tracon

YVR will get another 5cm of snow by 4p.m. today.
No travel advisory for here?
5cm of snow here is equivalent to 15+cm of snow in the rest of the country.

RCyyz

I assume this advisory is really aimed at domestic & transborder flights. Wouldn't repositioning concerns mean that international flights get prioritized?

emcampbe

I'd assume int'l gets prioritized, after something big, int'l is always prioritized for getting back on schedule first.

So happens I'm flying into YYZ on Friday morning, into ORD on UA metal, out on AC metal, but I'm not changing yet - as I don't want to spend hours on the phone, and I really want to get out on Friday. So I'm really hoping....

antirealist

There were storms around this time last year, leaving passengers stranded. AC came in for some criticism over their handling of the situation. I suspect they're just trying to be proactive in avoiding problems this time.

ailiton

I'm a forecaster for EC and we just issued a winter storm watch for Toronto (as well as the newest forecast for TO). Heavy snow could begin late overnight tomorrow and by rush hour it could be pretty bad.

threepoint

Thrust.

Parry.

No mayor of Vancouver has ever requested the army to aid in winter flurries. I think the moron factor is universal on the west coast and in central Canada. Too bad the TV cameras don't show the 90% of drivers who are driving somewhat responsibly. Only drivers in SK, MB, the territories and the Maritimes seem to escape nationwide ridicule. I believe Mercer just did a rant about the reluctance of some Torontonians to put on snow tires when it was snowing in December - with predictable results.

Sebring

The Storm Warning from EC.

Mother nature is striking southern ontario with a series of winter storms. The first one was relatively tame..10 centimetres last night with very little wind. On friday a fast-moving but dynamic storm will have emerged from colorado and will race close to the lower great lakes. Heavy snow is expected to begin in southwestern ontario thursday night reaching the greater toronto region just before dawn on friday morning. Snowfall amounts of 15 to 20 centimetres are widely expected across much of the lower great lakes by friday evening. Strong east winds of 40 gusting at times to 60 km/h will develop thursday night and continue on friday. This will compound the severity of the storm giving near white-out conditions at times in falling and blowing snow.

StuMcIlwain

I would like the opinion of FTers. I am flying YOW-YYZ-EZE on Friday evening for a vacation. I would really like to spend my vacation in Argentina rather than Toronto. The YYZ-EZE leg leaves at 23:55, hopefully after the brunt of the storm is passed. All flights to EZE for the next week appear sold out, so even if the flight is cancelled on Friday, I have faith that AC will make arrangements to get a planeload of passengers to EZE. My concern is what to do about the YOW-YYZ leg of the trip. The Rapidair flights are generally next on the list to be cancelled after all the Jazz flights. If I miss the EZE flight on Friday, it could be days before I can get a seat on another flight (Q fare ticket). I'm currently on AC467, arriving in YYZ at 21:13. Should I try to get AC to switch me to an earlier flight, even though the brunt of the storm is supposed to hit Toronto earlier in the day? Should I tell AC to cancel the YOW-YYZ leg and take VIA into Toronto instead? Or should I leave the booking as it is? Any other suggestions? Leaving Thursday isn't an option since YYZ-EZE doesn't operate on Thursdays.

AnselmAdorne

40 to 60 is strong? We don't even notice winds like that here.

Polar Man

Is this the first big test of the OMW coverage for AC?

InTheAirGuy

I'd call and get any changes you can to get out tomorrow YOW to YYZ.....I suspect Friday to be a nightmare. The storm will have likely gone by late Friday so the EZE will probably go, but who knows ... if you could get that changed to tomorrow, I'd go for it

StuMcIlwain

That should be fun to see.

Spounce

I think that's good advice. Who knows if the storm will turn out to be as severe as expected, but I'd go for the peace of mind and do YOW-YYZ on Thu if you can. Even getting to YYZ by Via on Fri might not be all that much help if getting from the Via station to the airport is tough.

If you can't do the YOW-YYZ tomorrow, what to do about Fri is a tough call. You don't have much time to play with if you leave your itin as scheduled. On the other hand, if you switch to an earlier YOW-YYZ flight and it ends up being cancelled, you could find yourself in the position of having given up your seat on an evening flight that might operate more or less on time if things in YYZ have recovered by then. Best of luck whatever you decide!

InTheAirGuy

Next weeks FT Air Canada Aeroplan hot thread:

OMW pax given priority over SE!!!!

mapleloaf

AC has a weather advisory out asking people to reschedule to today if possible if flying to or through YYZ. I am supposed to fly there tomorrow with my family on AC605 landing at 8:22am. Rescheduling for tonight is not an option unfortunately. I have a feeling we could be spending a while in the airport...

Will we beat the storm? Or will we be staking out a corner in the MLL for a long haul waiting to get out?