moorw003

YYZ-YYJ has been E190 in the past.

Adam Smith

They started disappearing as AC started sending them off to Boeing. But they're around for the occasional run like YYC-EWR and a handful of YYC-YULs and so on. YYC-YYZ is another route that used to have an E90 or two most days that no longer does.

I believe on the YYC-YVR run they've reduced frequency to offset the larger planes and keep total capacity about the same.

YYC-EWR is also quite long. According to gcmap, it's 2022 vs 2060 for YYZ-SEA. YYZ-YYJ is 2100, so if they still operate that, it would be the longest, although YYZ-SEA would seem to be the longest regular route.

acysb87

Have flown YYZ/PDX numerous times on E90 equipment

GJS - yow

I have flown YYZ-SAN a couple of times on the E90. That is 2157 miles according to Great Circle Mapper, more than either YYZ-SEA or YYZ-YYJ.

YoYUL

I posted about this in another thread a while back: Has policy changed for Rapidair East standby?. At the time, I thought AC were just using E90s across the board as placeholders while the summer schedule was being rolled out.

Even though AC are adding 2 additional YYZ-YOW Rapidairs per day, total capacity on the route is CUT BY MORE THAN 15%! That is utter insanity. It's not like on April 30th where there are still mostly A32x ops that demand suddenly disappears. May is always a STRONGER month than April is for domestic traffic at YOW yet capacity is getting cut.

If you check online, fares are through the roof. Tango sold-out almost everywhere. This will do wonders for YOW's already terrible pax numbers. It's hard to believe that with so much going on in Canada's Capital for Canada 150 that YOW's pax numbers for 2017 are likely going end the year negative.

For the month of May it's 17x E90 and 1x 763 on YYZ-YOW.

In June 1 320 gets added back. It's hard to believe that YOW will have zero A319 and A321 ops and only 4x A320 ops this summer. That's unheard of. AC continues to inexplicably shrink YOW...actually there is an explanation - NOT ENOUGH COMPETITION! Our beloved AC is so focussed on trashing yields at the big 4 hubs these days (there's a reason why AC now almost always releases financial results on a Friday) thanks to near-zero competition elsewhere. We desperately need a real new ULCC in Canada to shake things up.

The thing is, they've done the same with YYZ-YUL. Everything is on a 320 + 2x E75 & ZERO WIDEBODIES some days of the week (max. 2x/day) & flight frequencies cut to as low as 18x on some weekdays = 10% cut.

YoYUL

YOW-YYC and YOW-YEG are pretty much exclusively on the E90.

jasdou

And of course you have access to more data regarding loads and capacity than AC's route planning and scheduling team to support your claims. Air Canada has an army of people dedicated to optimizing utilization of assets in order to increase revenue. If they pull the A32x from this route, it is because they can be better used elsewhere. If they choose to operate E90s instead, it is because they feel that is the plane that will give them the highest revenue stream with the lowest cost. Simple, really.

I would be thrilled to fly on CRAs or E75s in YQB instead of the gaggle of DH4s we see over here - similar capacity, but obviously wrong planes for the mission in AC's opinion.

RatherBeInYOW

The two extra flights are in the evening when the flights are maxed out (going YYZ to YOW anyway). The reduced capacity during the middle of the day might be able to even things out. But you are right, loads look high now, will be interesting.

Admiral Ackbar

I hope for the sake of your argument that they are better than the army of people working in their IT department.

martyYOW

I find that the morning and evening/ late night flights are the only ones that are full. I've been taking more mid day flights recently and the 319/320 are 60% full (if that).

Simon

They have just lost my business on this route. I will quite happily drive instead.

Rundosrun

You will drive because instead of taking an A319 you have to take an E190??

For the same J seat and roomier Y seats with only 2-2 config? And a drive of 4hours vs a 45min flight?

YOWCDNFF

The other very plausible explanation is that AC is trying to drive away some connecting traffic to/from YYZ through some of the other direct flights out of YOW. As noticed earlier on AC.COM, there was a marked reduction in the # of YYZ connection options for flights between YOW and YVR for example.

Also, as others have pointed out, some of the midday flights are often far from full and some of these are already on E90s. Not uncommon to see at least 1 set of YYZ-YOW-YYZ flight cancelled sometime midday

gregster

YYZ/YVR is likely reduced in capacity this summer with more 32x/767s than I recall from previous summers. Don't have the previous years' schedule to see if it's a capacity change or simply more frequency with smaller aircraft.

RatherBeInYOW

For your first point, maybe, although I have to wonder how many people are really funneling though YYZ when they don't have to. I guess sometimes when I go to YEG to go through YYZ when the timing is terrible (typically on the way there) but I typically never connect through YYZ when there is an option not to. There just frequently is no option for where and when I am going - YOW just does't have enough direct connections anywhere.

For the second point, yes, agreed. Based on my eyeball of doing YYZ to YOW on connections several times a month in 2016 and 2017 the midday loads are quite light. However the evening loads are always nuts and I'm trying to wedge my way on in standby in to a middle middle seat on a 320 when I am trying to get home an hour earlier, and sometimes I don't make it on because the plane is full even with misconnects. I guess we'll see soon enough if this helps or hurts the situation.