Atlantic Canada airport thread

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by Walk then Run

Not another low cost airlines

Any bets on how long this one may last? I give it two years tops! May give us another option if they mean Atlantic Canada when they say Eastern.



Full article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/jetl...line-1.2696615

It could work if they copy Porter and bring a similar product to western Canada, but by Eastern I'm betting they mean Toronto and Montreal.

It's also curious that they would brand themselves as a discount carrier to launch in 2015, and go directly up against WestJet Encore which is focussing primarily on the west for the first portion of its network.

[Josh73]

Originally Posted by Walk then Run

Well Monctonrad may just get his wish, I just noticed a survey on the GMIA website:


http://www.cyqm.ca/en/home/flightinf...eydetails.aspx

Hasn't that survey been there for a long time? I recall filling it out at least a year ago.

[magee_b]

WestJet Encore announces first Maritime destination

CALGARY, July 21, 2014 /CNW/ - WestJet announced today it will launch twice-daily, non-stop service between Toronto and Fredericton, New Brunswick, effective April 15, 2015. Flights will be operated by WestJet Encore using its fleet of 78-seat, Canadian-made Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft.

Full Details: http://westjet2.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=906

[MonctonRad]

Good news. Nothing like a little competition for Air Canada to keep them on their toes. I expect more destinations fro Westjet Encore in the future…...

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Good news. Nothing like a little competition for Air Canada to keep them on their toes. I expect more destinations fro Westjet Encore in the future…...

They've confirmed interest in other airports in the region. IIRC Saint John, Gander, and maybe another one or two are possible.

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by JHikka

They've confirmed interest in other airports in the region. IIRC Saint John, Gander, and maybe another one or two are possible.

They've been looking heavily into Gander and flew into there regularly about 10 years ago but couldn't justify the run with a 737. The smaller planes for Encore will likely make it work. The only thing that leads me to question it is that WestJet recently made Deer Lake a year round destination on the main line, so Gander would create 3 WestJet airports in the province, all within driving distance of another. Seems like an Air Canada move.

WestJet has offered seasonal service into Sydney for quite a while, they could be a strong candidate for Encore as well.

[UptownJeff]

It would be great to see porter come into Saint John with a direct flight to Toronto island. While I'm all for another carrier to come in to give AC some competition the low fares will likely be short lived to attract customers; then back to regular AC levels. My guess would be that until there is some news on Energy East we won't see much concrete activity on the Saint John front!

[Taeolas]

Hearing the times of Westjet for Fredericton, my only concern is that they might be missing the boat there. They seem to be out of sync if you want to use them to connect to other flights, and too late in the day to appeal much for the business crowd.

I've beeen travelling the past few days so I can't check directly for my usual travel plans to know for sure.

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Hearing the times of Westjet for Fredericton, my only concern is that they might be missing the boat there. They seem to be out of sync if you want to use them to connect to other flights, and too late in the day to appeal much for the business crowd.

I've beeen travelling the past few days so I can't check directly for my usual travel plans to know for sure.

Yah I noticed that too.... Encore doesn't want to overnight the plane in Fredericton. Cost savings I guess. Some connections will not be available but at least they still get a flight to Toronto and some competition.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

Yah I noticed that too.... Encore doesn't want to overnight the plane in Fredericton. Cost savings I guess. Some connections will not be available but at least they still get a flight to Toronto and some competition.

Well I don't travel much yet (next year I might look for more travel). Mainly it's a yearly trip to Las Vegas for me. As they are right now, the flights are awkward at best for connections. Going one way the 7PM flight back to Freddy seems like it would work. But the flights from Freddy are too tight to make Westjet's connections to Vegas.

Then again, I did notice a few years ago, I emailed Westjet and pointed out how awkward the Moncton to Vegas by way of Toronto connections were, and now the links are actually quite good; so maybe there will be some adjustments after the Freddy flights start and they see how the demand lines up.

[ghYHZ]

Gander International Terminal on Endangered List

The International Departures Lounge at the Gander Airport is now on the Heritage Canada - National Trust Top Ten Endangered Places for 2014. It’s listed as the "the most important Modernist Room in Canada” and could be demolished as the airport authority downsizes to a terminal that reflects the current traffic levels…..regional flights on CRJs, B1900s, E190s and ‘737s.

Here’s a link to an article in the National Post from June 22, 2014:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06...growing-costs/

A few shots I took in July 1976:









……and today:









Other than winter flights to sun destinations, the last scheduled International flight….a Air Canada L1011 to Heathrow was transferred to YYT (St. John’s) in the late ‘80s.

