But it’s still Air Canada.

Yeah still air Canada but at least on my paid for flights it’s not like riding in a pack of gum with propellers!! :)

Dash 8s were garbage & a deal breaker when flying out of here.

“Dash 8 which has been our staple aircraft for the last year”

Exactly what does he mean by staple. There used to be 737s. Those were replaced by the 50 seater Bombardier jet which got to Vancouver as quickly in around an hour.

Then a dash 8 was added on just one flight or possibly 2 .. never kept tabs of that but tried to avoid it since that was a regressive step into the future as far as I was concerned.

Now we are back to 5 flights a day instead of 6, and increase the flight duration over the jet but improve it over the Dash 8. So, about a 10 minute increase over the small jet.

The fuel economy per passenger works like a hot damm though. Almost three times the efficiency of the Bombardier jet and about 25% more efficient than the Dash 8 on a per passenger basis.

The range is better too. Now they can fuel in Vancouver and fly to PG and back … and do not have to refuel here from the looks of it.

Thanks gus, I was going to ask if they had terminated the CRJ flights, LOL. I recall there being one Dash 8 flight to PG, but it’s also been a while since I’ve flown there. I used to always get stuck on that flight for some reason and it was dreadful compared to the CRJ’s.

10 minutes extra for the new aircraft doesn’t seem all that much of a penalty. I wonder if Air Canada will be passing along some of those fuel savings with lower fares? Hmmm . . . .

Does not look like it, NMG. I looked at the schedule for May, and the prices are staying the same.

Right now there are 3 CRJ flights and 3 DH3 flights per day each way … each have 50 seats. But not all flights are full. They are dropping the mid afternoon flight.

That fuel efficiency per passenger, of course, work only if they have 57+ passengers in the DH4, compared to a full flight of 50 per DH3. In other words, they have to make sure that their percentage occupancy increases.

BTW, I checked April flights. It appears they are dropping one CJR flight and adding a DH3 flight …… getting people ready to enjoy shorter flights and thinking things have improved over the way it used to be. Maybe Westjet will have an increase in passengers.

Of course, they are supposed to be making changes too.

Just wait until Westjet puts in the prop jobs!

I could not stand the dash 8 and all the noise… plus the flight was longer. Always went out of my way to fly westjet because of it.

I preferred, the King Airs and flying into YVR southside. Much more interesting and easier getting in and out of southside. Also the Beaver pub nearby.

And then waht will happen?

As far as flight duration goes, it will likely be the same as AC. In fact, they will likely be using the same plane.

It will be places like Cranbrook, Prince Rupert, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek which will benefit since they have only a single major airline servicing them, I believe. So, new competition. The two have been competing in PG for some time. AC has, unitl recently, competed with duration being the same, but single flight capacity being lower with a higher flight frequency.

So let us see if Westjet increases frequency but competes on peak hour demands … or goes back to the way CP used to operate with linked flights. So maybe we will see the return of an Edmonton, Grande Prairie/Dawson Creek (or Ft. St. John, PG, Vancouver run. Or even a Fort McMurray connection.

It would be nice to see an Edmonton connection, that would save a large amount of time heading east or people from the east heading to PG. I always hated flying an hour past PG only having to fly an extra hour back up. It makes for a very long day, 8-9 hours if I’m heading to PG from Ottawa.

Of course, I guess they have to look at where most PG residents are flying. My hunch is that it’s to the LML or Western destinations, so the connections in Vancouver make sense.

Being on the eastern side of the country definitely has some advantages when it comes to air travel, but heading to the West Coast isn’t one of them, LOL.

I flew extensivly back and forth to Vancouver last year on AC express … 1 flight a day was a CRJ … quite honestly I preferred the Dash 8 … if anyone that knows anything about aircraft they would prefer the dash 8. its more realiable than the CRJ … its got more cabin space than the CRJ … anyone taller that 5’9″ cant stand upright in a CRJ… Ya the ceiling is lower on a Turbo Prop than a Jet propelled aircraft… for the extra 20-30 mins in flight time … I Found the Dash 8 to be the better aircraft. That said … I like the Q-400 but I havent flown on one enough to form an opinion

PG Airport is always hyping every situation.

Considering that the Airport Authority makes it money on landing and take off fee’s, then it is pretty obviouse that the reduction from 7 flights per day to 6 flights per day, is going to cost them something like $500,000.00 per year in revenue.

