Originally Posted by
Adam Smith
YYC is extra busy in early July due to Stampede, so it's not unusual to see some extra capacity. For instance, YYC has 1 redeye to YYZ most of the year, 2 through most of the summer, but I think some past summers have had 3 around Stampede (and sometimes around Christmas).
Have you looked at the YYZ schedule around then? It's possible that this isn't all incremental demand from/to YUL, but that AC is directing traffic through YUL rather than YYZ. That could either be part of the effort over recent years to beef up YUL as a hub or because of the cluster that is YYZ in 2022. If you're coming from, say, YYG or YHZ or BOS, YYZ vs YUL, not a big difference in travel time or anything.
If YYC-YYZ only has 1 redeye around that time, I'd say that's a pretty likely case of AC shifting traffic. If YYZ has 3, definitely incremental capacity. If YYZ is at 2, less clear either way
This clarifies things even further.. Thanks so much!!
I just looked and YYC-YYZ for her dates in July indeed only has 1 red eye so what you're saying about shifting traffic seems to be it. When I lived in YYC, I remember there being 2 or 3 redeyes, and one being a widebody. I would have never thought of any of this so I'm really impressed with how knowledgeable you are. Much appreciated... I got her on the YYC-YUL widebody redeye one way in J for a great price(less than my PHX-YYZ in Y lol). The pricing was fantastic... PY also being great value for $200 more than Y.
On a side note, when I searched YYC-YYZ -> the cheapest flights were YYC-YUL-YYZ. 50%++ cheaper than YYC-YYZ non stop, both in Y and J :