Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

She went in yesterday to Harry Hayes and was told a 3 hour wait, then they called her after 10 minutes. It's a renwal, so she just dropped it off and they said to expect it by Christmas. All kind of baffling, so we will see.

And it showed up today. Crazy. 9 days.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

And it showed up today. Crazy. 9 days.

At this point I'm assuming my 13yo's is at the bottom of the pile since we put no travel date on the application...

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

At this point I'm assuming my 13yo's is at the bottom of the pile since we put no travel date on the application...

Expresspost showed up yesterday, it was her birth certificate and the voided old passport. Paperwork attached said the new passport would come separately or may have already arrived. So progress?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Expresspost showed up yesterday, it was her birth certificate and the voided old passport. Paperwork attached said the new passport would come separately or may have already arrived. So progress?

Last time I had that happen it showed up shortly after. I think they send them separately in case someone nicks one package, they don't have a full collection of ID. So signs are good!

[Byrns]

I finally got my kids passport today. Dropped it off at Service Canada Aug 12. and was supposed to arrive 2nd week of Nov. Finally had to get the MP's office involved and they had a contact at the passport office they could call. Thankfully got it in time since we're leaving on the 24th. (asked on Nov 28 to have it transferred to Calgary and they never did it, it ended up shipped from Gatineau)

[cmyden]

Today Porter becomes the 6th, yes *6th*, airline to offer nonstop flights between Calgary and Toronto.

Not that many years ago the question always being asked was: "Does Canada have the population density to support more than 2 airlines?"

Porter has operated in Eastern Canada for 16 years and are now starting to expand to Western Canada with some of their 50 new Embraer E195-E2 passenger jets.

A few things that differentiate Porter from the rest:

- free beer, wine & snacks in economy
- no middle seats
- free Wifi

Flights are into YYZ (Pearson), not YTZ (Billy Bishop).

Calgary-Toronto in Porter's 'standard' economy is currently priced at $299 CAD with a piece of carry-on, which makes them priced higher than Air Canada & WestJet for travel between February and May (AC & WestJet are currently $245 CAD roundtrip)

Porter's prices are more interesting for July & August travel. At $299 CAD roundtrip Porter is 60% cheaper than Air Canada & WestJet (currently priced at $747 roundtrip).

Dates are wide open with every date available for the same price.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Today Porter becomes the 6th, yes *6th*, airline to offer nonstop flights between Calgary and Toronto.

Not that many years ago the question always being asked was: "Does Canada have the population density to support more than 2 airlines?"

Porter has operated in Eastern Canada for 16 years and are now starting to expand to Western Canada with some of their 50 new Embraer E195-E2 passenger jets.

A few things that differentiate Porter from the rest:

- free beer, wine & snacks in economy
- no middle seats
- free Wifi

Flights are into YYZ (Pearson), not YTZ (Billy Bishop).

Calgary-Toronto in Porter's 'standard' economy is currently priced at $299 CAD with a piece of carry-on, which makes them priced higher than Air Canada & WestJet for travel between February and May (AC & WestJet are currently $245 CAD roundtrip)

Porter's prices are more interesting for July & August travel. At $299 CAD roundtrip Porter is 60% cheaper than Air Canada & WestJet (currently priced at $747 roundtrip).

Dates are wide open with every date available for the same price.

you have my interest

[calgarygeologist]

It is seems rather unfortunate that Porter can't do YYC to Billy Bishop because that probably would be pretty advantageous for anyone going into downtown Toronto. The commute would be considerably shorter I think. I can't be certain though because I've never been to Billy Bishop.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

you have my interest

He said beer, not beer's.

But yes, also interested. I'm really hoping this finally starts driving down pricing properly again. Tons of lines coming in and out of YYC now. How many is that?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

He said beer, not beer's.

Still 1 more than WJ or AC have given me.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

He said beer, not beer's.

But yes, also interested. I'm really hoping this finally starts driving down pricing properly again. Tons of lines coming in and out of YYC now. How many is that?

For YYC-YYZ we've got:

Air Canada
WestJet
Flair
Lynx
Jetlines
...and now Porter

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

It is seems rather unfortunate that Porter can't do YYC to Billy Bishop because that probably would be pretty advantageous for anyone going into downtown Toronto. The commute would be considerably shorter I think. I can't be certain though because I've never been to Billy Bishop.

It is too bad. I wonder if it's due to the size of the aircraft they're using? I've flown into Billy Bishop before and it's awesome. You're right downtown. Less than a 20 minute walk to Rogers Centre (or 5 minute drive).

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

It is too bad. I wonder if it's due to the size of the aircraft they're using? I've flown into Billy Bishop before and it's awesome. You're right downtown. Less than a 20 minute walk to Rogers Centre (or 5 minute drive).

Over the years Porter was in a battle to get jet service approved to YTZ, back when they were going to order the Bombardier C-Series (now the Airbus 220). I haven't looked into if the E-195's could operate out of there runway length wise. It would have been a big score if they had gotten permission to operate from out of there with the jets.

Some info from wiki:

"In April 2013, Porter announced a conditional purchase of 12 Airbus A220-100 passenger jets, with an option to purchase 18 more. Porter president Robert Deluce announced that the airline would seek an extension of the main runway by 336 m (1,102 ft), 168 m (551 ft) at either end,[107] to accommodate the longer landing and takeoff requirements of the aircraft. The airline would also seek an exemption for the CS100 aircraft from the jet ban at the airport imposed in the 1983 Tripartite Agreement of the airport.[/quote]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_...xpansion_plans

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

It is too bad. I wonder if it's due to the size of the aircraft they're using? I've flown into Billy Bishop before and it's awesome. You're right downtown. Less than a 20 minute walk to Rogers Centre (or 5 minute drive).

Basically Porter thought sweet sweet Bombardier jobs might have the political heft to overcome Toronto NIMBYs.

They were wrong, so not jets at Billy Bishop.

[Nufy]

Anyone on CP know the area around Cardiff / Bristol in the UK ??

I have a few questions about local transport.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Anyone on CP know the area around Cardiff / Bristol in the UK ??

I have a few questions about local transport.

Been there.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Anyone on CP know the area around Cardiff / Bristol in the UK ??

I have a few questions about local transport.

If you go during the season make sure you take in a Bears game

https://www.bristolbearsrugby.com/

[cmyden]

Interesting... the Canadian Transport Agency just announced that each quarter they are going to release stats on the number of air travel complaints per 100 flights (flights operated by Canadian airlines and foreign airlines).

Here are the current stats: https://otc-cta.gc.ca/air-travel-com...lights-airline

[Canadian Airlines:] To no one's surprise, Flair and Swoop lead the way with the most complaints per 100 flights. Between July and September Air Canada and WestJet complaint rates were about the same (WestJet was significantly higher between April and June).

[Foreign Airlines:] Top 5 highest complaint rates (July to September)

Qatar Airways - 29.9
Turkish Airlines - 16.0
Royal Air Maroc - 14.2
Etihad - 15.6
Air India - 15.2

United Airlines is one of the noticeably missing airlines.

-

[cmyden]

Very last minute Sweetgrass Nexus interview appointment available for tomorrow..

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

Been there.

My wife and son are heading there in September.

My son want's to drive a tank and there is a place by USK that offers a half day thing.

Wondering if they should fly to Bristol or Cardiff and then how to get around once they get there. Taxis seem to be pretty expensive.