YYC.com mobile site

The Calgary Airport Authority now has a mobile version of the YYC.com site for users accessing the website via their cell phones. The simplified site provides all the necessary and same information as the main website however with less graphics and formatting to fit the small screens of most web enabled phones.

You can access the site at yyc.com/mobile

WestJet confirms 757 lease for Alberta-Hawaii flights

If you have read some other forums or blogs you may have heard rumors that WestJet was planning to lease a 757 to operate their Alberta-Hawaii flights. I did not want to post anything here until it was confirmed and WestJet has made it official via a press release today that they will be leasing a North American Airlines 757 from Feb 12 - Apr 30, 2011 to provide the much needed capacity for their flights out of Calgary and Edmonton. Last season was WestJet's first running flights from our city to Hawaii directly but the flights were weight restricted to ensure WestJet's 737's could reach Hawaii. This move will allow WestJet to seat 193 passengers per flight which is close to double of what they offered last season.

Source: WestJet

Air Canada drops second LHR flight for summer season

This is a further reduction from previous years when YYC saw double daily service to LHR that went down to five times per week and now is totally gone for the 2011 summer season. However to make up some of the capacity loss the single daily flight will be flown with a Boeing 777-300ER as of June 1, 2011.  Overall though 467 seats per week are lost according to Johnny Aussie on Skyscraper pages.

Source: Skyscraper Pages and Airline Route Updates

October Passenger Stats

Once again we see another month with positive growth for YYC with all three sectors seeing an increase in traffic over October 2009

October 2010 saw decent growth with an overall increase in passengers of 2.7% over the same month last year. Domestic travel was up 0.7% compared to 2009 and transborder traffic was also up a marginal 0.2%. The year long trend for International traffic seeing large growth was repeated this past October with a whopping  28.0% increase over 2009. Overall, 1,036,969 passengers used the airport in October.

October 2010
Domestic: 735,639
Transborder: 200,678
International: 100,652

Source: YYC.com

YYC Airport Improvement Fee to jump to $25

As of March 1, 2011 the Airport Improvement Fee at YYC will go up to $25 from the current $22. At $25, Calgary will be matching Toronto and Montreal in charging the highest AIF in Canada. The increase is required to fund the expansion project that is underway which includes the new N-S runways and the new International Concourse.

Source: Calgary Sun

[OFFER EXPIRED] YYC to Las Vegas: Flight & Hotel for $150 incl tax or less!

Full credit goes to Chris Myden at yycdeals.com for finding this offer:

Basically Expedia.ca has an offer code to save $300 off Flight+Hotel bookings to Las Vegas, New York and Cancun until Dec 30, 10. He has found dates where staying in some of the cheaper hotels with the promo code you can go to Vegas for $150 including tax per person (when searching for packages for 2 people) however it can get down to around  $75 if you use the code for only 1 person at a time (ie multiple bookings)

Here is the step by step guide as provided on the YYC Deals blog

Here's a step by step guide...


1. Go to Expedia.ca


2. Search for flight and hotel packages from Calgary to Vegas.


Try the dates December 16 to 18 for example


3. Sort the packages by price, pick the cheapest, or whatever you want, such as Gold Coast & Casino for $312/person.


4. Go through the annoying booking process, clicking continue, etc.... (you'll be hitting 'continue with booking' a lot)


5. You'll finally get to one that says 'Accept rules & continue'... click that one


6. Now on the next screen Enter in the voucher SAVE300 and apply the new price, reducing it by $300.


Which brings the total cost down to $300 after tax for 2 flights and hotel to Vegas!!!


Share what you find if you try different dates and hotels!"

So what are you waiting for? Visit Expedia.ca today!

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Winter Award sale

I found this a little late and today is the last day to book but if you are an Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan member you can save 5,000 miles each way for award flights between Calgary and Seattle for travel Dec 1 - Feb 28, 11. The savings mean you can have a round-trip flight for only 15,000 Mileage Plan miles versus the usual 25,000.

Full details can be found here.

Lufthansa Business Class sale to Europe

Lufthansa has launched a business class that sees fares from Calgary to Europe starting at C$1599 each way. Flights must be booked by Dec1 for outbound travel Dec 20 - Jan 7 and inbound from Dec 24 - Jan 13. The best fares are for mid-week travel. Cities that are offered in this promotion include Berlin, Frankfurt, London, Moscow Paris, Vienna and more.

You can find more details at Lufthansa.com

I'm giving away 2 prizes of 10,000 Gold Passport Points on the FFB Blog

Once again I have teamed up with Hyatt Hotels for another quick contest on the Frequent Flyer Bonuses blog. This time I am giving away 2 prizes of 10,000 Gold Passport Points for commenting on some Hyatt Itineraries. The contest runs until Nov 10, 10. Check it out and participate if you like.

http://blog.frequentflyerbonuses.com/2010/11/enter-to-win-1-of-2-10000-hyatt-gold.html

Red Arrow to offer bus service from Edmonton to YYC

Yesterday marked the start of a new direct bus service from Edmonton to Calgary International Airport via Red Deer. Based on a demand of over 5,000 passengers a year, Red Arrow decided to start this bus service for Edmontonians who were flying out of YYC. Red Arrow had operated a similar shuttle van service for 8 years and it obviously is popular enough that they have expanded it to a regular full size bus service.

Source: Calgary Herald

August & September 2010 Passenger Stats

The month by month growth that YYC has seen for the majority of this year continued in August and September based on the latest numbers released by the Calgary Airport Authority.

August 2010 saw only small growth with an overall increase in passengers of 0.4% over the same month last year.  Broken down, 2 out of 3 sectors saw numbers that were actually lower then 2009 but not by much. Domestic travel was down 0.8% compared to 2009 and transborder traffic was also down a marginal 1.4%. International traffic was the only sector to see a gain, and it continued the double digit numbers growth with a 13.0% increase over 2009. Overall, 1,206,223 passengers used the airport in August.

