jiaotze

I haven't been in contact yet with the agent who booked our stay, as I figure we'll see how things play out in the coming months. But I'd think the vast majority of Fogo's guests arrive/depart via Gander, as St John's is just too far. I also wonder how Fogo Island Inn is going to tackle this.

As much as I have my heart set on visiting, if it just becomes too onerous to get to someplace nearby, then I imagine we'll cancel. The inn, however, has a very strict cancellation policy, so it's questionable based on current rules if we'd even get our deposit back.

SanDiego1K

Last year, the Inn started private flights from Halifax two days a week for two months of the summer. Perhaps they will offer this again and even expand when it is offered.

https://fogoislandinn.ca/new-private...pean%20markets.

jiaotze

Thanks very much for this info. This may be something they have no choice but to expand. (Sorry mods for taking this thread off topic a bit.)

Hopefully enough pressure will be put on AC to reinstate the service, in conjunction with getting Covid under control and life gradually back to normal.

eigenvector

If you are not short of time, you can take VIA Rail from Prince Rupert to Prince George and fly out of there. Again, it's not fast (it takes all day), but an incredibly scenic ride especially between Terrace and Smithers going past some of the coastal mountains. The train is running again now, but only 1x weekly and it remains to be seen how the schedule will change for summer. But it's at low risk of being completely cancelled because it services some communities along the route that aren't reachable by highway.

Perhaps the withdrawal of Air Canada will be a boon for other methods of getting to Prince Rupert - for tourists who can afford to take the scenic route, at least.

YZF_Elite

The issue at the moment is that you need an exemption to visit Newfoundland even as a Canadian citizen (e.g. I was born in Newfoundland but live elsewhere in Canada and can't even visit my parents without requesting permission from their provincial government). Vacation trips to Fogo will not be resuming any time soon, I suspect the 2021 tourism season will also not happen. AC will return to the route when things open up, I'm pretty confident about that, AC has been the main carrier for years.

jiaotze

Thanks for that perspective, YZF_Elite. Our trip isn't scheduled until the middle of September, so I'm not overly concerned just yet, except that it typically takes a lot longer to get things back up and running than to shut flights down. I sure hope the 2021 tourism season isn't a total bust, not just for travelers, but even more so for the communities that need the influx of visitors.

Fiordland

If I am up there it usually involved meeting in both Terrace and Prince Rupert. Terrace should continue to be fairly busy given all the LNG projects in the region. The drive is fairly short, under two hours.

Prince Rupert airport is saying that AC is saying to expect them back in April. So who knows a lot can change between now and then.

nomadic.relief

**Note: for anyone wishing to use Via Rail Prince Rupert to Prince George, do not book any flights from Prince George until late the next day, I have had 5-6 hour delays as there are several places it is single track and freight takes priority over passenger (even if you have to wait 2 hours for incoming train!)

I am really hoping YXS and YXJ hang in there!

Resurrection

Why should AC reinstate the service due to pressure? Neither they or Westjet is a charity or an arm of the government. If current conditions don't allow profitable operation of these flights they should be cancelled. If the government or municipality wants to maintain the service then step up with some money.

hoipolloi

Can't the government pass bills or decrees to force them to operate certain routes, or even legislate to seize/nationalize the entire company (eg: power of eminent domain justified by national interest) ?

Adam Smith

No.

Do you really think a court would allow that? (Before any smart-alec reply, the answer is no).

If the government wants service on certain routes, it can do so by offering incentives to fly them. For instance, the US has a program called Essential Air Service that provides subsidies to carriers to operate certain routes.

CTA has even studied the issue in the past (primarily relating to remote northern communities at the time, but the principles are the same), including what other countries do.

Sopwith

It's interesting how things change. I was commuting from YVR to YPR every 2 or 3 months from the late '70s through the late '90s. In the early days CP/CAIL was running 737s three times a day! They ran a triangle from YVR-YXT-YPR-YVR, and for a short time it was YZP instead of YXT. Then Air BC got into the picture and was running the BAE-???, the one that looked like the miniature B-52. Then AC came along with the DH7 or 8 and things went to hell.

Another interesting side note: if they got weathered out of either YXT or YPR they would land at the other and bus you across at their expense. And no, it's not a one hour trip. 1.5 hrs at best, 2 hrs to be safe. Weather is a factor more often at YXT, but with all the industrial activity in that area I don't see them stopping that route.

FlY2XS

AND, they could only try one approach at each airport for fuel reasons. Mum and Dad did the whole "try to land twice, then turn around and back to YVR" more than once. Or the bus transfer multiple times. Pertinent to Covid times, I should point out, that if they bused you, there was no refund or fare reduction either. Back then too, CAI and AC were very good about swapping outgoing passengers if only one of them was able to land.
The big surprise for me on this list was Kamloops. I guess folks will just drive to YVR instead. Driving to YLW to then fly on paying another connection doesn't make much sense does it? Rewards might of course be different.

Aselwyn

hopefully all these cuts AC has done to regional airports is reversed sometime in 2022 once this is all over would really suck if any of these or the ones already axed don't come back

MillennialMiles

NOT at all surprised it Goose Bay and Gander were cut but rather that it took them so long to make that decision. Atlantic provinces wanted a bubble and they got one. They shouldn't then complain that no airline wants to service them if they cant sell seats and make the route break-even or profitable.