Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Originally Posted by Wpgstvsouth94

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6553777

Yes, I have seen articles like that, but if it is only "direct" rather than "non-stop" (both terms of art in the airline industry), where is the stop along the way? Calgary?

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by DavefromSt.Vital

One question for those who have booked to LAX. Is this a "direct" flight (i.e. You don't leave the plane, but it stops along the way) or non-stop?

It looks to be non-stop, based on a Google Flights search.

Given the estimated flight time, I would expect WS1314/1315 to be non-stop, as it is only a 3 1/2 to 4 hr flight.

There is not too many ‘direct but with stops’ flights in North America today. A handful exist to overseas destinations to my knowledge, but that is it.

[Biff]

It is direct (no stops). I booked for mid November - depart at 7am arrive at 8:50am.

[esquire]

Just to clarify, here's a helpful infographic:



I agree with thewave46, true "direct" flights are so rare now in the North American context that the media may not be up on the distinction. They say direct in their stories (in the broad sense that the plane goes "directly" from YWG to LAX) but they really mean non-stop.

[Biff]

Well then...our flight is non-stop.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by DavefromSt.Vital

One question for those who have booked to LAX. Is this a "direct" flight (i.e. You don't leave the plane, but it stops along the way) or non-stop?

WestJet and Air Canada use "non-stop" and "direct" interchangeably as the same thing. It has only been Sunwing and Air Transat that have used "direct" to mean "may stop before your destination" and "non stop to mean "plane only takes off and lands once".

In terms of YWG-LAX by WestJet it is definitely non-stop. When you are booking on the WestJet site you can see options that are non-stop and ones that connect through other cities such as Calgary.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Actually, eastern Canada's second airline, Porter, has traditionally used direct flights with at times multiple stops along the way, bouncing along various small places.

They have been transitioning to non-stops on some of their routes in preparation for the arrival of their new jets. The current propeller planes they fly out of the Toronto Island have a limited range. The jets will fly out of Pearson.

e.g. My son and I live in Toronto and went to Touchdown Atlantic in Nova Scotia this summer. While we got off the plane in Halifax, others stayed on to go to St. John's, NL. On the way back the reverse was true with the plane originating in St. John's.

BTW, several of us asked the flight attendants if the first round of jet routes would include Winnipeg. She wasn't sure but it appears to be on their radar...

[esquire]

^ Now that you mention it I vaguely recall some speculation surrounding Porter when they started flying to Thunder Bay... some thought the flight might eventually carry on to Winnipeg as a "direct", but that never happened.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Now that you mention it I vaguely recall some speculation surrounding Porter when they started flying to Thunder Bay... some thought the flight might eventually carry on to Winnipeg as a "direct", but that never happened.

The current Porter propeller Dash 8-400s are too slow to make it competitive and Thunder Bay is about the end of the fully loaded range. You may recall when there was a Liberal convention in Winnipeg they had to fly special trips with partial loads from Ottawa and Toronto to make it to Winnipeg. Further, when coupled with a stop in Thunder Bay and the related refueling, unloading, loading, etc. and the slower nature of propeller planes, it would not have been commercially competitive.

The new jets will at least match the Air Canada ones for speed and range.

[CoryB]

Porter had talked about making Winnipeg a hub between its western and eastern networks when it was trying to get support for expanding Toronto island airport so it could operate Bombardier C Series planes from there.

Since that time Bombardier gave the C Series aircraft to Airbus which rebranded it to the 220 and Porter did not receive approval for the island expansion and shifted their jet operations to Pearson. And with Bombardier no longer looking for customers for the C Series the related political advantages for Porter disappeared and they shifted their jet order to the Embraer E195-E2.

Porter though needs to figure out what sort of market it is chasing in the west.

[(sub)urban]

While we're on the non-stop / direct topic, I know Swoop offers some 'true direct' flights from Winnipeg as well and they show up on Google Flights as non-stop so you gotta be careful. I remember it was like YWG to Abbotsford but it was an hour and a half longer travel time than the other non-stop offering and then when you clicked on it, voila, it stops in Edmonton on the way.

But yeah, like other's have said, it's really only the sun destination // budget airlines that still offer the rare direct flight

[PaulR]

Winnipeg Airports Authority’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continued to gain momentum during the third quarter of 2022, which featured the busiest three months at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport in two and a half years.

Between July and September, 955,467 people travelled through YWG – 23 per cent more than the next highest quarterly passenger total since the start of the pandemic. This surge in traffic was primarily a result of pent-up demand for air travel and helped the airport move to within 78 per cent of the pre-pandemic numbers it registered in 2019.

“This past summer was truly exciting for all of us here at YWG,” said WAA President & CEO Nick Hays. “On top of providing more and more travellers with the opportunity to connect, we also celebrated the announcement of a new, non-stop route to Los Angeles by WestJet, which is launching this fall. Pair that with the return of several popular winter sun flights over the next few weeks and the recent removal of the final government-imposed travel restrictions, and we’re expecting a strong finish to the year.”

https://www.waa.ca/en/newsroom/view/...h-to-recovery/

[esquire]

Fun airport facts: the current terminal turned 11 yesterday. Also, the nonstop LAX flight on Westjet started today.

[WinCitySparky]

Apparently there’s a big new 200,000 sq ft cargo building going up. It was mentioned in my union newsletter as an upcoming project.

[bomberjet]

Yes. Yet another example of the me and Sparky worlds colliding.

[hehehe]

https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2022-1...eles-takes-off

So the flight will be year round but currently it's not bookable next summer yet.

[PaulR]

Originally Posted by hehehe

https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2022-1...eles-takes-off

So the flight will be year round but currently it's not bookable next summer yet.

Yesterday showed Los Angeles flights departing and arrive in Winnipeg, so it is currently running meaning people must be able to book flights as of today.


WestJet will solidify its position as the leading airline in Winnipeg providing more non-stop routes than any other carrier. Further, the WestJet Group will increase capacity to and from Winnipeg by 80 per cent in comparison to 2021, serving 22 nonstop, direct routes and producing the largest year-over-year growth of any major airport in the group's network.

Curious to see what exactly this will mean for additional non-stop flights to new destinations.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Yes. Yet another example of the me and Sparky worlds colliding.

Sparks Will Fly - An Airport Story

[CoryB]

I think the YWG-LAX is a fairly safe long term. With the amount of Christmas movies Hallmark and GAC Family turn out and Winnipeg being a popular, lower-cost filming location that itself generates some flight traffic. Netflix too likes the film here for a similar reason and the soundstage they are building on Inkster looks to be getting close to completion. This all points towards Winnipeg becoming an even bigger player in B grade content production for the likes of streaming services. Sure it isn't blockbuster movies with top level talent but there are enough people involved in each production that it fills seats on the plane. And if we build up a respected local talent base of the behind the scenes production crews and maintain easier access with the frequent direct LAX flights it will become easier to land those big productions in the future.

[esquire]

I wonder if there will be an appreciable number of people using the LAX route to connect to points west, either Hawaii, Australia/NZ or Asia? It could provide an alternative to YVR for leisure travellers.