New Halifax non-stop from Air Canada

JayBee · 08-01-2007, 07:48 PM

Air Canada announces new routes for Eastern Canada providing daily service to New York, Toronto and Edmonton

MONTREAL, Jan. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that it is
introducing non-stop service on three new routes for Atlantic Canada,
connecting Halifax and New York City, Deer Lake, NL, and Toronto, and Halifax
and Edmonton. The new daily flights will commence this spring.
"We are delighted to offer the convenience of these additional non-stop
flights to travellers flying to and from Eastern Canada, including those who
wish to connect with our expansive global network," said Daniel Shurz, Vice
President, Network Planning. "The introduction of daily, year-round service
April 1 between Halifax and LaGuardia will facilitate travel between the
Atlantic provinces and the great destination of New York City. Starting May 4,
Air Canada will further enhance service in western Newfoundland by offering
the only daily non-stop service year-round between Deer Lake and Toronto.
Finally, on June 15, Air Canada will begin seasonal daily service between
Halifax and Edmonton, complementing our existing Halifax-Calgary service. The
Edmonton service will operate until September 16."
"Both business and leisure travellers on these routes will enjoy more and
better connections, Aeroplan rewards, and an opportunity to use our growing
suite of flight passes for convenience and savings."
The Halifax-New York, LaGuardia service will be operated by Air Canada
Jazz using a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ regional aircraft. Flights will depart
Halifax at 11:45 a.m. and arrive in New York at 12:30 p.m. They will leave
New York at 1 p.m. and arrive in Halifax at 3:40 p.m.
The Deer Lake-Toronto service will be operated by Air Canada using a
120-seat Airbus A319, featuring our Executive Class service. Flights will
depart Toronto at 2:55 p.m. and arrive in Deer Lake at 7:05 p.m. They will
leave Deer Lake at 7:55 p.m. and arrive in Toronto at 9:18 p.m. The new route
will complement existing daily year-round service from Deer Lake to Montreal
and Halifax.
The Halifax-Edmonton service will also be operated by Air Canada using an
Airbus A319. Flights will depart Edmonton at 10:30 p.m. and arrive at Halifax
at 6:10 a.m. They will leave Halifax at 8:10 a.m. and arrive at Edmonton at
10:30 a.m.

Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air
transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 150 destinations on five
continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline in
the world and serves 30 million customers annually with a fleet consisting of
332 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the
world's most comprehensive air transportation network.

http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi...3213-0&Start=0

Brentk · 08-01-2007, 08:08 PM

Anyone see this going year round?

CSR · 08-01-2007, 08:24 PM

Depends on volume I guess. Summer has vacation travelers and school is out so you have kids going to visit the grandfolks back east or their parent working out west.

I have a gut hunch that this route will take traffic away from the calgary - halifax route. We'll see how many of those people going to calgary were actually just going thru calgary to get here or points north.

Non stop is great, the Maritimes are on my list of places in Canada I need to see but haven't yet ... however 6:18 am?

Great if you live there or have relatives but otherwise you show up jet lagged and with 8 hours before you can check in to a hotel

JayBee · 08-01-2007, 08:29 PM

(Whoah, CSR just beat me to almost exactly the same points while I was typing!)

I'd love that, and I might even give AC a little loyalty finally too, but I don't find it too likely this year. The acid test being Calgary, they don't have it non-stop year round on either Westjet or Air Canada.

But then I guess AC will look at how the numbers go this summer. If they find YEG demand more resillient than YCC, perhaps they'd put an Embraer on it through the winter. We do have a slight chance, as it would be better for the Maritime-MacMurray connection, and I don't see that many Maritimers caring that much about which city is closer to the Rockies. Likewise I don't know if Calgary itself has any reason to be connected to Halifax. I don't imagine there's much tourist demand for the East coast in winter or oil head office/fisheries tie-in.

In short, my gut says no, but my brain says possibly but remote.

JayBee · 08-01-2007, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSR

...
I have a gut hunch that this route will take traffic away from the calgary - halifax route. We'll see how many of those people going to calgary were actually just going thru calgary to get here or points north.