August 2010
Domestic: 866,188
Transborder: 214,313
International: 125,722

September boded much better for YYC in comparison to August with all three sectors seeing increased numbers over 2009. The overall increase in passengers for September was 2.7% over 2009. Domestic numbers were nearly the same as the year before with only a 0.6% growth while transborder saw a good rebound over August with an increase of 4.1%. International traffic continues to be the hot spot with September 2010 coming in 16.1% higher then 2009.

September 2010
Domestic: 743,955
Transborder: 189,362
International: 112,960

From what I can tell,  the total numbers for the third quarter were the best ever. (Q3 2007 held the top honours before). It'll be interesting to see what the 4th quarter numbers will be as Lufthansa and KLM reduce their flights for the winter season and the Air Canada route to Tokyo goes on hiatus until next spring. Will the increase in sun routes make up for those losses? We'll just have to wait and see!

Source: YYC.com

WestJet and American Airlines announce commercial agreement

Agreement is WestJet's First Interline Agreement With a U.S. Airline - Opens Up Travel to More Cities in Canada for American's Customers

FORT WORTH, TX, Oct. 19 /CNW/ - American Airlines and WestJet Airlines announced today they have entered into an interline agreement. The interline agreement means American Airlines customers travelling to Canada and transferring to a WestJet flight can purchase a single ticket and check bags through to their final destination.

The agreement provides American's customers seamless connecting service to 25 new Canadian cities not currently served by American or American Eagle. WestJet serves a total of 31 Canadian cities and 71 destinations in 13 countries.

The connections will first be available through the six gateways in Canada currently served by American or American Eagle - Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Halifax and Ottawa. American and WestJet expect to implement a second phase of their interline relationship in December that will add additional connecting opportunities through WestJet's non-stop U.S. flights to Canadian cities.

"American's interline agreement with WestJet complements our North American network and greatly benefits our customers by offering additional connections to and from new Canadian markets," said Virasb Vahidi, American's Chief Commercial Officer. "WestJet offers a high-quality on-board product that our customers will enjoy."

"This agreement represents WestJet's first interline with a U.S. carrier and we are excited to be working with such a well-established and recognized global airline like American Airlines," said Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet's Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Planning. "We look forward to welcoming the many American customers on board our aircraft as guests who will experience WestJet's world-class guest experience."

The interline connecting itineraries will be available for booking on American's award-winning AA.com website, as well as through travel agencies and American Airlines Reservations, effective Nov. 9, 2010.

The companies also said they are exploring other ways to enhance customer benefits through other commercial co-operation agreements.

Source: WestJet Press Release

Cathay Pacific & WestJet launch Canadian code share service

This past week saw the official announcement of a code sharing agreement between Cathay Pacific and WestJet which will further solidifies the relationship that these carriers have had with each other.  As of October 20th, Cathay Pacific will out their code (ie own flight number) on numerous WestJet flights that connect to the two cities that Cathay flies to: Vancouver and Toronto. The cities that Cathay will 'serve' now with this agreement include Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg. They will also codeshare on some of WestJet's flights between Toronto and Vancouver.

To see the complete list of code share flights please see Airline Route Updates

KLM to increase YYC flights in Summer 2011 + equipment change

UPDATE: Per the comments below this increase is not happening,  KLM will remain at 5 flights per week for the summer season

Original post:
Thanks to IflyCalgary reader Aaron for alerting me to this airliners.net thread about the changes to KLM's scheduele for 2011. Airline Route Updates has also posted about this and hopefully these planned changes stay true as next summer is still a ways off. Anyways on to the actual news! According to preliminary schedules loaded into the global distribution systems KLM will increase their Calgary-Amsterdam flights in Summer to 6 times weekly from the 5x we saw the past two summers. On top of this the scheduled equipment on the route is now going to be the MD-11 replacing the A330-200 that is currently on the route. Both planes carry almost the same amount of passengers with the MD-11 carrying less in business class and slightly more in economy then the A330. This change is not unique to Calgary as you will see in the thread linked to above it shows that the vast majority of KLM's Canadian routes will be flown with the MD-11.

Overall this is great news for Calgary, it shows that at least in summer this route is working for KLM and they see the demand to increase the number of flights. The traffic in both directions must be quite good particularly with Dutch tourists coming here as the number of Dutch people I see and hear at tourist sites in Calgary and Banff has definitely increased from a few years ago (unscientifically non-statistically speaking of course!)

Earn bonus Aeroplan Miles on select flights out of Calgary

Air Canada has released their 4th quarter systemwide flight bonus promo as follows:
Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you register and fly Air Canada on select routes within North America, to the Caribbean, Europe or Asia. For every eligible roundtrip or twoone-way flight segments, you’ll earn:
* Up to 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes within Canada or between Canada and the U.S.
* Up to 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes between Canada and Bermuda or the Caribbean
* Up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes between Canada and Europe or Isreal
* Up to 15,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes between Canada and Asia
plus Fly 3 eligible one-way flight segments in Latitude or Executive First between Canada and Europe or Asia, and you’ll receive an additional one-time 15,000 mile bonus!

The unfortunate thing is that Calgary is excluded on the 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for select North American routes offer (within Canada and Canada to the U.S.) So if you want to earn these set of bonus miles you'll have to connect to one of the routes that the bonus is offered on. Other then that all other Air Canada flights to Bermuda, Caribbean, Europe, Israel and Asia are game.

The promotion is open to all Aeroplan members who register for the offer and is valid for flights until December 15.

Click here for full details and registration

YYC Passenger stats for June and July 2010

The Calgary Airport Authority recently released the passenger statisitics for June and July 2010 and they continue to show healthy growth numbers.

June 2010 saw growth in all sectors with domestic travel growing 4.4% over 2009 and nearly matching the 2008 record numbers. Transborder traffic also boded well with a 8.5% growth over 2009 and International traffic once again seeing double digit growth over 2009 with a 15.6% increase. Overall, 1,052,202 passengers used the airport in June.

June 2010
Domestic: 758,186
Transborder: 186,552
International: 107,464

Domestic and International numbers continued their growth July  2010 however Transborder saw a declinefor the first time since November 2009. Overall traffic was 5.1% to 1,209,982 with Domestic travel growing by 5.1.%, Transborder shrinking by 0.8% and International going up 16.6%. .