There’s so much history in that Terminal.....and sadly, opening in 1959, it probably never saw its full potential. This was right at the dawn of the jet age with the new ‘707s and DC-8s now capable of overflying Gander on transatlantic flights. But go back just a couple of years before and all the majors were there with their Constellations, DC-4s, DC-6s etc......TWA, Pan Am, TCA, BOAC, El Al, Air France, Alitalia, Sabena, SAS, Swissair etc. Most had extensive operations there with crew bases, dispatch etc.

Even Aeroflot, Interflug (East Germany) CSA-Czechoslovak and Cubana stopped for fuel on their way to and from Cuba and many travelers got their first taste of freedom there when they defected during the stopover in the Gander Terminal.

An article from the Chicago Tribune in 1985:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1...fueling-lounge

All the infrastructure is still there and probably will be even if the terminal is downsized to handle refueling or diversions just like it did on 9-11…..that fateful day when nearly 10,000 people just dropped in…..nearly doubling the town’s population and they all had to be housed and fed for several days (watch NBC’s Tom Brokaw Gander piece here):

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/p...r_brokaw_piece

Display cases of transatlantic aviation history were once placed throughout the terminal but have now been relocated to the domestic side where they are more accessible to the general public. Perhaps these displays, along with those in another aviation museum elsewhere in town can all be brought together in an expanded museum in the historic terminal.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And just 90 km down the road from Gander you’ll find another piece of aviation history: the original Pan American Airways Terminal at Botwood where the “flying boats” landed on their way between the LaGuardia Marine Air Terminal in New York and Ireland

[MonctonRad]

The best possible future for the old air terminal in Gander would be as a historic site and museum. This building should be preserved, both for architectural merit and for historical significance.

I wonder how possible this is?

[ghYHZ]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The best possible future for the old air terminal in Gander would be as a historic site and museum. This building should be preserved, both for architectural merit and for historical significance.

I wonder how possible this is?

Yes, perhaps the domestic terminal portion of the building that was added to the front around 1980 is what should be demolished and the original International area repurposed to serve all flights......retaining its historical features:

The newer domestic façade:

[Sunnybrae]

So it has been reported that Westjet will aquire 4 used Boeing 767-300ERW's to fly to Hawaii instead of the usual 757's they had on wet lease from Thomas Cook for late 2015. Hopefully this will be the precursor to expand international operations with widebodies for Westjet.

[MonctonRad]

from the GMIA website:

Important Traffic Growth at GMIA for first half of 2014
August 5, 2014

DIEPPE – The Greater Moncton International Airport (GMIA) is proud to report a continuous growth in passenger traffic with more than a 4.7% increase in June alone and an overall 7% year-to-date during the first half of 2014. On the cargo side, volumes have been steadily increasing with numbers over 11% in June and with a year-to-date total of 4.7%.

This increase in air travel is attributed to a very successful winter charter season with new destinations and added frequency. Another key to the growth is the continued success of all our airline partners. A greater number of mobile workers going mainly to Alberta on mostly chartered flights represented a considerable addition to the number of weekly flights, more than doubling since last fall. On the cargo front, C.A.L. Cargo Airlines has been serving our market since April operating a B747 with a weekly flight to Europe mainly transporting seafood from our region.

“We are pleased to share our growth news with the community as this success is directly linked to a strong and healthy economy in our region. Our cargo vision has taken off with the weekly cargo flight with C.A.L. Cargo Airlines, and we are grateful to our logistics partners for helping us achieve such a challenge. Above all, we wish to thank the community for your continued support of air service from New Brunswick’s busiest airport”, states Johanne Gallant, acting President and CEO of the Greater Moncton International Airport Authority.

Personal note - If that 7% increase in passenger volume holds up for the rest of the year, that would mean an increase in the annual passenger volume at the GMIA to 693,000.

Of course, with the demise of the United link to Newark, this growth will be difficult to maintain, but there are other opportunities for growth out there, such as the recently announced seasonal Moncton-Miami link to service the cruise ship industry.

I found out just a couple of days ago that there are 13 direct flights per week from the GMIA to Fort MacMurray using the Canada North charter service. Incidentally, it will also be Canada North doing the GMIA-Miami route in the winter time too…………

If the 4.7% growth in air freight continues (this is more likely than the increase in passenger volumes), then air freight through the GMIA will increase to 25,300 tonnes in 2014.

[Steelcowboy]

I found this interesting tidbit from Cargo AirLines website. This looks to be a good deal for CAL and our area. Also, they purchased another Boeing 747-400ERF to be in service in November. I believe the other 2 they have purchased are suppose to be in service by September. The past month has seen the TNT B747-400 freighter. Its a nice sight on Sundays.


http://www.aircargonews.net/news/sin...anada-gsa.html

[MonctonRad]

My eldest son is flying out to Fort Mac today to try his luck out there.

