AC860 from St. John's is beating Halifax load factor
Mar 2, 2018, 6:32 am
#33
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: YYT
Programs: AC E35k, HHonors Silver
Posts: 743
@YZF_Elite Air Canada would not still continue this route if it was not somewhat profitable. I understand that the evidence I have provided is not exactly concrete evidence, but unless you work in a senior position with AC I doubt you would know the exact load figures for the flight such as cargo, economy pax, first class pax, etc. Your argument about it being half filled just isn't very true, it has been very full most nights. In fact, last I checked the YYZ-LHR flights were totally empty compared to this one which is funny and unusual.
I do know someone at the airport as I'm a member of the Pax Ex advisory council. I asked them this morning whether they have any load data for this year & they don't have anything official but suggested that the flights are full because a) they are only running twice a week and b) because they come from Halifax. So I'm not sure I buy the theory that the majority of the pax are from YYT. My anecdotal experience from the past year (& many previous to that) was that flights, both AC and WJ were rarely full outside of the peak summer (July/August) period. And thats on A319/B737 not a widebody. WJ cancelling their seasonal flight might imply that they don't see the demand or the economics aren't right, or it might be more about centralising their Atlantic ops in YHZ. Certainly the airport authority continues to look for other carriers to provide service. AC have proved adept at managing this route to kill off competition over the past 13 years since I've lived here. (Astreaus, WJ) and at times have completly eliminated the direct route.
The economics of a thin and short route across the pond favour the extended range narrowbodies don't they? That's why AC will put the 738 on this route. That's what WJ ran from here to LGW and still will to DUB. Incidentally, much of the WJ YYT-LGW traffic was connecting traffic to elsewhere in Europe on low cost carriers (Easyjet, Ryanair etc). I don't for a moment think that there is sufficient traffic to use a widebody daily or even 5 days a week. And I'd prefer daily service on a smaller plane as there is little benefit in a lie-flat on a 4.5hr route and my corporate travel policy wouldn't spring for that on such a short flight anyway. When I did get op-up'd in Jan I got maybe 2hrs sleep. Which was nice but not worth paying $3k for.!
Mar 2, 2018, 11:52 am
#34
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: aeroplan
Posts: 375
I do not have the specifics, but somebody I know who works for AC informed me that the flight has been just about full every night its gone across the pond from YYT. Same person also said that these numbers were predominantly passengers originating in YYT, and not just people flying YHZ-YYT-LHR. Full flight of pax and cargo is gonna mean money for any airline
Mar 2, 2018, 11:56 am
#35
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: YYT
Programs: M-Bonvoy Platinum Elite, Aeroplan 50K, DragonPass, AMEX MR, NEXUS
Posts: 1,715
@yhzflyer I am not delving into the specifics of who said this to me. But I can most certainly say that you are wrong in assuming it was a baggage handler. Now where you conjured up that idea is beyond me, because I did not mention anything about a baggage handler in any of my comments. No baggage handler would be aware of passenger specific load factors on an AC flight either way.