July 2010
Domestic: 867,075
Transborder: 215,268
International: 127,639

Source: YYC.com

Edelweiss to increase YYC service for Summer 2011

UPDATE: Per the comment below Edelweiss is not increasing service to YYC, only to YVR

Original post
According to this CBC article, Swiss charter airline Edelweiss will be increasing service between Calgary and Zurich to twice weekly from this past summer's once weekly service. Edelweiss' Chief Commercial officer commented that the flights to Calgary and Vancouver were a success and they are looking to expand to Whitehorse where German charter carrier Condor is reducing flights.

Air Canada cuts Seattle and Portland for the winter season

It appears that Air Canada is pulling their direct non-stop flights to the Pacific Northwest. The flights to Seattle and Portland will stop on Oct 30 and are schedule to be resumed on May 1, 2011

Other winter changes include Air Canada Las Vegas flights being upgraded to an A320 and Winnipeg flights losing mainline and going all to AC Jazz.

Original Source: Skyscraper pages
Additional Source: Airline Route Updates

2010 Airline Mega Awards Judging Academy

I am proud to announce that I will be one of the five members of the Judging academy for the 2010 Mega Awards to be held in Montreal on Oct 13, 2010 which is part of the larger Mega Event 2010 (FFP | ARAC | Co-Brand): The Airline Profitability Summit which runs Oct 12-14.

What are the Mega Awards? Well it is easier to post what Airline Information has described it as rather then having me rehash it:

"Airline Information proudly presents The 2010 Mega Awards Gala Dinner, sponsored by Visa and hosted by Freddie Laker
(son of legendary low cost airline innovator Sir Freddie Laker).

Winners of the Mega Award will be recognized during a ceremony held at Mega Event in Montreal on 13 October. An elegant gala evening featuring cocktails, dinner and a special appearance by modern low cost innovator Tony Fernandes, will mark Airline Information’s return to industry accolades since the FFP Innovation Awards.

This is truly an event that you don’t want to miss!

What are the Mega Awards?
Mega Awards can be won by Airlines, Vendors, and Professionals in three categories.

Categories include: Loyalty Marketing, Customer Engagement through Social Media, Merchandising/Ancillary Revenue. For the 2010 awards, both Vendors and Professionals are limited to the Loyalty Marketing and Merchandising categories.

What does it take to win?
The honor of winning a Mega Award requires daring innovation and results-oriented marketing. Campaigns launched or executed in the calendar year 2009 will be up for consideration by the Mega Awards Judging Academy. "

I am excited to be selected to be part of the judging panel and look forward to evaluating all the entries that are received.

If you are attending the summit or the gala or both, feel free to contact me so that we can have chance to meet face to face in Montreal.

For more information on the Mega Awards please see here: Mega Awards Gala Dinner 2010

For more information on the Mega Event Summit please see here: Mega Event 2010

Mexicana ceases operations

Unless you were on vacation like me, you probably caught this news as it came out on Friday, but YYC (and many other cities) has lost service from Mexicana as they ceased operations on Saturday August 28th.

This is the press release from Mexicana:

Grupo Mexicana suspends flights until further notice

* Current management received the company in a state of technical bankruptcy seven days ago after it filed for protection under Mexico’s insolvency laws
* Financial deterioration and lack of agreements force Grupo Mexicana to stop flying
* Grupo Mexicana deeply regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers

Mexico City, August 27, 2010. Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico, S.A. de C.V. ("Grupo Mexicana") announced this morning that as a result of the group’s delicate financial situation when it changed owners a week ago, compounded by failure to reach agreements that would allow for the capitalization of its three airlines, Mexicana Airlines, MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink flights will suspend operations until further notice as of midday (12:00 p.m.) on Saturday, August 28, 2010.

Among the factors that have contributed to this announcement are:

1. Grupo Mexicana’s fragile financial situation, which has deteriorated further over the last four weeks due to the previous management’s decision to suspend ticket sales, forcing the company to continue operating in the interests of passengers without receiving any revenue.
2. No substantial agreements were reached to give companies in the Group long-term viability.
3. Lack of effectiveness in the insolvency (Concurso Mercantil) process intended to protect additional financial resources available to the company so it could to continue operating.
4. Given the uncertainty of the situation, certain suppliers have begun demanding advanced payment of services that are essential to the airlines’ operations.

Today’s decision is a painful one for the 8,000-strong Grupo Mexicana family, but we will continue seeking out ways of securing the company’s long-term financial viability, so our passengers can once again enjoy the quality services they are accustomed to. We hope to be back in the air soon and would like to thank everyone involved in this process for their support and understanding.

If you have bookings or/and have paid for a Grupo Mexicana flight and have a reservation code, we would like to inform you that:

1. All Mexicana, MexicanaLink and MexicanaClick flights will be suspended until further notice as of midday on Saturday, August 28, 2010. All flights programmed to depart after this hour will be canceled.
2. Grupo Mexicana deeply regrets any inconvenience this decision may cause and will continue to assist passengers to the full extent of its abilities. Passengers who have already flown a leg of their journey and who are scheduled to fly with a Grupo Mexicana airline after Saturday, August 28, 2010 are advised to consult the websites or contact us at the numbers listed below. Priority will be given to minors traveling unaccompanied, passengers traveling with children under age 3 and special needs passengers.
3. If you have not yet begun your journey, we recommend you make alternative travel arrangements.
4. For information on how to apply for a refund, visit mexicanainforms.com (Tickets issued in the United States and Canada; - Tickets issued in Mexico and the Rest of the World), or contact us at any of the numbers listed below:

1-888-882-9994
1-877-801-2010
from the U.S. or Canada

Condor to return in Summer 2011

German leisure airline Condor is set to return to Calgary in the summer of 2011 after leaving our city when parent company Lufthansa began flights to our city. Condor will offer two flights per week between Calgary and Frankfurt between June 24 and October 3.

