General Aviation Thread

[DTcrawler]

I wonder how much of that was AC’s own fault vs. delays caused by outside factors at two of its hubs YYZ and YUL.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

And in other news, Air Canada stock drops 3.82% today, after news that it was the worst North American airline in terms of on-time performance.

Is that it?

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

I wonder how much of that was AC’s own fault vs. delays caused by outside factors at two of its hubs YYZ and YUL.

All Canadian airlines face the same weather conditions and such. Not an excuse. If anything, they should be better equipped to deal with outside factors.

[RomanR27]

They reap what they sow. AC contributes to the crowding at YUL/YYZ by shoving everyone they can through there.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

They reap what they sow. AC contributes to the crowding at YUL/YYZ by shoving everyone they can through there.

Very good point. It truly amazes me the lengths they'll go to just to avoid boosting service at YOW.

[acottawa]

I recently got a change in message for transatlantic flights I have booked in May. They pushed the arrival time back without changing the departure. I am guessing their solution is to build more cushion into the schedule.

[DTcrawler]

Just an FYI to those who haven't already seen, Costco is selling $500 Porter certificates for $450. Some easy savings if you already know you're flying with them. Can also get an e-certificate on costco.ca.

[rocketphish]

Flair Airlines owes $67 million in unpaid taxes as CRA opens door to seize carrier's property
Airline's CEO says the company and CRA have agreed on a payment plan

The Canadian Press
Posted: Jan 29, 2024 2:45 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Court documents show Flair Airlines owes the federal government $67.2 million in unpaid taxes, prompting the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to obtain an order for the seizure and sale of the carrier's property.

The money relates to import duties on the roughly 20 Boeing 737 Max jetliners that make up the budget airline's fleet and "which were needed to meet the travel demand in a post-COVID world," CEO Stephen Jones said.

However, he said the Federal Court order obtained by the tax agency in November has no impact on the carrier's operations, which have expanded over the past year and ramped up competition with rival airlines, and that the company has agreed to settle the debt.

"We have a mutually agreed-upon payment plan with CRA to pay these importation duties, and we are current with that plan," Jones said in an emailed statement to CBC News, adding that the terms of the deal are confidential.

<more>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fla...rder-1.7098045

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by Harley613

That's a match made in heaven. In your face, Air Canada! I'm still boiling that Westjet was allowed to buy Sunwing, but this softens the blow a little.

Do you think with Porter - Air Transat, we might see more flights direct to YOW with Transat with transfers to Porter's new fleet based here?

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Do you think with Porter - Air Transat, we might see more flights direct to YOW with Transat with transfers to Porter's new fleet based here?

I don't think Transat has the fleet flexibility in the summer to offer anything from YOW - Europe right now. Their partnership will focus on YYZ/YUL connections (hence new western Canada routes on Porter to YUL) for the 2024 summer.
Perhaps an LGW route in 2025 on Transat would be a possibility.

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by MountainView

I don't think Transat has the fleet flexibility in the summer to offer anything from YOW - Europe right now. Their partnership will focus on YYZ/YUL connections (hence new western Canada routes on Porter to YUL) for the 2024 summer.
Perhaps an LGW route in 2025 on Transat would be a possibility.

That's a shame. So the issues with on-time performance and overcrowding at YYZ/YUL will continue, and even outside players aren't creative enough to try something different.

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

That's a shame. So the issues with on-time performance and overcrowding at YYZ/YUL will continue, and even outside players aren't creative enough to try something different.

It's not necessarily their creativity. In my opinion, any likely many others, Porter is creating enough feed along with YOW's O&D to generate a feasible LGW route for example. Let's not forget, AC flew to LHR off mostly O&D for years (pre-pandemic obviously). The issue with Transat is that a third of their fleet may be ground this summer with known issues on their A321 engines (an aircraft that can, and does fly, trans-Atlantic from YYZ/YUL.

article regarding engine issues

[ottaco]

Hey everyone I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but me and my friends were looking to go on vacation using a vacation package to Punta Cana, and we wanted to leave from Ottawa, but we kept finding more resort deals from Montreal or certain resorts that only have deals from Montreal. Does anyone know somewhere I can look, like a website or such, or any advice? it would really nice to leave from Ottawa instead of Montreal.

[qprcanada]

Try tripcentral.ca but it's usually better to buy direct from the tour operator, like Sunwing for example.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by ottaco

Hey everyone I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but me and my friends were looking to go on vacation using a vacation package to Punta Cana, and we wanted to leave from Ottawa, but we kept finding more resort deals from Montreal or certain resorts that only have deals from Montreal. Does anyone know somewhere I can look, like a website or such, or any advice? it would really nice to leave from Ottawa instead of Montreal.

Welcome to the forum!

[YOWflier]

Go to a site like selloffvacations.com (on at least an iPad but better a full computing OS). Enter your trip details and search, then when the initial results appear perform additional filtering by nonstop/direct flights only. You can do other filtering as desired too (star rating, price, amenities, etc.).

Another interesting option is Costco travel, if you’re a member. They often offer upgraded rooms or other non-standard inclusions, including Costco shop cards.

Looks like PUJ is served nonstop from YOW on days 1=Mon, 3, 5, 6, 7 by either AC, Transat, or Flair (6). No idea if Flair does packages or flights only.

[ottaco]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Welcome to the forum!

thank you I've been a long time viewer of the threads

Originally Posted by YOWflier

Go to a site like selloffvacations.com (on at least an iPad but better a full computing OS). Enter your trip details and search, then when the initial results appear perform additional filtering by nonstop/direct flights only. You can do other filtering as desired too (star rating, price, amenities, etc.).

Another interesting option is Costco travel, if you’re a member. They often offer upgraded rooms or other non-standard inclusions, including Costco shop cards.

Looks like PUJ is served nonstop from YOW on days 1=Mon, 3, 5, 6, 7 by either AC, Transat, or Flair (6). No idea if Flair does packages or flights only.

Thanks for the information. That website is great. Another thing that could be the reason I can't find a trip is because we planned it to be in October and buy the tickets by August. For example, there's a resort called Riu Repbulica where you can't find any package for it when you want to leave from Ottawa, but when you say you want to leave Montreal, you can book it. which is quite unfortunate as its a resort that we are leaning towards doing.

[Djeffery]

Make sure you read lots of recent reviews of the resorts. I have had multiple friends go to various resorts this winter so far and they have had lots of complaints about shoddy service, resorts not very clean and a real shortage of drinks and food (wine and potatoes were a common shortage).

As for time of year, yeah outside the winter, the options are usually limited to the major airports like Montreal and Toronto. The package deals from the regional airports usually don't ramp up until well into November or even in December for some.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Make sure you read lots of recent reviews of the resorts. I have had multiple friends go to various resorts this winter so far and they have had lots of complaints about shoddy service, resorts not very clean and a real shortage of drinks and food (wine and potatoes were a common shortage).

Agreed. Even then a resort that was good last month can become bad this month. Of course part of the issue is how well they can solve problems. It’s difficult to avoid problems all together, but the key is can/will they fix it or will they ignore it, and let it persist.

[YOWflier]

So far I see service to PUJ from YOW commencing October 30 with Transat. I’m not sure I see any advantage to booking this soon for something so far out, especially not in a peak season.

[ottaco]

Thanks for the help from all of you. I should've clarified that we aren't booking right now, but we were confused with why we can't book this resort from Ottawa but we can from Montreal, hence why I came here for help, but knowing these tips, website, and dates that you guys gave will help a lot.