rrgg

Has AC done this before?

I'd really like to see YXU (London). Maybe I have bad luck but YYZ-YXU is often delayed for me and maybe ground will work better.

eastexpress

I think part of the strategy will be the siphon off people the LCC carriers offered there. They could offer cheaper ticket prices from YKF-YYT to compete with Flair without lowering their YYZ-YYT fares

eastexpress

Yes you're protected, just like a flight delay:

Leyland1989

The KLM/AF bus has been running between YUL and Ottawa train station for as long as I can remember living in Ottawa... I have never taken it as it belongs to a different eco-system.

However, I have found myself on way too many Dash 8/CRJ hops between YOW-YUL... or driving 2 hrs there by myself.
I don't think it's the most terrible idea, especially if I am flying on my own dime. There are times I couldn't find a seat on the YOW-YUL leg or needing to connecting from a flight that arrives many hours early than my onward connection.

IF (big IF) the High Frequency Rail ever happens and Air Canada partner up with via rail, I would love to have the Air to Rail option like in many European cities.
I would rather spend 1.5-2hrs on the train than flying the CRJ for 35 mins (more like 1 to 1.5 hrs gate to gate).

ccow

If they return service to Kingston, the 36 seat motor coaches will nearly double the capacity of the previous Beechcraft 19 seaters.

NikinYOW

I agree. I too often find myself with a 2 to 3 hour wait for the YUL to YOW leg, and that doesn't count delays. I would welcome a bus option, but would hope the destination is the train station and not YOW simply for it being more central than the airport.

The train would also be a great option. I have relatives in Philadelphia and up until a few years ago they could put ZFV as the airport code when booking on United which was actually the Amtrak station in downtown. The booking would then be the flight to/from EWR plus the Amtrak train ride to/from Philadelphia. The cost was essentially similar to flying directly from EWR. I believe this option no longer exists but would be nice if something similar was an option between YOW and YUL.

WildcatYXU

I'm a bit on the fence here. A coach service could offer more connecting options than the 3 daily flights we have now. However, clearing security at YYZ is not too appealing. I mean if you don't fly to the USA.

AlwaysFlyStar

I don't really understand why they do it at the airport. To be fair, I am not familiar with the airports involved, but wouldn't it be more appealing if they had pickups in the city centre? I mean, even if they want to start from the airport, they could just add a bit of time and have a stop in the centre also? KLM has a couple of bus routes in NL and they stop both at airports and in cities with no airports. But they aren't really meant to be posh the way the Air Canada option seems to be and they are free and do not earn points/miles.

warrens

If the AC bus were to stop at Hamilton's main bus terminal before continuing on to Hamilton Airport, that would add a solid 20 minutes, before considering rush hour traffic, etc.etc.

As for the KW route.... the Waterloo Region airport is "before" Kitchener. so it would make more sense for a trip originating at YYZ to stop at the airport first, then continue on downtown to connect with the ION or whatever.

razorblade705

Can't confirm the numbers but this was sent to me.
Sad if true.

songsc

Then those pilots can drive busses if they wish.

An entry level FO probably makes $60K, while a bus driver with high seniority makes $100K, more with overtime. If anyone wants to be paid more, rack up the seniority, or join an industry that values merits over seniority.

retiredtraveller

Live in waterloo, it will be interesting to see if i can book bus segment when using a flight pass. Could be worth it if times are reasonable and i don’t have to pay for yyz parking.

RangerNS

I'm not sure you can measure the difference in the stress of "maybe killing 45 people" vs "maybe killing 150-300 people". Or which job of "memorize and execute 5000 excruciatingly detailed procedures, as required, and with a few seconds to think about it" vs "in constant battle with idiots who might be drunk and last took a test 50 years ago" is harder.

My organized labor PR file is pretty light, but near the top of the list of anyone's file has to be "solidarity". This does not make any sense from a unions perspective.

blue2002

Oh, we're back to this discussion now. ;-) Yeah, it would be nice, whether with high-frequency, high-speed or both. YYZ-YUL-YOW triangle has been the traditional target of wet dreams on this topic. YYC-YEG would be another good candidate. Unfortunately in order for it to make sense, some pretty extreme infrastructural changes would need to be made. In the YYZ-YUL-YOW triangle YUL is the only airport with reasonable proximity to Via Rail's network. The investment at YYZ alone to bring in a through-traffic intercity rail station (as opposed to the very short end-station for UP Express that is there right now) would be staggering. And without this investment... Landing at YYZ, then taking UP Express to YBZ (that's IATA's code for Toronto Union Station), then walking a kilometre or so to get from UP Express to Via Rail's platforms... strikes me as doable (and I suspect a lot of folks from Kingston, ON do it), but not something that would produce a positive customer experience for a AC passenger.

BTW, yes, I love the way this is done in some places in Europe. FRA and CDG come to mind, but I am sure there are several others.

PLeblond

Pretty much all the infrastructure needed for Ottawa to YUL is there. One can assume adding a bag drop zone at Ottawa Via station shouldn't be that difficult. There's a shuttle service from Via Dorval to the airport (it's mostly a parking lot for YUL). Problem as always is Via rents rail usage from CN and freight always takes priority so schedules aren't always accurate.