Flight Timings:
Calgary-Frankfurt Dep 2000 Arr 1335+1
Frankfurt-Calgary Dep 1505 Arr 1715

Bookings can be made directly through Condor

Sources: SkyscraperPage & Airline Route Updates

Double Delta SkyMiles when flying Alaska & select SkyTeam airlines out of Calgary

Technically this offer is not only for flights out of Calgary but for any flights taken with Alaska/Horizon and Delta or select SkyTeam Airlines.

To earn Double SkyMiles you have to fly Alaska/Horizon and either Delta, Air France, KLM or Alitalia all on the same ticket. For most Calgary fliers that will mean flying Alaska/Horizon to Seattle and connecting to Delta or Air France from there. Of course other routings are also eligible. The offer runs from Sep 15 to Dec 15 and requires registration prior to flying. For full details and registration please visit Delta.com

Cathay Pacific Economy Class Fall Seat Sale

Cathay Pacific has launched a fall seat sale for economy class flights to Hong Kong and SE Asia that includes pricing from Calgary. The sale fares start at $1104 and are good for travel Sep 4 - Nov 30 and Jan 1 - Mar 31, 11. Of course Cathay does not fly to Calgary but they offer connections on both Air Canada and WestJet to their flights in Vancouver.

Full Details

Air Canada: Save 15% on Tango Plus fares in Alberta/B.C.

Air Canada's latest partner offer with Visa is 15% off Tango Plus flights within Alberta and British Columbia. So if your planning a trip within these two western provinces (and not buying the lowest tango fare) you can save 15% by using promo code Q4PKPU81 and your Visa card for the purchase. You must book and pay by Aug 22 for travel until Dec 14, 10.

Full Details and Online booking

Air Canada restores 3rd daily YYC-LAX flight

Effective Oct 31, 10, Air Canada will restore the 3rd daily flight between Calgary and Los Angeles. The service was reduced to two flights a day back in January 2010 when they also cut back on San Francisco flights and canceled the San Diego flights. There is no word yet on whether those other reductions will be restored.

Source: Airline Route Updates

Air Canada increasing Calgary-Maui service

According to Airline Route Update, Air Canada will be adding a 4th weekly flight between Calgary and Kahalui Maui for the Winter 2010-11 season. This is an increase of 1 flight per week over last winter. The flights will now operate Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday starting on Dec 17. From Nov 6 to Dec 16, there will be 1 flight per week on Saturdays only.

Passenger Statistics for April and May 2010

April 2010 saw the first decrease in year over year numbers since November 2009. The total number of passengers going through YYC in April was 998,523, a 1.1% decrease from April 2009. This decrease was the result of a 3.4% decrease in domestic travel as Transborder and International traffic were both up for the month by 2.4% and 7.9% respectively.

April 2010
Domestic: 675,430
Transborder: 214,851
International: 108,242

May 2010 on the other hand was a great month for YYC with traffic growing 6.0% to 1,017,299. Domestic travel grew by 2.2%, Transborder by 11.3% and International grew a whopping 28.5%. Overall for the first 5 months of 2010 Domestic travel is down 1.2%, Transborder is up 7.9% and International is up 14.5%.

May 2010
Domestic: 720,130
Transborder: 196,353
International: 100,816

Source: YYC.com

Lufthansa decreases YYC-FRA service for winter season

According to Airline Route Updates, Lufthansa will be reducing their Calgary-Frankfurt service to 5 flights per week from the current 6 for the winter 2010/11 season.

WestJet adds Varadero and Montego Bay flights from YYC

Yesterday, WestJet unveiled their new destinations and routes for winter 2010/11 which includes two new seasonal non-stop routes from Calgary. The new routes to Montego Bay, Jamaica and Varadero, Cuba will operate once per week on Satudays beginning Nov 6.

WestJet is also expanding outside of Calgary, most notably are flights out of Toronto to New Orleans, Grand Cayman and Palm Springs.

Flight Timings for the new Calgary routes:
Calgary-Montego Bay Dep 0700 Arr 1506
Montego Bay-Calgary Dep 1600 Arr 2109

Calgary-Varadero Dep 0700 Arr 1425
Varadero-Calgary Dep 2015 Arr 0036+1

More details can be found on the WestJet press release

Air North launches 4th weekly service Calgary-Edmonton-Whitehorse

On June 6th Air North expanded their service to Calgary by adding a fourth weekly flight on their Whitehorse-Calgary-Edmonton-Whitehorse route.

Source: Airline Route Updates

Aeroplan discounts Classic Flight Rewards to the U.S.

Aeroplan is offering a discount of 2,500 miles off the regular mileage cost of Classic Flight rewards on select flights from Canada to the U.S, within the U.S. and U.S. to Canada. To take advantage of the discount you must book by June 13 for travel anytime in the next 355 days in any class of cabin. The following shows the routes available from Calgary. For full details please visit Aeroplan.com

From Canada	To U.S.
Alberta	Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Nevada or Oregon

Mexicana Press Release about 2nd Anniversary

• Load factors in excess of 80% have been reported on this route
• Some 12,320 passengers boarded in the first quarter of 2010, surpassing figures for 2009.
• An additional flight was added in January to meet growing demand.

Mexico City, May 31, 2010. On June 1, Grupo Mexicana will celebrate the second anniversary of its Mexico City-Calgary route with load factors in excess of 80%.

According to Mexicana Customer Service and Corporate Communications Senior Vice President Adolfo Crespo, “To meet growing demand, in January of this year we added an extra flight to the four a week we started out with in 2008. In 2009, we boarded a total of 30,609 passengers, rising to 12,320 in the first quarter of this year alone.”

“We greatly appreciate the support we have received from Canadian and Mexican travellers, and intend to continue offering them the best possible services, both in the air and on the ground,” added Crespo.

Mexicana currently operates five services a week on this route, scheduled for the convenience of both business and leisure passengers. Flights depart daily from Calgary at 7:30 a.m. and arrive in Mexico City at 1:40 p.m., except for Wednesdays and Sundays, with return flights departing from Mexico City at 3:35 p.m. and landing in Calgary at 8:00 p.m. every day except Tuesdays and Saturdays.

