BASE
Active Member
Really hope it doesn’t happen but this Amsterdam situation is just YEG’s luck.
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Edmonton International Airport (EIA/YEG)
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
occidentalcapital
Senior Member
Strange that WS thinks it is okay to ignore this city and everyone that lives here. Edmontonians cannot sit by and ignore quality air service to Edmonton. I have never seen WestJet be so blatant and open about which city they prefer in Alberta.
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occidentalcapital
Senior Member
We'll see but speaking of luck, Frankfurt just starting next summer, so Europe connection maintained.
TAS
Senior Member
This announcement is a partnership with the UCP provincial government, which shares a Calgary centric priority with WS, and the final spending announcement by Jason Kenney. The framework for this began in 2019 and includes funding for Mount Royal University and an aviation center of excellence in Calgary.
The Alberta government will also work with WestJet to develop policies for a possible connecting passenger grant program that would incentivize stays in Calgary as people move to subsequent destinations.
This is a perfect ending to the premier's time in office. Kenney's final spending announcement for Edmonton, by the way, was last week when he allocated an extra $12 million for homelessness specifically in YEG - because the government just realized that our city was being underfunded. It was just a small accounting error - we were getting one-third per capita that Calgary was getting in funding.
occidentalcapital
Senior Member
The_Cat
Senior Member
A lot of UCP people like Edmonton being treated like a court jester!
EdmTrekker
Senior Member
Apparently the new CEO has slammed the door shut wrt to use of a Dreamliner 787 - and since that is what Westjet have to fly looks like Westjet has turned its back on Edmonton. If that is the case we will fly AC to YVR or YYZ before flying through YYC.
CaptainBL
Active Member
These are my thoughts on the current situation and most recent events with YEG (or those that affect YEG):
1) WestJet is not the WestJet of 15-20 years ago. Historically WestJet grew with YEG when it started because it was the second biggest city it served starting out (YYC being the other, of course). Because of that, WestJet grew adding more flights within western Canada and especially with YEG. Recently since the acquisition and privatization by Onex, WestJet is so far from its old roots its not even close. WestJet is effectively a Toronto airline based in Calgary. It is run entirely on profit by Onex out of Toronto. Onex, which has absolutely no connection or concern of providing Edmonton its fair share of flights, instilled a profit driven CEO out of Austria, again, who has absolutely no connection to WestJet's history or any connection to Edmonton. What we see now is anything else you see in the private equity industry when a financial buyer buys a corp with the intention of squeezing every bit of return out of the company, regardless of what the company's history with Edmonton may be
2) What has YEG management done about this, and the ever-declining air service over the past 5-10 years? Well in my opinion, not very much. Under Tom Ruth's leadership, air service, routes and providers have all but disappeared and YEG has effectively degraded to a feeder airport. Under Tom Ruth's leadership, we have seen bips and gadgets and drones and autonomous vehicles and all sorts of other initiatives that I will classify as "peripheral at best". Are some of them important? Sure. But many have absolutely nothing to do with the airport's primary duty - provide the best possible quality for air service to move its passengers. If you don't believe me, take a look at the EIA annual report and see how many times they discuss improving passenger air service as a priority in their mission.
3) This brings me to my next point. Out of all those peripheral initiatives and developments and fund raisings, we were told that revenue from all these things would go towards attracting airlines and routes. How has that worked out so far? Out of all the funds that were raised by the municipalities in the Edmonton region, how have those funds been used in attracting routes? Did they go towards attracting anything on UA because Houston is now officially cancelled?
5) The current Situation: This is the worst situation YEG has been in in as long as I can remember. Our transborder service (While Flair or Swoop are great, I am not counting them for a reason because those do little to drive traffic and connections and can be intermittent at best) is about on par with what we had in the 90s - a 1x daily SFO, 1x daily DEN and a 1x daily SEA with very little prospect of AA, Delta or other routes returning. AC has continued to demonstrate that it has little interest in serving YEG (our domestic service is effectively as bare as it will get), and WestJet and its Toronto owner have declared YYC as the center of the universe.