They recently increased the Airport Improvement Fee, from $18 to $20 dollars per fare, no doubt to off set some of the loss from the reduced service from Air Canada.

At the end of the day, the people using this (reduced service) will be paying for it one way or the other.

I note that their over rated fuel station has now been set back again until late in 2013. Seems that the pumps were damanged and need to be repaired. Its also interesting to note that the new fuel station has been on the books since 2002, and had little if anything (initially) to do with the Runway Expansion.

So maybe someday we will get the real story as to what the hell is going on at the Airport, but somehow I doubt it.

The Airport always seems to put a positive spin on things. “We have more seats per day” vs. “One fewer flight per day”.

In any case, this is not an Airport decision, it’s an Air Canada decision. They’re always making adjustments to their schedule/planes to meet the demands of the travelling public and maximizing their profits in the process.

As NoWay said, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Westjet flying Dash 8’s out of PG in the near future.

bowzone: “I flew extensivly back and forth to Vancouver last year on AC express … 1 flight a day was a CRJ … quite honestly I preferred the Dash 8 … if anyone that knows anything about aircraft they would prefer the dash 8. its more realiable than the CRJ … its got more cabin space than the CRJ … anyone taller that 5’9″ cant stand upright in a CRJ… Ya the ceiling is lower on a Turbo Prop than a Jet propelled aircraft… for the extra 20-30 mins in flight time … I Found the Dash 8 to be the better aircraft.”

I fly quite a bit as well. I always preferred the CRJ’s and I’m over 6 feet tall. I’m ony standing in the cabin when I’m getting on and off, so that wasn’t a factor. I just hate the noise of the Dash 8’s.

Rumor has it from some inside sources that the really big boys won’t land here even if they had good reason to, because we do not have the proper instrument landing systems available.

Apparently, the one we are using is not adequate, and they require a backup system that can be used in the event of a failure of the first one, or some such.

So what’s up with this ? All that money for a runway, and nobody’s coming because we don’t have the electronics they need ?? If that’s true — why don’t we ???

Palopou — you seem to know all things negative about “our” airport. Please enlighten us on this one.

Fair enuf Johnny … The noise didnt bother me … one way or the other … I am 6′ or so … 240ish pounds… down and back almost on a weekly basis for the better part of 9 months last year… I find the dash 8 seats to be larger as well ..

Gee … JB and I agree on preferring the jet. I am 6’2″; I love the window seat and get that most of the time. I hate the exit row which some try to suggest to me … useless window and over the wing. No thanks. It takes a bit to get past the first seat, but then I am snug as a bug, as long as the person in front of me does not abuse the space in front of me by putting the seat back too far.

Don’t get me started when someone throws their seat back, jamming my knees in the process. I wish they would remove the ability to recline the seat for short flights. It’s an hour long flight, suck it up.

The Q400 is a great aircraft…much more comfortable than the Dash 8 and the sardine can like CJ jet. The Q400 is very quiet and faster..flown in it lots of times out of Toronto…you will love it…guaranteed.

Palomino. Thats a new one on me. Havent heard anything about not having the proper instrument landing equipment.

The old ILS was out of wack that’s why when coming in over the pulp mill the jet had to make a hard left after breaking through the clouds to line up with the runway. From what I understand the ILS system was upgraded when the runway was extended.

Can’t wait for the PG to Calgary run to come back. It will make it easier to fly home when needed after I move to Calgary this spring.

Yes, the old ILS system may have been upgraded, (and apparently there was indeed something awhile back about the GPS co-ordinates and the autopilots lining up the airplanes with the runways) but also apparently we still do not yet have all the systems in place to meet the standards required by the big boys to maximize safety under all possible conditions either (or so the rumor goes).

Even if WJ brings props to PG I would choose them. Heck Air Canada could bring jet service back and I would still say a flight on a prop with WJ is better than a jet with AC. LOL

It use to be Air BC had great planes with the I think it was a BA146 jet, quietest jet in the world at the time and flight time of only 55 minutes. The airline grew rapidly to become the most profitable in Canada with services as far afield as Manitoba, as well as Edmonton and Calgary… then Air Canada bought its junior partners out and folded it into Jazz and the service has never been the same since.

Eagle, that was back when it wasn’t uncommon to pay over $1000 for a return flight to Vancouver (no wonder it was so profitable!). I like the competition better.