Region of Waterloo International Airport - YKF

[danbrotherston]

Yes, it is a risk.  But think of the rewards - just $49 to fly to Deer Lake, Nfld!

That isn't really the "reward" we are aiming for. The "reward" we are looking for is a higher profile airport, which helps grow our economy.

FWIW - I don't oppose this goal, but two things I do disagree with, is a) our economy is not functioning equitably right now, and b) our government is not providing essential services to too many people.

We should fix both a) and b) with a higher priority than further growing an already hot economy.

[taylortbb]

Yes, it is a risk.  But think of the rewards - just $49 to fly to Deer Lake, Nfld!

That isn't really the "reward" we are aiming for. The "reward" we are looking for is a higher profile airport, which helps grow our economy.

From https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...rport.html

If flights increase as predicted, the subsidy that regional taxpayers give the airport each year will be slashed.

The subsidy, which was $20 per household this year, would shrink to $6 per household, the smallest subsidy in at least two decades.

That's also a pretty strong reason to get airport flights up. Most Canadian airports are self-sustaining, but due to the high fixed costs it's been a struggle for YKF to break even.

I've thought for a while that our worst case scenario is a slow steady bleed from the regional budget for one flight a day. Either it should be large enough to be self-sustaining, or it's probably time to end commercial service.

[KevinT]

Yes, it is a risk.  But think of the rewards - just $49 to fly to Deer Lake, Nfld!

Actually, that would be amazing for snowboarding at Marble Mountain, a trip I did three years back. I must look into this...

Edit to add: Here's a link about this flight that isn't behind a paywall, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundl...-1.6273093

[panamaniac]

It's also good access to Gros Morne park. There's also a substantial Newfoundlander population in K-C-W. It may also become a way for western Newfoundlanders to access Flair sun destinations. Whether any of that will sustain twice weekly 737 service is where some scepticism seems understandable.

[tomh009]

It's also good access to Gros Morne park.  There's also a substantial Newfoundlander population in K-C-W.  It may also become a way for western Newfoundlanders to access Flair sun destinations.  Whether any of that will sustain twice weekly 737 service is where some scepticism seems understandable.

The NL population tends to be concentrated on the east side, does it not?

Even flying to Gander would have seemed to make more sense.

[plam]

Yes, it is a risk.  But think of the rewards - just $49 to fly to Deer Lake, Nfld!

Actually, that would be amazing for snowboarding at Marble Mountain, a trip I did three years back. I must look into this...

Edit to add: Here's a link about this flight that isn't behind a paywall, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundl...-1.6273093

I've thought about going to Marble Mountain but the season ends surprisingly early. Was it worth it? I've also never been to Gros Morne and would like to go sometime.

Would I fly Flair? I'd really rather not and I might well do a more complicated thing to avoid an ULCC. But I do lots of complicated travel things and planning one's travel system around my personal preferences is probably not the right thing.

[ac3r]

‘Great interest’ in Waterloo Region over federal probe into finances of Flair Airlines: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...lines.html

[Rainrider22]

Its a Jeff Outhit article...nothing to see here folks. He is essentially piggy backing a recent article by Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...l-discord/ Gee, he really had to work for this one....

[KevinT]

Actually, that would be amazing for snowboarding at Marble Mountain, a trip I did three years back. I must look into this...

Edit to add: Here's a link about this flight that isn't behind a paywall, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundl...-1.6273093

I've thought about going to Marble Mountain but the season ends surprisingly early. Was it worth it? I've also never been to Gros Morne and would like to go sometime.

I really enjoyed the time that I spent there, but if they close early then they must have a really short season. I got there on a Jan 30th a few years back and they didn't have much open because they'd just suffered one of those stupid mid-winter warmups. By the time I left a few days later they had about 2/3rds of their terrain open, but they said they were surprised that I had risked booking to arrive so early and suggested mid-February for my next trip. Although they have some sort of festival or competition in mid-February, so getting rooms for that period is tricky. I on the other hand literally had the entire chalet to myself when I was there.