6) What needs to happen: In my opinion, the Board of YEG needs to wake the f**k up and create a strong action plan and start making some public noise. The first step is hiring a new CEO who has a strategic plan to dig YEG out of this hole and has the background, relationships and proper team to do this. This may mean it is a former exec at a large airline or a large global airport. With all do respect to Tom Ruth who is a nice fellow, he did very little for YEG in terms of building up the airport and his background out of Halifax didn’t provide any confidence he would. The next thing I would do is bring in a reputable global consultant such as a BCG of McKinsey. Someone who not only can help execute and refine a new strategy, but also can bring relationships with airlines.
If this isn’t a big deal now, then when will this be a big deal? YEG’s future is in danger of being a large feeder and ULCC airport and it will be hard to dig out. And this means less choices for you and me, and less choices for people looking to connect with YEG to visit or do business.
1) WestJet is not the WestJet of 15-20 years ago. Historically WestJet grew with YEG when it started because it was the second biggest city it served starting out (YYC being the other, of course). Because of that, WestJet grew adding more flights within western Canada and especially with YEG. Recently since the acquisition and privatization by Onex, WestJet is so far from its old roots its not even close. WestJet is effectively a Toronto airline based in Calgary. It is run entirely on profit by Onex out of Toronto. Onex, which has absolutely no connection or concern of providing Edmonton its fair share of flights, instilled a profit driven CEO out of Austria, again, who has absolutely no connection to WestJet's history or any connection to Edmonton. What we see now is anything else you see in the private equity industry when a financial buyer buys a corp with the intention of squeezing every bit of return out of the company, regardless of what the company's history with Edmonton may be
2) What has YEG management done about this, and the ever-declining air service over the past 5-10 years? Well in my opinion, not very much. Under Tom Ruth's leadership, air service, routes and providers have all but disappeared and YEG has effectively degraded to a feeder airport. Under Tom Ruth's leadership, we have seen bips and gadgets and drones and autonomous vehicles and all sorts of other initiatives that I will classify as "peripheral at best". Are some of them important? Sure. But many have absolutely nothing to do with the airport's primary duty - provide the best possible quality for air service to move its passengers. If you don't believe me, take a look at the EIA annual report and see how many times they discuss improving passenger air service as a priority in their mission.
3) This brings me to my next point. Out of all those peripheral initiatives and developments and fund raisings, we were told that revenue from all these things would go towards attracting airlines and routes. How has that worked out so far? Out of all the funds that were raised by the municipalities in the Edmonton region, how have those funds been used in attracting routes? Did they go towards attracting anything on UA because Houston is now officially cancelled?
5) The current Situation: This is the worst situation YEG has been in in as long as I can remember. Our transborder service (While Flair or Swoop are great, I am not counting them for a reason because those do little to drive traffic and connections and can be intermittent at best) is about on par with what we had in the 90s - a 1x daily SFO, 1x daily DEN and a 1x daily SEA with very little prospect of AA, Delta or other routes returning. AC has continued to demonstrate that it has little interest in serving YEG (our domestic service is effectively as bare as it will get), and WestJet and its Toronto owner have declared YYC as the center of the universe.
6) What needs to happen: In my opinion, the Board of YEG needs to wake the f**k up and create a strong action plan and start making some public noise. The first step is hiring a new CEO who has a strategic plan to dig YEG out of this hole and has the background, relationships and proper team to do this. This may mean it is a former exec at a large airline or a large global airport. With all do respect to Tom Ruth who is a nice fellow, he did very little for YEG in terms of building up the airport and his background out of Halifax didn’t provide any confidence he would. The next thing I would do is bring in a reputable global consultant such as a BCG of McKinsey. Someone who not only can help execute and refine a new strategy, but also can bring relationships with airlines.
If this isn’t a big deal now, then when will this be a big deal? YEG’s future is in danger of being a large feeder and ULCC airport and it will be hard to dig out. And this means less choices for you and me, and less choices for people looking to connect with YEG to visit or do business.
Windermere
Active Member
We don't know what those funds are spent on - but I have long suspected that KLM continues to be subsidized by them. When KLM was still operating in the middle of the winter at the peak of COVID when YEG couldn't even handle international flights, I believe that there had to be some money behind that.
