Originally Posted by
YoYUL
Hi Ben, is there any chance you can work with the YOW Airport Authority to try and get a break on airport/terminal fees on your YOW transatlantic routes during the slower winter months to try and make YOW-FRA viable year-round again for winter 2015-16? Have the recent government cutbacks hurt YOW-FRA as what prompts AC to go from 5x/week to 0x/week? I agree that the Canadian Gov't does nothing to support local carriers. While I as a civil servant always choose YOW first, I have heard countless times of people willingly go to YUL via the AF or KL bus (and nobody ever drives from here to fly AC at YUL). As an Ottawan, it drives me nuts to hear people do that and not support their local nonstop transatlantic air service.
I hate to say it, but like YEG-LHR, you're leaving yourself very vulnerable to FI launching YOW within the next couple of years, especially when FI start taking delivery of the 737MAX.
Agreed, YOW is a likely candidate for FI in the next couple of years.
And I do believe the YEG-LHR route isn't viable in the winter months as YYC-LHR traffic also drops off and having the feed from YEG to YYC-LHR becomes seasonably important to maintain YYC-LHR profitably.
Traffic has already begun dropping on the route and the 763 has now taken over YYC-LHR as the 77W becomes slightly too large during the winter months.