This is a sad day for YVR. I never thought all California flights would be transferred to Rouge. There is a lots of IT business travelers between SFO and YVR and also lots of movie business constantly moving from LAX to YVR.

In addition, I think this move puts Air Canada at a disadvantage when connecting passengers TPAC from SFO and LAX via Vancouver. Would you rather start your TPAC journey with a discount carrier or do a stop elsewhere with a main carrier such as EVA, Philippines, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, etc? The answer is easy.

Air Canada initially said that Rouge was created to complement Air Canada service in routes with lots of leisure travelers. With this move, I have no doubts that Air Canada will shrink significantly in the near future and transfer most of its North American routes to Rouge. This has been happening in Australia where jetstar has taken over many many Qantas routes.