As I said when the LHR route was announced, Air Canada already knows exactly how many people this is going to shift away from Calgary (and Toronto and Ottawa and Montreal). That's why they're starting straight with daily flights on A319s. They could have opted for Embraers or less than daily flights.

Does anybody else sense a subtle change in the Alberta hub model coinciding with the Alberta growth?

Glenco · 08-01-2007, 10:09 PM

I wonder if Westjet will fly that route this summer?

grish · 08-01-2007, 10:15 PM

whats up with the red eye sched? i expect to loose sleep when going overseas, but within canada????!!! i think it is going to be tough to fill this. anyone knows why it is going to fill anyway? i guess it will die unless westjet jumps in with a more reasonable scheduling and air can follows.

Sonic Death Monkey · 08-01-2007, 11:15 PM

I'm sure this flight will do well, considering the number of Maritimers that are now in northern Alberta.

Glenco · 09-01-2007, 08:39 AM

So this plane has a 12 hour layover in YEG. I wonder what AC plans are for it?

Brentk · 09-01-2007, 09:21 AM

LAX? IAH?

RichardS · 09-01-2007, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenco

So this plane has a 12 hour layover in YEG. I wonder what AC plans are for it?

Is it the same ship # all the time? Prabably not. It will turn into another flight and a different ship will arrive to do the halifax run later that night...

JayBee · 09-01-2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenco

I wonder if Westjet will fly that route this summer?

It's already on their schedule. It's also a red-eye, I note, departing just 25 minutes after AC.

From their web page:

Regular Fare $358.00 CAD

Tue, 12 Jun 07
Flight WS 402
22:55 Depart Edmonton, AB (YEG)
06:39 Arrive Halifax, NS (YHZ)(next day)

http://c3dsp.westjet.com/guest/home....romSplash=true

MikeK · 12-01-2007, 05:04 PM

Why are both airlines flying red-eyes out of YEG to YHZ!? This just doesn't make sense to me, unless they couldn't get landing slots/gate slots at a more reasonable time, like leaving in the morning or early afternoon.

IanO · 12-01-2007, 07:19 PM

red eyes are good....you sleep on the plane, get in early and have your day there.

CSR · 12-01-2007, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanO

red eyes are good....you sleep on the plane, get in early and have your day there.

Dispensing with the issue of luggage for the moment ...

How the heck do you sleep crammed in and folded almost double in an airline seat?

RichardS · 12-01-2007, 09:37 PM

...better life through pharmaceuticals....or alcohol...

EdmTrekker · 12-01-2007, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSR

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanO

red eyes are good....you sleep on the plane, get in early and have your day there.

Dispensing with the issue of luggage for the moment ...

How the heck do you sleep crammed in and folded almost double in an airline seat?

I agree - red eyes are plain dumb unless your connecting to an early AM flight from a HUB somewhere. I wish US Airlines had late night flights from YEG to PHX - so we could connect to points south early in the AM. But from YEG to Halifax? Not likely - all that happens is you end up exhausted.

MikeK · 13-01-2007, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanO

red eyes are good....you sleep on the plane, get in early and have your day there.

Good God! Not everyone's able to sleep on a plane! I'm one of those, in fact.

JayBee · 13-01-2007, 02:44 AM

I'm only guessing, but Westjet offered the route first, and made it a red-eye so they could sorta superficaily serve the route and move equipment from West to East in time for morning flights out of YHZ. Instead of deadheading, why not sell the seats?

Then Air Canada's flight is partly to serve the route competitively and not let Westjet have all the oil field workers that opt not to change in Cowtown who want Aeroplan miles or whatever. And it serves the same purpose of getting equipment from a late time zone to an early time zone in time for the morning rush.

Gradually I would expect the natural economics of YEG to continue to solidify the route and maybe in 2 or 3 years hopefully we'll see day flights too. But YHZ is 5 hours in the plane, 2 hours driving airports to cities, and an hour or two waiting in the airport lounge anyway. Then looking at a 4 hour time zone difference on top of it all, no matter when you depart Eastbound, it's going to put a crimp in the day.