“We are very pleased that Mexicana Airlines has had such success in the Calgary market,” said Stephan Poirier, Chief Commercial Officer for The Calgary Airport Authority. “Mexico City is a significant hub for business and leisure travellers alike, and being able to offer this direct service, five times weekly, truly compliments the premier service we offer at YYC.”

The majestic Rocky Mountains and the vibrant city of Calgary, which still preserves its traditional western values, have never been closer for Mexican travellers, while Canadians in the Province of Alberta can now fly direct to Mexico City. Passengers who choose Grupo Mexicana can take advantage of the company’s extensive network covering major cities in Mexico, Europe, Central and South America or fly to practically any destination in the world with oneworld, the global alliance that Mexicana partnered with last year."

-----

The numbers look good for this route albeit load factor does not tell us if Mexicana is making money off of this route but we could assume they are since they kept the YYC flights going after cutting their YEG flights. If the numbers can continue on like this, there is a good possibility this flight will move to daily service. Thanks again to Sarah at YYC for forwarding this information.

Mexicana Sale celebarting 2 years in Calgary - Goes live on June 1

Mexicana has been flying from Calgary for two years, and to celebrate, were giving away prices that Calgary residents have never seen before!

--Acapulco, Huatulco, and Zihuatanejo from $349 CAD.

--Guadalajara, Merida, Mexico City, Monterrey and more from $399 CAD.

This sale goes live on June 1 and is bookable until June 8, 2010. The sale prices are good for travel until Dec 10, 10

Book online at Mexicana.com. This link will take you straight to sale page for Calgary on June 1.

March 2010 Passenger Statistics

YYC traffic levels continue to rebound over 2009 with March coming in 4.1% higher in 2010 and the first quarter at 2.2% above Q1/09. March 2010 saw a a total of 1,067,539 passengers which is just under 33,000 less then the record for March in 2008. Overall for the first quarter, Calgary International saw 2,970,651 passengers.

Broken down, domestic travel in March saw a 1.2% increase over 2009, transborder grew by 7.3% and internationally the growth was in the double digits for the second month in row with a 15.9% increase. By the way, the 2010 international numbers are eclipsing 2008's record numbers for all three months in the first quarter.

March 2010
Domestic: 707,091
Transborder: 231,663
International: 128,885

Source: YYC

Mexicana Airlines ** Surprise **

It looks like Mexicana is planning some sort celebration/promotion for their second anniversary in Calgary. At this time there are no details except for the following which came from Jody at YYC:

Royal Air Force to train at Calgary International Airport

From the British High Commission Press Release (thanks to Sarah at YYC for forwarding this to me)

"The British Royal Air Force (RAF) will be training in their Tornado GR4 aircraft at Calgary International Airport (YYC) from May 13-24 in advance of their deployment to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. The training they complete in Calgary is a part of a larger training program that takes them across North America to ensure that ultimately they can provide support not only the British Army but all coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Wing Commander Jim Frampton (Officer Commanding No 12 (Bomber) Squadron, Royal Air Force) said: “I greatly appreciate the opportunity for my team to train at Calgary Airport over this period and am grateful for the hospitality that our hosts and the people of Calgary have shown. The training we complete during our time in Canada, though noisy, will ensure we can provide the best possible air support to our colleagues on operations.”

The British Armed Forces have a close and cooperative relationship with their Canadian counterparts, and have a long-established training ground in Suffield, Alberta. The RAF will be flying 4 missions per day from YYC to this training area in Suffield."

Icelandair wants to serve YYC.... indirectly

According to Airline Route Updates, Icelandair has applied to the U.S. DoT to codeshare on Alaska/Horizon flights between Seattle and Calgary. Should it be approved the codesharing will take effect on June 1, 10. This will present another option for Calgarians to get to Europe albeit via a more gruelling routing through Seattle and Keflavik. Icelandair however does typically have lower fares then other carriers and can be viewed as a decent price option against the charter operators flying Calgary-Europe routes and since they are a scheduled operator you would have more protection over the charter carriers should your flights be delayed or cancelled.

February Passenger Stats

The number of passengers going through YYC in February 2010 remained virtually unchanged over 2009 with only a slight decrease of 0.1%. The number of passengers for Feb 2010 was 942,420 versus 943,455 in 2009. Transborder and International numbers saw significant increases of 6.3% and 15.4% respectively while domestic travel was down 4.4%.

To see all the details on the YYC's passengers numbers see this page on YYC.com

United: Calgary-Philadelphia $290 all in.

Thanks goes to billybob123 over on FlyerTalk for this great deal on United. For roughly C$290 all in, you can fly round trip between Calgary and Philadelphia in Oct, Nov and Dec. The fare basis allows for Air Canada codeshares and some creative routings for maximizing your segments/miles.

See this thread on FlyerTalk for all the details.

Check out our Frequent Flyer Bonuses for a chance to win 2 Free nights from Hyatt

I have once again teamed up with Hyatt to give away some free night stays at any Hyatt worldwide! All you have to do is leave a comment on our Frequent Flyer Bonuses blog. The giveaway ends on Apr 30, so check it out soon!

Also don't forget about FrequentFlyerBonuses.com 5th Anniversary contest: www.5years5waystowin.com

YYC AGM 2010: $2.4bn Expansion over next 5 years

The Calgary Airport Authority confirmed once again that they are going ahead with the much needed expansion of YYC. The expansion will take place over the next 5 years and cost 2.4 billion dollars. As has been noted in the past the expansion will include the parallel North-South Runway, the 22 Gate 1.3 million square foot eco-conscious International Concourse and a new control tower.

You can find out more on the expansion on YYC's website

Stay at the Delta Calgary Airport and earn Triple Asia Miles

A repeat of last year's promo, if you are planning on staying at the Delta Calgary Airport before your flight or overnight connection you can earn Triple Miles in Cathay Pacific's Asia Mile program. The offer runs until June 30, 2010 and is also available at all other Delta Hotels in Canada. Full details

January Passenger Stats for YYC

YYC continues to rebound from the slow down of a year ago with January 2010 seeing a 1.7% increase in passenger numbers. The total number of passengers coming through the Calgary Airport in January was 954,122 versus 938,304 in 2009. The number is still shy of the 979,336 seen in the record year of 2008.

