New Destination: Waterloo/Kitchener, Ontario (YKF)
Dec 13, 2011, 3:29 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: los angeles, calif.
Programs: Alaska Airlines Gold MVP
Posts: 7,170
New Destination: Waterloo/Kitchener, Ontario (YKF)
New twice-daily Chicago-Kitchener service starts June 14 with Eagle RJs.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Americ...16484.html?x=0
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Americ...16484.html?x=0
Dec 13, 2011, 4:49 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Mountain View, CA
Programs: 0.4MM
Posts: 367
Looks like it still doesn't have US Customs Preclearance, so you'll arrive on the international side in Chicago (unlike arrivals from, say, Toronto).
Dec 13, 2011, 4:58 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Downers Grove, IL
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, AA Advantage
Posts: 5,983
Interesting..... Did AA get some free money or something out of this? If anyone was going to start this route it would United.
Dec 13, 2011, 5:20 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP/2MM, IHG Platinum, Marriott Silver
Posts: 1,185
Kitchener is only an hour from YYZ. I would have expected somewhere farther afield. But still, this may be useful for people from Hamilton or London. T5 arrival is a pain though.
Dec 13, 2011, 5:47 pm
#5
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Signatures
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London, England
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, National Exec, AA EXP Emeritus
Posts: 9,765
As someone who does a fair bit of business with a rather large multinational wireless telecoms company headquartered in Waterloo, I won't mind a bit having an option to avoid YYZ that isn't BUF... 
Dec 13, 2011, 6:19 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: los angeles, calif.
Programs: Alaska Airlines Gold MVP
Posts: 7,170
Dec 13, 2011, 6:24 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: PDK/ATL/TNG (ex-MIA)
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 664
Still waiting for YXU (London), although I know it's unlikely with UA flying ORD-YXU (I think it's the only U.S. based carrier that flies to YXU since DL discontinued DTW-YXU).
Dec 14, 2011, 12:16 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 67
But KW has a strong knowledge/ service-based economy with significant insurance and high-tech sectors and two universities, a third within a 20 min drive and a large College. There's Sun Life Financial, the University of Waterloo, Manulife Financial, Research In Motion, Sandvine and Wilfrid Laurier University-all big KW employers.
There's the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (thanks to Stephen Hawking), the Institute for Quantum Computing, CIGI Centre for International Governance Innovation, Dalsa, Descartes Systems Group,Maplesoft, MKS Inc, Open Text , RIM,Sandvine, Sybase, Google, Oracle, Intel, McAfee, NCR Corporation, Electronic Arts and Agfa. It's rumoured that Facebook is looking to have an office in KW in the near future.
Starting late Dec there will be "GO" train service from Kitchener to downtown Toronto.
I thought I did hear that there was some sort of subsidy/fee reduction from the Airport/region until American Eagle gets established?
Dec 14, 2011, 12:43 pm
#9
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Signatures
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London, England
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, National Exec, AA EXP Emeritus
Posts: 9,765
find themselves in the area rather frequently.
Dec 14, 2011, 3:21 pm
#10
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT 1MM, HH Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 113
Great news, now I can get to Waterloo on AA rather than flying UA to London in order to avoid YYZ and trafffic on the 401.
Dec 25, 2011, 5:59 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 463
That's great AA. If I you could just fly to places like Boston now...
Dec 25, 2011, 7:39 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Anywhere I need to be.
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold, NEXUS, GE, ABTC/APEC, South Korea SES, eIACS, PP, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 16,046
IMO ORD is even worse than YYZ, but it charges .02 less AIF.
Dec 26, 2011, 12:55 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
I agree with RIM losing a bit of income, but even companies that are losing money have to spend money for business. Look at AA for example. AA is losing money, but still spends money on business needs.