He's using WestJet, and it's interesting to note that his flight to Edmonton is a direct "one stop", with a short touchdown in Hamilton. The departures board however states the destination is only Hamilton.

It's too bad that this sort of information isn't captured on the arrivals/departures board for the GMIA. For example, the Air Canada flights to Montreal are correctly displayed on the board as "Montreal/Toronto City" because they carry on to Billy Bishop. The Porter flights to Ottawa should similarly be displayed as "Ottawa/Toronto City", but instead list only Ottawa as the destination on the departures board.

There should be some consistency here. If you can carry on to an ultimate destination without deplaning, then this still counts as a "direct" flight. People should be aware that you can fly "direct" to Edmonton from Moncton.

There is a difference between a "direct" flight and a "non-stop" flight……

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

My eldest son is flying out to Fort Mac today to try his luck out there.

He's using WestJet, and it's interesting to note that his flight to Edmonton is a direct "one stop", with a short touchdown in Hamilton. The departures board however states the destination is only Hamilton.

It's too bad that this sort of information isn't captured on the arrivals/departures board for the GMIA. For example, the Air Canada flights to Montreal are correctly displayed on the board as "Montreal/Toronto City" because they carry on to Billy Bishop. The Porter flights to Ottawa should similarly be displayed as "Ottawa/Toronto City", but instead list only Ottawa as the destination on the departures board.

There should be some consistency here. If you can carry on to an ultimate destination without deplaning, then this still counts as a "direct" flight. People should be aware that you can fly "direct" to Edmonton from Moncton.

There is a difference between a "direct" flight and a "non-stop" flight……

So many people don't understand this though and it's a huge barrier to air traffic growth at smaller airports. For instance our Porter flights this summer originated at Billy Bishop and then touched down in Ottawa and Halifax before finally landing in Stephenville. Alot of people read that information and assumed they had to change planes at each airport despite the fact the flight was clearly listed as "direct". For the record, unofficial numbers on Porter this summer are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 90%-95% load factors, outstanding really.

But I have heard of several situations, families with young children especially, that refused to take it because they thought they would have to manage their way through 4 airports with their kids. Just a pure lack of travel knowledge, but most small airports have schedules that look like that. It scares off travellers who instead look for non-stop flights into a larger hub airport (like St. John's or Halifax depending on the province) and then drive 4-5 hours to their final destination rather than booking direct into Gander, Stephenville, or Sydney.

[NBNYer]

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/a...l?isAutoPlay=1


$13.5 million expansion at GMIA (Moncton) for a 3000 square meter fire station and maintenance facility. Construction is expected to be complete by July, 2015.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by NBNYer

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/a...l?isAutoPlay=1


$13.5 million expansion at GMIA (Moncton) for a 3000 square meter fire station and maintenance facility. Construction is expected to be complete by July, 2015.

Here is the actual GMIA press release:

A New Airport Operations Building Under Construction
September 8, 2014

DIEPPE – The Greater Moncton International Airport (GMIA) is proud to announce the
construction of a new 3065 square meter airport operations building. The 13.5 million
dollar project is fully funded through the Airside Infrastructure Rehabilitation Fund (AIR
Fund) and is due to open in July 2015.

This building will be combining three separate buildings into one to improve operational
efficiency and to replace aging infrastructure. The fire hall, electrical and mechanical
maintenance garage will be under the same roof in a new energy efficient facility that will
also meet environmental sustainable building guidelines. The design is based on practices
adopted in airports across Canada.

The location will be to the west of the airport terminal building on airport ground and will
be visible from Aviation Boulevard. The vehicle response time in the event of an emergency
was key when choosing the site.

“We are pleased that this major project is underway. Avondale Construction, who was
awarded the project, has broken the ground this past week. This new building will add
much efficiency to the airport.”, states Johanne Gallant, interim President and CEO of the
Greater Moncton International Airport Authority.

Also, I was thinking of re-posting this article from the Dieppe thread in any event, since it deals with a vital piece of airport infrastructure:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

New Airside Cold Storage Facility Being Built at the GMIA.



Xtreme Cold advertises itself as a "multi temperature airside facility". The term "airside" is important as I think this implies direct tarmac access (like Fed Ex, Purolator and UPS have). As a cold storage facility, presumably this enterprise will be meant for seafood exports overseas. "3PL" BTW means "third party logistics".

Opening in 2015, this will be an important piece in the GMIA's plan to become a major air cargo hub.

So, with both a new $13.5M operations building and a new airside cold storage facility under construction, this is shaping up to be another banner year for the GMIA. Add to this projected passenger volumes nearing 700,000 for 2014, and cargo volumes exceeding 25,000 tonnes, then this could be the best year yet for the airport……….