Domestically, the numbers dropped by 2.5% but strong gains in the Transborder (+12.9%) and International (7.8%) markets helped YYC achieve that small gain over 2009.

Source: YYC

Calgary-Mexico from C$311 Round Trip on Mexicana

Thanks again to Jody at the Calgary Airport Authority for forwarding this deal to me:

You can fly on Mexicana from Calgary to Mexico City, Mexican Beach Cities and other cities on Mexico for as little as C$311+taxes* round-trip. Book by Apr 9 for travel until Dec 10. Blackout dates are May 27, 28, 31 and July 8 - Aug 22, 10.

Book online at Mexicana

* Taxes up to $110 per round-trip depending on destination

FrequentFlyerBonuses.com: 5 Years 5 Ways to Win Contest

I am pleased to announce that my global site, FrequentFlyerBonuses.com is 5 years old and to celebrate I have launched the 5 Years - 5 Ways to Win contest where you can win a US$250 Marriott Gift Card for participating in any or all of the 5 different ways such as subscribing to our newsletter, following our blog, participating on Twitter and Facebook and for completing a survey.

If you live in the U.S. you also have a chance at winning 10,000 FREE SPIRIT miles.

See it all at:
http://www.5years5waystowin.com

Air Canada officially launches Calgary-Tokyo Flight

This morning YYC held festivities to celebrate the first Calgary to Tokyo non-stop flight operated by Air Canada. In attendance were dignitaries and officials from YYC, Air Canada, the City of Calgary, Japanese Consulate for Calgary and more.

The event started with a Japanese drumming group from Edmonton followed by speeches from Katherine Kelly of YYC, Stephan Poirier of YYC, City of Calgary deputy mayor Jim Stevenson Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation Cindy Ady, Douglas Mitchell of YYC and Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO of Air Canada. Some key notes that were mentioned were that Calgary is only the third city in Canada to have non-stop service to both Europe and Asia, and that Calgary also has the most non-stop service per capita out of any city in Canada. Everyone in attendance seemed quite excited for the new service and Calin Rovinescu was looking forward to be on this first flight. I posed a question to him about the lack of an Aeroplan bonus offer incentive for the flight (since bonus offers encompass my life in this business, I had to ask!) and he pretty much confirmed what I posted awhile back that bookings are strong enough and the fact that the flight is only 3 times per week were the reason why. The ceremonies concluded with Air Canada giving YYC a nice model of an Air Canada 777 and YYC presenting Calin and Air Canada a Japanese Daruma doll of good luck where Stephan Poirier and Calin Rovinescu each painted an eye on the doll.

It is nice to see this service finally come to fruition and hopefully with good support from both the Calgary business community and tourism from Japan this flight will prosper and see more frequencies once the Canada-Japan bilateral agreement allows for it.

For even more details, you can read this press release from YYC

Nov-Dec Passenger Stats

YYC has updated their website with the passenger stats of the last two months of 2009. In November, 894,609 passengers passed through YYC, a drop of 3.2% from 2008 numbers while December saw a slight increase of 0.7% to 1,030,921. In both months, domestic travel was down, transborder saw a split while International saw significant increases of 5.6% and 11.6% respectively.

Overall for 2009, YYC saw 12,175,011 people pass through the airport, a 2.7% drop from 2008. The first half of 2009 saw significant decreases in passenger numbers due to the economic slowdown. The airport started to seem some recovery in the last four months of the year and continues to trend that way into the first month of 2010

Source: YYC

Continental expands codeshares on Air Canada routes out of Calgary

Continental and Air Canada have once again expanded codesharing on each others flights in Canada and the U.S.. The following Air Canada routes out of Calgary will now carry Continental codes:

Calgary – Cranbrook
Calgary – Grande Prairie
Calgary – Kelowna
Calgary – Regina
Calgary – Saskatoon
Calgary – Victoria
Calgary – Yellowknife

Source Airline Route Updates

WestJet 1 day Sale - 50-70% off

* Book by March 17, 2010 (11:59 p.m. MT).
* For Canadian destinations travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until June 30, 2010.
* For U.S. destinations travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
* For U.S. and international destinations travel between May 1 and June 30, 2010.

Departing city: Calgary
One-way flights starting from:

Abbotsford $67
Regina $77
Comox $97
Saskatoon $67
Fort McMurray $107
St. John's $197
Halifax $167
Vancouver $77
Hamilton $127
Victoria $97
Kamloops $57
Yellowknife $127
Kelowna $57
Los Angeles $97
Kitchener/Waterloo $127
New York (Newark) $177
London, ON $127
San Diego $97
Ottawa $137
San Francisco $87

Book online at WestJet

Air Canada Calgary- Las Vegas schedule change

As of May 1 Air Canada is changing their YYC-LAS flights to operate later in the day.
The new flight timings are as follows:

Calgary-Las Vegas Dep 1535 Arr 1715 (up to Apr 30 Dep 0845 Arr 1025)
Las Vegas-Calgary Dep 1755 Arr 2147 (up to Apr 30 Dep 1520 Arr 1911)

Source: Airline Route Updates

WestJet Frequent Guest Program Review

I have done a complete review of the WestJet program, it is quite long so I will not post all of it here, as well you can see in the previous post a quick overview. However please post your comments, good,bad or neutral below. WestJet does read our blog and they are known as a very proactive company when it comes to comments from their Guests.

The complete review is on our main Rewards Canada site, you can read it here

Here is an excerpt:
Key Features
The biggest feature with the WestJet Frequent Guest Program is no black out dates. As long as seats are available (ie for sale on the website) then you will be able to redeem for them. There are no black out dates and there is no limit to number of seats per flight or per route like legacy frequent flyer programs. Although most legacy programs have introduced access to all seats at all times it requires more miles, typically double the base requirement or more whereas with WestJet the value of your rewards remains the same regardless of the ticket value.

