jlisi984

I was looking today to book some flights Calgary-Europe-Calgary. I could not figure out why all options had more than one connection and nothing through FRA.

Finally I just looked at FRA-YYC and saw that while the outbound, AC846, is as usual, the return, AC845 FRA-YYC, is now scheduled as 10:30 - 12:30. Awful on both ends!! Awful for picking up connections in FRA - some places are impossible to connect from; awful for waking up early; awful for jet lag when you arrive; and awful for pick-up from the airport by somebody who has to be at work. 3:30 - doable, might have to leave slightly early; 12:30 - impossible.

Many to AC for this schedule change. AC 845 has been 13:30-15:30 for as long as I can remember, so why change it now?!

montrealer

Jan - let's hack into Air Canada's computers and switch it with AC839 from FRA to YOW. I'd dearly love for this flight to leave at 10:30 and get me home around lunch time, instead of the timing it has had for years of leaving FRA around 1:30 and reaching YOW at 3:30pm. Awful on both ends!! If you're connecting in FRA from a redeye from Asia or the Middle East, you're stuck in the lounge for the whole morning, and then you get home in Canada in the midafternoon - too late to actually do anything that day, but not late enough to go to bed.

ac-YUL

AC845 FRAYYC and AC875 FRAYUL have traded slots for the winter. It is very likely that this will continue into next summer.

The early departure from FRA to YYC allows better connections to Western Canada, particularly for the ski market. It also allows tighter connections in FRA from the Middle East and Indian subcontinent. This will also be the earliest international arrival into YYC from Europe.

Also, the A330 will fly this route for the full season.

Conversely, this benefits FRAYUL by offering later connections from within Europe to YUL. This is important in the more competitive YUL market.

Hopefully, you will learn to love this new timing.

jlisi984

Doesn't work for me...

I only connect from points around Europe... I have never started in FRA itself. And frequently I also need to get to the airport at point A. So now with the 10:30 departure, I will have to take a flight leaving around 6:00-7:00 am. So I have to get up around 3:00-4:00 to get to the airport. And usually the night before I will be performing so I will go to sleep for obvious reasons at around 1:00 am. So this makes me VERY unhappy and I am very sad to see this new timing.

There are now numerous destinations from which it is impossible to connect to FRA-YYC. Off the top of my head two which I frequent:
- GDN
- KRK

Thank heavens that you didn't swap AC846. Now that would be equally bad!

Jasper2009

Since LH discontinued their FRA-YYC service I�ve avoided the FRA-YYC flight as the upgrade odds are pretty bad even if this means I need to book a longer connection via YUL/YOW/YYZ.

I�ve come to really appreciate the late 5p.m. FRA-YYZ departure and would be pretty unhappy if AC changed that departure time.

@Jan: Depending on your departure city connecting at LHR may be an alternative option (AC flight LHR-YYC departs at 1.35p.m.)

jlisi984

I might do KRK-MUC-YYZ-YVR-YYC on lie flats for MUC-YVR if I decide to book J one way (on the return). Otherwise I'll do YYC-FRA-WAW, KRK-WAW-LHR (separate ticket), LHR-YYC (Latitude to SEA )

jeffdoucette

This is a great option for my CDG - YYC hops. Home in time to shower, settle in and pick junior up from day care a bit early to reconnect with Dad after a week apart.

Stranger

Interesting.

The YYC-FRA schedule is unchanged. With the return now leaving before that flight arrives, it means that it's no longer the same plane turning around.

Either the issue is better plane use, or maybe using the same plane led to regular delays?

Personally I don't mind. I often would overnight at FRA before flying back. Although given R inventory unavailability I have stayed away from the YYC-FRA flights so far this year.

travel agent

they use the plane coming in from YUL

ACflyerDE

I guess 846 / 847 is safe since it's the only flight into / out of MUC, so no other AC flight they could switch the slots with.

yyccdg

Personally, I am quite disappointed with this change. Flying frequently from cities outside FRA to YYC, this change makes it practically impossible to travel in one day without the super early morning wake-up. We used to fly 1050 flight from CDG to FRA to connect with the 1400 or so flight to YYC and be in the house by 1700. Now, I have to go with the 1130 departure to YUL, connect and get home somewhere around 1900. Alternatively, get up a 400 to make the 700 connector in FRA.

Flying to LHR is not really an alternative since there is no Star Alliance carrier that is based in England so all the connections are through Lufthansa/Austrian/Swiss hubs.

I am not sure how moving the flight up helps connect to Western Canada ski markets as mentioned above, you can't ski the arrival day anyway. Landing in YYC around 1600 still leaves lots of time to get to Banff or connect to another flight for the Okanagan. That seems like a "red herring" response to me. I guess this is what happens when you are not considered a competitive market.

Indelaware

It wasn't all that long ago that flying was only a dream, now we have become so dependent that we disdain connecting twice?

A double connection has benefits, let us not forget: more miles and segments for the account, a greater chance of scoring VDB certificates, and the thrill of an extra flight and perhaps extra country. I'm at a constant loss as to why people don't thrill at flying. I wish I could do more, but the most I've been able to get is 12 countries in one month.

Consider: KRK-MUC-LHR-YYC 630A-32OP and KRK-FRA-YYZ-YYC 1035A-848P

1Newflyer

It was a long time age that flying on "AC" was a dream, now it's a nightmare.

LAman

Hardly. A nightmare is losing a child or being diagnosed with terminal cancer or living in poverty or being hungry or not having access to clean water or living in fear of being killed or tortured.

And by the way, the original comment said that "flying was a dream", no mention of AC. There are many airlines far worse than AC.

1Newflyer

That is exactly how I felt flying with AC last week ....... I admit there are other nightmares you may have experienced.