron Robichaud, the CEO of the GMIA made a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce the other day.

I can't recall the whole article, but here are a few highlights:

- they expect the GMIA to reach an annual passenger volume of 625,000 next year.
- this will trigger a review by the airport authority regarding expansion of the terminal, as the current terminal is rated for a passenger volume of about 650,000.
- in particular, they will look at enlargening the post security lounge and adding another loading bridge.
- the airport authority expects that the GMIA may exceed Halifax Stanfield in terms of cargo volume in the next 1-2 years.

[q12]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

- the airport authority expects that the GMIA may exceed Halifax Stanfield in terms of cargo volume in the next 1-2 years.

I doubt that.

With the longest runway in the Maritimes about to open this fall, cargo volume and the number of carriers is expected to increase at Stanfield significantly. Add in a booming economy, and I think YQM is just throwing out some more classic Moncton B.S.