Region of Waterloo International Airport - YKF

[Coke6pk]

Coke

I noticed that too and I was disappointed.  So I sent Jetlines an email and this is what they say about YKF:

Thank you for taking the time to email Jetlines.

 
YKF is indeed still on our radar and we are talking with the airport and are in negotiations. We have a signed contract for Hamilton and that will be our base of operation and once we can finalize our deal with YKF it will be announced. It is just a matter of “when”. We know there is a demand and need for jet service!

Since the airport is offering "up to 24 months protection on un-serviced routes to reduce risk..." Jetlines will not announce routes until they have the airplanes in service.  I'm sure they don't want to announce routes only to have another, established, airline take that route and get a two year guarantee. 

If the airport manages to land a number of airlines it will have to expand almost immediately.  I remember coming back from Punta Cana and Chicago and not everyone  could fit into the room to go through customs.  Also, walking outside to and from your jet in bitterly cold weather is not okay.  Things will have to change... 

The Customs hall has capacity for a full Punta Cana flight (and a full American Airlines flight, provided they don't enter the hall at the same time... when they did, one flight was instructed to stay on board until the other one cleared).

If you encountered trouble fitting into the hall, it is because passengers like to have a 3-5' ft buffer around them and their families, as opposed to getting closer to their fellow travellers.

Coke

[Pheidippides]

CBC article says 2020 is the new goal:
"Jennifer Paterson, director of communications for Canada Jetlines, told CBC News Monday the goal now is to fly out of the region starting in 2020."

[jgsz]

CBC article says 2020 is the new goal:
"Jennifer Paterson, director of communications for Canada Jetlines, told CBC News Monday the goal now is to fly out of the region starting in 2020."

2020?  There goes all the goodwill for Jetlines in Waterloo Region.  

But why Hamilton?  They'll have to slug it out with other ULCCs in Hamilton.  And they're not going to get many passengers from this Regions catchment area mainly because there is no direct highway to YHM.   At YKF they could have gotten 24 months protection on unserviced routes.  Oh well.  Wave goodbye to Jetlines.

[Canard]

Unreal. Will our airport actually ever become anything? These constant emotional rollercoasters of excitement and disappointment are exhausting.

[DHLawrence]

Only when Pearson's full.

[tomh009]

CBC article says 2020 is the new goal:
"Jennifer Paterson, director of communications for Canada Jetlines, told CBC News Monday the goal now is to fly out of the region starting in 2020."

2020?  There goes all the goodwill for Jetlines in Waterloo Region.  

But why Hamilton?  They'll have to slug it out with other ULCCs in Hamilton.  And they're not going to get many passengers from this Regions catchment area mainly because there is no direct highway to YHM.   At YKF they could have gotten 24 months protection on unserviced routes.  Oh well.  Wave goodbye to Jetlines.

Also note that they are starting with just four aircraft.  Four!  If they put two at Hamilton and two at Waterloo, it would likely end up with just one daily flight somewhere.

I still think that the WestJet ULCC is a better opportunity.

[Coke6pk]

2020?  There goes all the goodwill for Jetlines in Waterloo Region.  

But why Hamilton?  They'll have to slug it out with other ULCCs in Hamilton.  And they're not going to get many passengers from this Regions catchment area mainly because there is no direct highway to YHM.   At YKF they could have gotten 24 months protection on unserviced routes.  Oh well.  Wave goodbye to Jetlines.

Also note that they are starting with just four aircraft.  Four!  If they put two at Hamilton and two at Waterloo, it would likely end up with just one daily flight somewhere.

I still think that the WestJet ULCC is a better opportunity.

WestJet has always been partial to YHM over YKF.  They will likely put Swoop there as well.  SO disappointing!

Coke

[panamaniac]

Also note that they are starting with just four aircraft.  Four!  If they put two at Hamilton and two at Waterloo, it would likely end up with just one daily flight somewhere.

