Aviation Appreciation Station

[InSutterWeTrust]

This decision had me wondering if other low cost airliners in North America have upgraded to a plane like this before, since WestJet doesn't have business of first class, I was searching some seat maps on seat guru to have an idea of what the seating will look like. Came across this one from British Airways. This BA can hold 259 passengers. Nice increase from the current 150ish their current lineup hold. Looking forward to flying these to Hawaii from Calgary!

[Acey]

It will probably look more like a Rouge 763, with a small up level cabin at the front with better pitch.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Acey

Going to take a while to get used to that.

WestJet needs to ditch the early 90's lame-o look and color scheme with their new widebodies

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by Acey

It will probably look more like a Rouge 763, with a small up level cabin at the front with better pitch.

Hearing it wil be aprx 262 seats, compared to 280 on Rouge. The economy seat pitch will be nicer on WS. Also plan to have the Panasonic IFEC entertainment system that's due to be installed on the 737 fleet.

[Acey]

Rouge has 2 fins in a 264 seat config, with 30" pitch in Y.

If WS can cut back on the "premium" seats and go 31-34" pitch which would match Y in normal AC 763's, they can go ahead and market their planes is notably more comfortable than Rouge.

[Stealth22]

edit: nm

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Tyler

I dunno, I mean, Emirates is going to have what, 140 A380's in service in the next 5 years or so?

If they can ever get approval from the Canadian government, we could see a seasonal 1 or 2 x weekly flight to YYC, maybe?

I'll never understand the bilateral negotiations that the Canadian government has with other countries.

Emirates wanted to serve YVR on a route that posed no threat to Air Canada. The opportunity was stymied because we got nothing in return. How does that make sense?...

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Acey

The A380 is not the type of aircraft you deploy on a seasonal weekly flight to a low yield destination. Emirates A380 have 90 first/business seats which pay the bills, and YYC would fill like 10 of 'em.

Granted, Emirates is seemingly trying to take over the world (look no further than the insanely huge A380 order you mention) so I'm sure they're constantly monitoring every possible destination, but they way they currently operate, YYC wouldn't make sense.

Not sure if the route would be as thin as you expect it to be. Although I agree an A380 is a bit much, likely to be served by a 777-300ER.

http://www.accomponent.ca/en/news/em...ss-calgary-hub

Emirates has been trying for a while to get to Western Canada.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Leon

I'll never understand the bilateral negotiations that the Canadian government has with other countries.

Emirates wanted to serve YVR on a route that posed no threat to Air Canada. The opportunity was stymied because we got nothing in return. How does that make sense?...

I feel like I've read somewhere that Vancouver is trying to become the Dubai of the west. Essentially to have Europe connect via YVR on the way to Asia rat herb than through DXB.

If that is the case, there's the opportunity stymied. It's not direct route competition but more so airport competition.

Again, this could be my horrible memory making up stories on me.

Edit: This is probably the underlying issue: http://www.pacificgateway.gov.bc.ca/index.htm

[Acey]

"Speaking from Vancouver's Olympic media centre..."

That article couldn't be any more current.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Acey

"Speaking from Vancouver's Olympic media centre..."

That article couldn't be any more current.

Which further solidifies my point on the glacial negotiations, nothing has changed since then!

It's an interesting point to raise regarding YVR being the DBX of W. Canada. There are of course a huge number of OD passengers from Asia ending up in YVR, but the funny thing is there is also a large amount of flow traffic ending up in YYC to connect onto other domestic markets (YYC has superior connectivity, given Westjet's hub presence).

So really, YYC should be capturing a lot of the (direct) Asian traffic that YVR currently gets, instead of the passengers connecting through YVR to YYC.

What I'm also implying is that there is definitely demand for direct service from plenty of Asian locations to YYC.

[calgarygringo]

Maybe that is where Westjet tries to make a foothold is the Orient. They can reach it with the 767 or whatever they decide to go if new planes quite easily. Only the one AC to Tokyo from here and would allow them to move hub traffic from YYC all over.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

http://www.pacificgateway.gov.bc.ca/index.htm

Found on the page:

[burn_this_city]

Human livestock I presume.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Hey, I never said it was going to work (or even that it was a good idea) just that I remembered hearing something about it and then found that link (proving in not crazy, not proving that it's the best or even a viable course of action).

Perhaps Emirates couldn't get into the Calgary market BECAUSE WestJet was preparing to make an international push?

[burn_this_city]

Emirates was denied because our government didn't want a carrier that will run a loss on routes to take them over, competing against our national carriers.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Emirates was denied because our government didn't want a carrier that will run a loss on routes to take them over, competing against our national carriers.

Also:

Getting free fuel and subsidized planes with their own government money? Emirates is a shady character if you dig deep enough

[Leon]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Emirates was denied because our government didn't want a carrier that will run a loss on routes to take them over, competing against our national carriers.

This might be a reasonable argument when they wanted to up the frequency in Toronto (thereby competing on a route served by Air Canada). But the routes aren't served in either YYC or YVR, so why deny them?

The government claims there is currently enough seats to satisfy demand, but why stop an airline creating choices for customers on a route that isn't served anyway? And besides, I'm sure enough demand will be stimulated between YYC and DBX (two large oil hubs) to perhaps get them close to break-even.

It's not secret that Emirates can enter a market and endure losses for a good long time. They have that in their arsenal, I get it. But why stop a potential service that is hugely beneficial to us as customers, and not at all a threat to our airline?

[Ryan Coke]

Yes, that pesky desire to have an even playing field and 2 way street in bilateral air deals.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Leon

What I'm also implying is that there is definitely demand for direct service from plenty of Asian locations to YYC.

What there isn't at the moment is slots (PEK), the correctly sized airplane, and an airline willing to take the hit.