I can't sleep on planes either, but I could sleep a few hours before the flight, fiddle with something on my laptop on the flight, do meetings in the morning and maybe afternoon, and then check into my hotel. In any case, I'd definitely take a non-stop over the 3 hours it somehow adds changing planes. A day flight would be more comfortable, but there's actually no realistic way to get business done any more efficiently than the red-eye.

53latitude · 15-01-2007, 12:14 PM

I am very happy to see this flight! Way to go Air Canada, I know I'll use it.

christopherj · 23-01-2007, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanO

red eyes are good....you sleep on the plane, get in early and have your day there.

Agreed.

I would assume this is aimed at those who have moved here from Halifax, etc who might be going home to visit family and not at those looking to vacation in Nova Scotia.

As a result, being able to leave late at night after work gives me an extra day (instead of spending all of the next day traveling - 6 hours for flight, 3 for time change).

08-01-2007, 07:48 PM	#1
JayBee Addicted to C2E Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Flux	New Halifax non-stop from Air Canada Air Canada announces new routes for Eastern Canada providing daily service to New York, Toronto and Edmonton MONTREAL, Jan. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that it is introducing non-stop service on three new routes for Atlantic Canada, connecting Halifax and New York City, Deer Lake, NL, and Toronto, and Halifax and Edmonton. The new daily flights will commence this spring. "We are delighted to offer the convenience of these additional non-stop flights to travellers flying to and from Eastern Canada, including those who wish to connect with our expansive global network," said Daniel Shurz, Vice President, Network Planning. "The introduction of daily, year-round service April 1 between Halifax and LaGuardia will facilitate travel between the Atlantic provinces and the great destination of New York City. Starting May 4, Air Canada will further enhance service in western Newfoundland by offering the only daily non-stop service year-round between Deer Lake and Toronto. Finally, on June 15, Air Canada will begin seasonal daily service between Halifax and Edmonton, complementing our existing Halifax-Calgary service. The Edmonton service will operate until September 16." "Both business and leisure travellers on these routes will enjoy more and better connections, Aeroplan rewards, and an opportunity to use our growing suite of flight passes for convenience and savings." The Halifax-New York, LaGuardia service will be operated by Air Canada Jazz using a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ regional aircraft. Flights will depart Halifax at 11:45 a.m. and arrive in New York at 12:30 p.m. They will leave New York at 1 p.m. and arrive in Halifax at 3:40 p.m. The Deer Lake-Toronto service will be operated by Air Canada using a 120-seat Airbus A319, featuring our Executive Class service. Flights will depart Toronto at 2:55 p.m. and arrive in Deer Lake at 7:05 p.m. They will leave Deer Lake at 7:55 p.m. and arrive in Toronto at 9:18 p.m. The new route will complement existing daily year-round service from Deer Lake to Montreal and Halifax. The Halifax-Edmonton service will also be operated by Air Canada using an Airbus A319. Flights will depart Edmonton at 10:30 p.m. and arrive at Halifax at 6:10 a.m. They will leave Halifax at 8:10 a.m. and arrive at Edmonton at 10:30 a.m. Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 150 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 30 million customers annually with a fleet consisting of 332 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi...3213-0&Start=0

12-01-2007, 07:19 PM	#14
IanO Addicted to C2E Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Edmonton	red eyes are good....you sleep on the plane, get in early and have your day there. __________________ inspiration or mediocrity www.decl.org Ottawa-Edmonton-Vancouver-Edmonton

12-01-2007, 09:37 PM	#16
RichardS C2E Junkie * Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Edmonton	...better life through pharmaceuticals....or alcohol... __________________ Everywhere I go, I've been slandered, Libeled, I've heard words I've never heard in the Bible - and I am so tired. Simon and Garfunkel "Keep the customer satisfied" Yup, that about sums it up.

08-01-2007, 08:08 PM	#2
Brentk Addicted to C2E Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in Edmonton for the 3rd time	Anyone see this going year round?