I still think that the WestJet ULCC is a better opportunity.

WestJet has always been partial to YHM over YKF.  They will likely put Swoop there as well.  SO disappointing!

Coke

Swoop and jetlines slugging it out for the same routes out of YHM is a recipe for one of them to fail.  I know which one I think would prevail.

[Coke6pk]

Swoop and jetlines slugging it out for the same routes out of YHM is a recipe for one of them to fail.  I know which one I think would prevail.

Agreed. Which is exactly why I can't figure out Jetlines position on this one....

Coke

[JoeKW]

It's probably easier to wrangle investor funding for flights out of Hamilton.

[jgsz]

Swoop and jetlines slugging it out for the same routes out of YHM is a recipe for one of them to fail.  I know which one I think would prevail.

Agreed.  Which is exactly why I can't figure out Jetlines position on this one....

Coke

I can't figure out Jetlines' position either.

Perhaps YKF can get a bit more aggressive and creative in their approach to attract an airline or two.  My suggestion would be to turn the airport into an incubator for fledgling airlines.   Instead of offering two years protection on unserviced routes, make it five years.  After five years review the offer and extend it if necessary.  That way, perhaps, YKF and the airline could grow together.  The only condition I would put on the offer of protected routes is that the airline would have to offer X number of flights to X number of destinations.  The incubator model has worked very well for startups in the Region so it just might work for the airport.  It might be worth a try since nothing else seems to be working at the moment.

[jgsz]

You can be on the mainland in Toronto in 29 minutes if you take FlyGTA from YKF.

It's an 18 minute flight.  Deadline is 5 minutes before takeoff.  And it takes 6 minutes to take the pedestrian tunnel to the mainland.  

FlyGTA Airlines offer non-stop weekday service between Waterloo Region and Billy BishopToronto City Airport year-round.  Travel time - 18 minutes!

FlyGTA Airlines is Canadian-owned and operated. 


Take the pedestrian tunnel from Billy Bishop Airport to the mainland. Travel time - six minutes! For more information including a map of the pedestrian tunnel please visit www.portstoronto.com.  

For up-to-date flight times visit the Arrivals & Departures page.
Recommended Check-in Time:  20 minutes before departure
Check-in Deadline:  5 minutes before departure

[MidTowner]

[quote pid='44445' dateline='1509542109']
I can't figure out Jetlines' position either.

Perhaps YKF can get a bit more aggressive and creative in their approach to attract an airline or two.  My suggestion would be to turn the airport into an incubator for fledgling airlines.   Instead of offering two years protection on unserviced routes, make it five years.  After five years review the offer and extend it if necessary.  That way, perhaps, YKF and the airline could grow together.  The only condition I would put on the offer of protected routes is that the airline would have to offer X number of flights to X number of destinations.  The incubator model has worked very well for startups in the Region so it just might work for the airport.  It might be worth a try since nothing else seems to be working at the moment.

[/quote]

How long could this kind of "protection" be offered before it's challenged as an anti-competitive practice? When I heard about the two years guarantee, I didn't figure that would pass muster, but equally wouldn't expect anyone to make much of a big deal about it. If it is protracted, or starts sounding indefinite, someone might get annoyed.

[SammyOES]

I don't love committing the airport to a specific company in an extremely hard industry. Incubators generally work well because they have multiple companies so they're not over exposed to the risk from any single company.

I'm not surprised at all with Jetlines position. I think we generally overrate the benefits of Waterloo compared to other airports. And it probably doesn't make a lot of sense for them to operate out of two airports so close together because there's extra cost in that.

I firmly believe Waterloo's time will come. The growth in the area (including Toronto) will fuel it. I like that they're trying things to speed the process along, but there's only so much they can do (that isn't giving too much up).

[jgsz]

FlyGTA's inaugural flight from Breslau to Toronto on Monday is sold out.   I would be surprised and disappointed if it wasn't sold out.