Jet-Away bonus rewards are an interesting way to reward members without giving away tons of dollars and relatively unique to the Frequent Flyer Program industry but again they are taking a page from the credit card industry where numerous cards offer complimentary companion tickets. With these rewards however WestJet is keeping revenue in mind as you have to buy a ticket to go along with the companion ticket.

The WestJet Frequent Guest Program allows for transfers between members for a flat $20 fee, compared to most frequent flyer programs that have a base fee plus a certain amount of cents per miles transferred.

Overall what is good about programs like the WestJet program is that you don't have to have a lot of points to redeem and get some sort of reward versus the set point programs like most frequent flyer programs where you need a minimum amount of points to redeem for a flight.

Downfalls
The $1500 annual spend level will keep the ultra-leisure traveller away unless they get the RBC MasterCard. The spending is also per person, so if you think, by booking your family of four a trip and spending $1600 in base fares reaches the first level, think again, each person will only have $400 towards the first level.

The main downfall of the credit card type or WestJet type of program is that value is lost when you have to redeem for expensive/non-seat sale flights as you have to redeem more points versus the set point programs which require the same amount of points for a flight regardless of what it is selling for (of course this is the best case scenario not taking into account black out dates, availability etc)

As well the credit card is right in the middle of the pack as the 1.5% return on the World MasterCard version falls below cards like the Capital One Miles Plus and Diners Club MasterCards, but is equal to cards like the TD Travel Visas.

The 12 month annual spend levels will make it tough for the less frequent flyer to accrue WestJet Dollars. While Aeroplan has a 12 month inactivity rule, all you have to do is earn 1 or redeem 1 mile to keep your account and balance active and growing. With WestJet if you don't hit that $1500 in the 12 month period, say you spend $1350, you won't get anything.

The 5 Year expiry on your earned dollars is about average for the industry but only for programs that have life span regulations on earned miles/dollars. Many Asian frequent flyer programs have a 3 year life span and in Canada Aeroplan has a 7 year life span while others have no life span as long as you have activity in your account.

No online capabilites for redemption yet, that will come soon but in the meantime it means calling WestJet to take care of bookings when you want to redeem WestJet dollars.


Once again, you can read the complete review here

WestJet reveals Frequent Guest Program

It's officially posted, the long awaited much delayed WestJet Frequent Flyer program, called Frequent Guest has been revealed. I will have a more detailed review coming very soon but first impressions are mixed, I will need a little more time to digest this as there is lots involved here........

Basic overview:
You don't get anything back until you spend $1500 with WestJet per year, see the following:
- Spend $1500 with WJ get $50 in WestJet Dollars
- Spend $4500 get $165 WestJet Dollars + 1 Complimentary Companion Ticket within Canada, 4 advance seat selection vouchers and two lounge passes ($500 value)
- Spend $6000 get $230 WestJet Dollars + 1 Complimentary Companion Ticket anywhere WestJet flies, 4 advance seat selection vouchers and two lounge passes ($800 value)
- Spend $7500 get $300 WestJet Dollars

Basically once you reach the $1500 you then start earning 2.5% in WestJet Dollars back on every dollar you spend with WestJet and 1% back on WestJet Vacations. The key is that you have to hit that $1500 level.

The annual spending resets every 12 months based upon when you joined and your WestJet dollars earned have a 5 year life span (they expire at the end of the 5th year after you earned them)

You can use WestJet dollars towards any flight or towards a WestJet vacations (Max $500 for WJV)

WestJet Vacation's Packages do not count to any of the annual spend levels but will earn 1% in WestJet dollars once you reach the $1500 level.

You can also earn additional WestJet dollars with the WestJet RBC MasterCard and other bonus offers during the year.

Sign up before Dec 31, 10 and the $4500 award level is dropped to $3000 for the first year.

See all the details here and watch out for our complete and thorough review on Rewards Canada soon.

Mexicana & Visa: Buy 1 Ticket get 1 Free

Mexicana and Visa have teamed up to offer a free companion ticket on round trip flights in coach class from Canada to the Mexican beach destinations of Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Huatulco, and Puerto Escondido. To book this offer you must call 1-877-801-2010 and provide promo code VISAC2x1. Of course you have to pay with your Visa Card. You must book by Mar 12 for travel until Mar 30. Blackout dates are Mar 12-15 and Mar 26-Apr 11

Source: Visaperks.ca

WestJet announces service between Calgary & Windsor

Had this one in my bookmarks for the past week and forgot to post it,

WestJet will launch seasonal summer between Calgary and Windsor on May 31. The once daily flights will run until October 30.

Flight Timings:
Calgary-Windsor Dep 1000 Arr 1523
Windsor-Calgary Dep 1615 Arr 1814

Source WestJet

Air Canada - Canada Wins Feb 25, 10

In celebration of Canada's recent wins:
Today only, buy one Tango Plus fare and get one free*
from Canada to international and Sun destinations
(excluding U.S. and Hawaii) valid for travel until May 31, 2010.

* The promo code applies only on bookings made for two passengers on same reservation file. Passenger must travel together on same itinerary. The discount will be displayed as 50% off each fare. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges are extra on the discounted fare as well.

To get your discount, book with this promotion code right here at aircanada.com:
Promotion code
FQQW9Z21

* Book by February 25, 2010 at midnight from the city of departure.
* All travel completed by May 31, 2010.

Where's the bonus? Air Canada Calgary-Tokyo

As I was updating my Aeroplan Bonus Opportunities page on Rewards Canada with the just released Aeroplan Bonus offers for the new Air Canada routes out of Toronto, it got me thinking, why isn't there an Aeroplan bonus for the new Calgary to Tokyo route? The route starts sooner then the new Toronto routes and has been public knowledge for sometime, so why no bonus? Most airlines tend to offer some sort of bonus when launching a new route to drum up business and pull customers from other airlines. In the past week alone I have posted offers from Air Canada, American, Jet Airways and more for bonus offers on new routes, but somehow the new YYC-NRT service does not have one.

Did Air Canada/Aeroplan forget?
Highly unlikely.

