The other YEG-YYZ flights around the same time went the normal way and flew 30 min faster, so it certainly wasn't for optimal winds. It looks worse than it is just a little bit; if you want to go straight south from YEG you have to route slightly west then over top of Calgary to stay clear of traffic going northbound from YYC to the Oil Sands.
My best guess is reports or a forecast of severe airframe icing or turbulence east of YEG, and Air Canada and Porter's dispatchers were happy to just go the normal way and deviate, or saw it differently in their tools. No way to know for sure.
Lord knows if you scroll through FlightAware and look at some of my plans I might not even remember why I have them on some bonkers route but it's usually for a reason.
There is a Cessna 172 Skyhawk flying outside doing some zig-zagging. It doesn’t seem like we’re in hail seeding season. I usually don’t mind the plane traffic, but the buzzing from this is starting to become grating.