Also, Marble Mountain isn't a 7 days a week operation. That was a surprise as well, and I'd had to change my original flight booking once I'd realized my mistake. (I'd booked my trip with virtually no pre-research, and that was a mistake.)

Was it worth it though? Absolutely. It's not quite as tall as Tremblant, but the scenery was excellent and the snowboarding was good. I can't wait to go back.

[plam]

I've thought about going to Marble Mountain but the season ends surprisingly early. Was it worth it? I've also never been to Gros Morne and would like to go sometime.

I really enjoyed the time that I spent there, but if they close early then they must have a really short season. I got there on a Jan 30th a few years back and they didn't have much open because they'd just suffered one of those stupid mid-winter warmups. By the time I left a few days later they had about 2/3rds of their terrain open, but they said they were surprised that I had risked booking to arrive so early and suggested mid-February for my next trip. Although they have some sort of festival or competition in mid-February, so getting rooms for that period is tricky. I on the other hand literally had the entire chalet to myself when I was there.

Also, Marble Mountain isn't a 7 days a week operation. That was a surprise as well, and I'd had to change my original flight booking once I'd realized my mistake. (I'd booked my trip with virtually no pre-research, and that was a mistake.)

Was it worth it though? Absolutely. It's not quite as tall as Tremblant, but the scenery was excellent and the snowboarding was good. I can't wait to go back.

I'm surprised by the shortness of the season too. In 2021 they opened January 7 and closed on April 4 (so Easter Sunday). St. John's still isn't very green by Victoria Day but they probably have different weather systems. Maybe Reading Week one of these years when COVID isn't a thing. Yes, definitely seems worth a trip. Thanks!

[ac3r]

Waterloo Region airport now under 'modified operations' after bomb threat on Flair plane: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.6284223

[taylortbb]

https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news...ns-4867584

Flair Airlines recently added another destination to fly out of Region of Waterloo International Airport, that being Deer Lake, Newfoundland. Kuntz said flying out of Waterloo Region has been far better than expected.

"It is an essential base for us. We have had high hopes and great expectations from Kitchener and the region. The people have responded, and the flights have been doing well. It is probably the best performing base in the country.

Additionally, Kuntz said from an operational and commercial point of view, the airline should have between three and four aircraft, which they already have. "Waterloo airport has proven itself as a great option for us, and we will be there for the long term."

[panamaniac]

Pivot Airlines has postponed the launch of it's flights to Ottawa and Montreal.

https://flypivot.com/news/omicron-varian...t-airlines

[ac3r]

Pivot Airlines has postponed the launch of it's flights to Ottawa and Montreal.

https://flypivot.com/news/omicron-varian...t-airlines

Not too surprising. Economically, this pandemic is a serious challenge for anyone involved in business. Nobody wants to really take a huge chance when, for all we know, another variant will come along and worsen things. We've had alpha, beta, gamma, delta and now omicron which has really made it hard to economically invest/speculate in things...and now who knows what is next.

I have invested thousands into things like steel, transport, telecommunications etc last year because of the Biden administration and their hopes for the passing of their infrastructure bill. While that did indeed pass, the pandemic is still hitting them very hard so it's still hard to speculate how those stocks will go and now I'm hoping things don't crash again. Can't blame an airline in this country for wanting to hold off because Canada keeps resorting to hard - often nonsensical - responses to growing case numbers, as if we can still flatten the curve in 2 weeks by closing gyms and restaurants. The horse left the barn long ago. Hopefully, though, the economic side of things holds on for the most part, but there is going to be a lot of long lasting suffering in the coming years due to all of this.

[tomh009]

There are no restrictions on domestic flights at the moment (as far as I know). But I personally know many people who are holding off flying until the COVID situation stabilizes (again). And, yes, companies are limiting corporate travel for the same reason.