MacLac
Senior Member
Not sure who WS plans on using to fill up their 7 - 787’s at what? 350M each? That’s a lot of seats to fill from rural Saskatchewan and Manitoba to feed Europe. No way is anyone from YVR or YYZ gonna take an extra flight to YYC to catch these make believe flights. I see WS crash and burning eventually with this business plan…..they’re gonna have to add another decade to their amortization schedule to pay for these
BrettB
Active Member
Under previous management, they were planning on connecting US passengers through YYC to Europe, much the way AC does through Toronto and Vancouver. I assume that's still their hope to fill the 787s.
CaptainBL
Active Member
Not just MB, SK, AB and BC, they are planning to do the same thing that AC does at Toronto by bringing in U.S. connecting passengers. They will be leveraging their west coast and southwest U.S connections. I have already seen adds in California for WestJet to Europe with a stop and explore Calgary/Banff.
Whether that works or not remains to be seen, but that is the strategy.
MacLac
Senior Member
Seriously? Adds in California? Pretty sure there are a few hundred flights a week out of LAX and SFO to Europe without stopping at YYC. This plan reeks of desperation and poor planning. Oh that’s right……the monthly interest payment alone on their new terminal is north of 60M……..
IanO
Senior Member
Look on the bright side though... we are the 'Gateway to the North'.
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IanO
Senior Member
Express bus from airport to downtown seen as business boost
By Mack Male
An express bus from the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) to downtown could become a reality if city council approves the idea during the upcoming 2023-2026 budget deliberations.
“I’ve been hearing very strongly from the airport and the downtown business community that this service is needed,” Coun. Anne Stevenson told Taproot. She is expected to make a motion as early as Oct. 7 to request an unfunded service package for council’s consideration.
Stevenson said she had previously been skeptical of the need given the existence of the Route 747 service, which runs from Century Park to YEG seven days a week at either 30- or 60-minute intervals, depending on the time of day. “I felt the transfer to the LRT at Century Park was reasonable.”
But a couple of factors caused her to rethink that position. “I heard from the business community that it might be a barrier to having events come downtown,” Stevenson said. “And I learned that a majority of taxi rides from the airport are to downtown.”
In fact, about half of all taxi trips from YEG head to downtown, a spokesperson confirmed to Taproot.
Brett Bain, director of parking and ground transportation at YEG, said the airport is supportive of the idea, in part because it would benefit employees who need to get to the airport for work.
“As a regional partner in transit, creating a direct route to Edmonton’s downtown core will also help to strengthen business and tourism opportunities,” he said in a statement. “As we continue to grow as an airport and a region, more transit services will be needed and this direct route to downtown is a natural next step in our regional transit journey.”
Stevenson said she wasn’t sure where the downtown terminus of the service might be, but suggested locating it close to hotels and convention space would make sense. “My expectation is that it would be informed by input from downtown partners.”
edmonton.taproot.news
By Mack Male
An express bus from the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) to downtown could become a reality if city council approves the idea during the upcoming 2023-2026 budget deliberations.
“I’ve been hearing very strongly from the airport and the downtown business community that this service is needed,” Coun. Anne Stevenson told Taproot. She is expected to make a motion as early as Oct. 7 to request an unfunded service package for council’s consideration.
Stevenson said she had previously been skeptical of the need given the existence of the Route 747 service, which runs from Century Park to YEG seven days a week at either 30- or 60-minute intervals, depending on the time of day. “I felt the transfer to the LRT at Century Park was reasonable.”
But a couple of factors caused her to rethink that position. “I heard from the business community that it might be a barrier to having events come downtown,” Stevenson said. “And I learned that a majority of taxi rides from the airport are to downtown.”
In fact, about half of all taxi trips from YEG head to downtown, a spokesperson confirmed to Taproot.
Brett Bain, director of parking and ground transportation at YEG, said the airport is supportive of the idea, in part because it would benefit employees who need to get to the airport for work.
“As a regional partner in transit, creating a direct route to Edmonton’s downtown core will also help to strengthen business and tourism opportunities,” he said in a statement. “As we continue to grow as an airport and a region, more transit services will be needed and this direct route to downtown is a natural next step in our regional transit journey.”
Stevenson said she wasn’t sure where the downtown terminus of the service might be, but suggested locating it close to hotels and convention space would make sense. “My expectation is that it would be informed by input from downtown partners.”
Express bus from airport to downtown seen as business boost
An express bus from the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) to downtown could become a reality if city council approves the idea during the upcoming 2023-2026 budget deliberations.
edmonton.taproot.news