08-01-2007, 08:24 PM	#3
CSR Partially Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006	Depends on volume I guess. Summer has vacation travelers and school is out so you have kids going to visit the grandfolks back east or their parent working out west. I have a gut hunch that this route will take traffic away from the calgary - halifax route. We'll see how many of those people going to calgary were actually just going thru calgary to get here or points north. Non stop is great, the Maritimes are on my list of places in Canada I need to see but haven't yet ... however 6:18 am? Great if you live there or have relatives but otherwise you show up jet lagged and with 8 hours before you can check in to a hotel

08-01-2007, 08:29 PM	#4
JayBee Addicted to C2E Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Flux	(Whoah, CSR just beat me to almost exactly the same points while I was typing!) I'd love that, and I might even give AC a little loyalty finally too, but I don't find it too likely this year. The acid test being Calgary, they don't have it non-stop year round on either Westjet or Air Canada. But then I guess AC will look at how the numbers go this summer. If they find YEG demand more resillient than YCC, perhaps they'd put an Embraer on it through the winter. We do have a slight chance, as it would be better for the Maritime-MacMurray connection, and I don't see that many Maritimers caring that much about which city is closer to the Rockies. Likewise I don't know if Calgary itself has any reason to be connected to Halifax. I don't imagine there's much tourist demand for the East coast in winter or oil head office/fisheries tie-in. In short, my gut says no, but my brain says possibly but remote.

08-01-2007, 10:09 PM	#6
Glenco Addicted to C2E Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton, Alberta	I wonder if Westjet will fly that route this summer?

08-01-2007, 10:15 PM	#7
grish Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006	whats up with the red eye sched? i expect to loose sleep when going overseas, but within canada????!!! i think it is going to be tough to fill this. anyone knows why it is going to fill anyway? i guess it will die unless westjet jumps in with a more reasonable scheduling and air can follows.

08-01-2007, 11:15 PM	#8
Sonic Death Monkey Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Downtown	I'm sure this flight will do well, considering the number of Maritimers that are now in northern Alberta.

09-01-2007, 08:39 AM	#9
Glenco Addicted to C2E Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton, Alberta	So this plane has a 12 hour layover in YEG. I wonder what AC plans are for it?

09-01-2007, 09:21 AM	#10
Brentk Addicted to C2E Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in Edmonton for the 3rd time	LAX? IAH?

12-01-2007, 05:04 PM	#13
MikeK Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: The Big E	Why are both airlines flying red-eyes out of YEG to YHZ!? This just doesn't make sense to me, unless they couldn't get landing slots/gate slots at a more reasonable time, like leaving in the morning or early afternoon.

13-01-2007, 02:44 AM	#19
JayBee Addicted to C2E Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Flux	I'm only guessing, but Westjet offered the route first, and made it a red-eye so they could sorta superficaily serve the route and move equipment from West to East in time for morning flights out of YHZ. Instead of deadheading, why not sell the seats? Then Air Canada's flight is partly to serve the route competitively and not let Westjet have all the oil field workers that opt not to change in Cowtown who want Aeroplan miles or whatever. And it serves the same purpose of getting equipment from a late time zone to an early time zone in time for the morning rush. Gradually I would expect the natural economics of YEG to continue to solidify the route and maybe in 2 or 3 years hopefully we'll see day flights too. But YHZ is 5 hours in the plane, 2 hours driving airports to cities, and an hour or two waiting in the airport lounge anyway. Then looking at a 4 hour time zone difference on top of it all, no matter when you depart Eastbound, it's going to put a crimp in the day. I can't sleep on planes either, but I could sleep a few hours before the flight, fiddle with something on my laptop on the flight, do meetings in the morning and maybe afternoon, and then check into my hotel. In any case, I'd definitely take a non-stop over the 3 hours it somehow adds changing planes. A day flight would be more comfortable, but there's actually no realistic way to get business done any more efficiently than the red-eye.

15-01-2007, 12:14 PM	#20
53latitude Partially Addicted to C2E Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: E-town!	I am very happy to see this flight! Way to go Air Canada, I know I'll use it.