7673 replies to this topic

[Rob Randall]

Frank Leonard never rests it seems; he's been reappointed to Airport Authority Board.

[Kapten Kapsell]

Sunwing will offer new weekly flights to Mazatlán and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo from Victoria, B.C. this winter.

 

https://www.travelwe...nts-for-agents/

[shoeflack]

Good job Sunwing. Took them a full month from when they started selling seats to putting out a press release announcing these routes. Missed Approach first noted those flights back on July 24! That’s why you gotta get your YYJ info at the go to source for local airport news, VV!

[vortoozo]

They haven't actually issued a press release yet. That's just info for travel agents.

They've been dripping press releases about new service since last month for each origin airport.

It's a great way to get additional press to ensure smaller airports don't get lost in a larger announcement. 

The press releases are here: https://www.sunwingt...oom/Latest-News

[shoeflack]

Interior of the airport expansion is coming along nicely. They even have the gate counters in now, as well as all the tile flooring done. Screenshot from the latest weekly update timelapse.

 

Edited by shoeflack, 28 August 2019 - 08:13 AM.

[Citified.ca]

A reminder that Delta Airlines is cancelling its Victoria-Seattle service tomorrow.

 

As Delta Airlines nixes flights from Victoria Intl., Sunwing announces new seasonal destinations to Mexico

https://victoria.cit...ions-to-mexico/

[Mike K.]

What is the primary driver for travel between Victoria and Prince George that will now see 7-day service with twice daily flights Sun-Fri? Government?

You’d think there would be a greater need for a 7-day connection to Ottawa, or even Montreal.

[AllseeingEye]

UNB is located in PG and offhand I know several families who travel and whose children travel to P-G via air.

 

It is also the home of the College of New Caledonia and the University Hospital of Northern BC is the largest acute care facility in the Northern Health Region. All of these facilities come more broadly under the 'public' umbrella. PG has also always been a major focus of activity for the so-called 'Dirt' Ministries (Lands. Forests and Environment), more so for the oil and gas sectors in recent years, so taking all of these into account 'government' is the most likely candidate it seems to me for whatever air passenger volumes that exist between PG and the provincial capital city.

[Mike K.]

Ah, very good. That makes sense.

 

We had been without a PG connection for quite a while when (I think it was) Westjet pulled out of its service, then Pacific Coastal stepped in.

[vortoozo]

Keep in mind that the aircraft operated by Pasco to Prince George accommodates 19 passengers. Total of 38 seats on most days. 19 on Saturday. One flight upgauged on Fridays & Sundays for an extra 11 seats.

We're not talking big numbers.

 

Ottawa can only sustain 2-4 daily flights from Vancouver (seasonal). No way there's enough demand for a daily year round flight from Victoria.

AC has the numbers for Montreal and added an extra weekly flight this season, but not enough traffic to go daily or year round.

In both cases you'd need to find 110+ passengers vs. the 38 seats on the Prince George route.

[Mike K.]

Oh that’s interesting, that’s a small aircraft indeed.

[LJ]

Ah, very good. That makes sense.

 

We had been without a PG connection for quite a while when (I think it was) Westjet pulled out of its service, then Pacific Coastal stepped in.

I don't think you would find any politicians flying with Pasco. They would Helijet to YVR and take at least a Q400 to YXS.

[G-Man]

Maybe not politicians but it is the public servants that would be more likely to travel. Plus I think that there are quite a few people that do it that don't work for government. They also used to start the flight in Vancouver sometimes so you would get passengers in Vancouver that were going to PG and it would have a Victoria stopover before heading up. Used to also see a lot of camp folks on that flight but I haven't been in a couple of years. 

[vortoozo]

I don't think you would find any politicians flying with Pasco. They would Helijet to YVR and take at least a Q400 to YXS.

 

There is one daily Heljiet flight to YVR. It departs Victoria at 6:40pm, stops downtown Vancouver, then arrives at the South Terminal too late (7:35pm) to shuttle to the main terminal and arrive in time for the last AC flight to Prince George (8:30pm). There is 9:45pm flight on Encore, but that doesn't arrive in Prince George until after 11pm. Why on earth would anyone spend more money & 4 and a half hours in transit when the non stop takes 80 minutes?

[Mike K.]

There’s also Harbour Air with service to YVR.

[shoeflack]

I don't think you would find any politicians flying with Pasco. They would Helijet to YVR and take at least a Q400 to YXS.

 

You'd be surprised. Pacific Coastal is the only option for many MLAs trying to get to more remote parts of the province. I've seen Coralee Oakes on that YYJ-YXS service in the past.

 

The name of the game with MLA travel is speed. Why on earth would they add so much extra time by adding all sorts of connections when there's a direct route?

[Missed Approach]

I don't think you would find any politicians flying with Pasco. They would Helijet to YVR and take at least a Q400 to YXS.

A lot of PCA ( Pacific Coastal Airlines ) travelers are day trip, suits and briefcases travelers and lots of government employees on business. Once the bad weather settles in during the winter, HA ( Harbour Air ) shuttles their passengers over to PCA at YYJ for final destination including the shuttle bus on the other side making for a long day. 

With Bus service the pits in northern BC, not surprised to see their popularity rise. Tho a Saab would be more roomier, load factors dictate aircraft type each day sometimes. ( Having once worked for said airline ) 

[vortoozo]

There’s also Harbour Air with service to YVR.

 

Still have the exact same issues with shutlle and extra time required. And service to YVR isn't that frequent and of course like any HA flight subject to weather. If your flight can't go, then you're screwed.

There's literally no reason to do that to fly to Prince George unless you need to leave after the last departure around 3:30pm. And even then, you'd be more likely to take Jazz/Encore and connect behind security to save a bunch of time in Vancouver.

[Missed Approach]

THIS, was a very interesting read:

 

https://www.flightgl...s-indus-460631/

 

Bye Bye Delta....

[Jackerbie]

Canadian Max 8's will be grounded through the holidays. Air Canada Max 8's on the ground until Jan 8, West Jet's until Jan 5. Sunwing had said earlier that their 4 planes will be grounded through May 2020.