Is it possible bookings have been strong since the service was announced hence no requirement of a bonus?
This is definitely possible.

Could it be that the flight only operates three times weekly?
Also a possibility, whereby offering a bonus on a not so frequent route may not add much to the bottom line, as most travellers who this offer would appeal to are looking for flights that fit their schedule which could mean not using the direct flights and routing though YVR

Of course only Air Canada and Aeroplan know why they are not offering a route bonus on this new route.

Perhaps Air Canada may put something up though as the competition, Japan Airlines just launched a systemwide double mile offer, accelerated elite status and other offers as an apology to their Bankruptcy issues, so some travellers may just choose JAL out of YVR for their Japan flights. ANA has also matched JAL's double miles offer but that would mean transitting in the U.S. as the bonus is only applicable to ANA metal, but once again several potential travellers may opt for this type of routing to take advantage of the bonus miles.

Changes to Air Canada's Calgary-Whitehorse service

According to Airline Route Updates, flights on Air Canada to Whitehorse will change from once daily CRJ-705 to twice daily CRJ-200 for the summer 2010 season.

Flight timings as follows:
AC8231 YYC1045 – 1230YXY CRJ D
AC8233 YYC2045 – 2230YXY CRJ x6

AC8230 YXY0730 – 1110YYC CRJ x7
AC8232 YXY1300 – 1640YYC CRJ D

Air Canada - Canada Wins Feb 24, 10

In celebration of Canada's recent wins, we're pleased to offer you:
Today only! Get 20% off any fare to Sun destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico plus Sydney Australia, for travel from Canada from April 5 to December 9, 2010.

To get your discount, book with this promotion code right at aircanada.com:

Promotion code

X44WHUQ1

• Book by February 24, 2010 at midnight from the city of departure.
• Fares are valid for travel from April 5 to December 9, 2010.

Air Canada Buy One Get One Free in Canada

(As mentioned by Paul in a comment below)

Go Canada! Buy one Canada fare, get one free*

We're proud to be the Official Airline of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games! Every time Canada wins a medal, you win too! We'll be featuring a different special offer right here at aircanada.com. Check back often.

In celebration of Canada's recent wins:
Today only, buy one Tango or Tango Plus fare for travel within Canada and get one free*. Valid for travel until April 30, 2010.

* The promo code applies only on bookings made for two passengers on same reservation file. The discount will be displayed as 50% off each fare. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges are extra on the discounted fare as well.

To get your discount, book with this promotion code right here at aircanada.com:

Promotion code

QFMAGUC1

• Book by February 22, 2010 at midnight from the city of departure.
• All travel completed by April 30, 2010.

American First/Business Class mistake fare to Miami

Looks like a mistake in the loading of a First Class fare for American Airlines flights between Calgary and Miami. Total price with all taxes in is about $712 (regular price can be as high as $4000) There seems to be tons of availabilty but you want to try to route through Dallas as the MD-80 on the YYC-DFW leg has business class and if you can, try to get the 777 between DFW and MIA for First Class. Avoid routing through Chicago as the YYC-ORD flight has no business or first class. This offer may die at anytime so take advantage soon. Also looks like it needs 21 day advance purchase.

Bookable on AA.com or Expedia.ca

Thanks to why fly on Canflyer for the heads up

Hot Deal! Mexicana Calgary-Mexico City from $209+tax roundtrip

This excellent offer was forwarded to me by Jody from YYC and is bookable until Feb 21, 10. It is valid for travel until Jun 10, 10 with the following blackout dates:
From Calgary: Mar 14-15, Apr 3-6, Apr 10-12, May 2-5
From Mexico City: Mar 12-14, Mar 25-28, Apr 11-12, Apr 30-May 2

You book this online at Mexicana.com* or call your travel agent.

* - We are partnered with Mexicana and by booking through this link you are helping support Iflycalgary.ca

YYC welcomes the Milestones Project

Here is a press release I received from YYC about a visual exhibit on display at our airport:

YYC welcomes the Milestones Project

Exhibit about diversity finds home at Calgary International Airport

CALGARY, AB – International travellers and returning Canadians will now be greeted with 35 images from the renowned-Milestones Project, a visual exhibit that aims to highlight our commonality through photos of children from around the world. As the first airport in Canada to host the exhibit, YYC is pleased to welcome the project, which has been founded by Dr. Richard and Michele Steckel.

“It is an honour to become part of the Calgary International Airport (YYC) community via our photographs and messages of mutual respect and understanding,” said Dr. Richard Steckel.

The Milestones Project is a collection of photos of children experiencing moments that are familiar to us all, from a child’s first steps to a first tooth. These ‘milestones’ show that despite race, culture or religion, everyone shares common traits and that those traits unite us. The exhibit can be seen throughout the Canada Border Services Agency’s international arrivals area at YYC.

“It is appropriate that when people come into Canada, whether they are visiting or coming home, they can see this display and be reminded that we really do celebrate diversity in this country,” said Garth Atkinson, President and Chief Executive Officer for The Calgary Airport Authority. “We are excited to be a part of this project.”

“CBSA is proud to host the Milestones exhibit,” said Candace Lyle, Chief of Operations at Calgary International Airport. “We feel that the location of the project is fitting considering CBSA is the first face of Canada.”

The Milestones Project was founded in 1998, and has been brought to Calgary with the assistance of Dexterity Consulting and various sponsors. It is a photographic tribute to humanity meant to inspire individual action to eliminate discrimination and create a culture of peace. For more information visit www.milestonesproject.com.

Air Canada - Canada Wins Promo Feb 17, 10

20% off any fare to our international and sun destinations for travel from Canada until December 31, 2010.

Book by February 17, 2010!

To get your discount, simply enter this promotion code when booking at aircanada.com:
Promotion code
CFBCGH81

* Book by February 17, 2010 at midnight from the city of departure.
* All travel completed by December 31, 2010.

Earn Double American AAdvantage Miles between Calgary and Chicago

To celebrate the launch of American Eagle's new service between Calgary and Chicago O'Hare, the AAdvantage program is offering double AAdvantage miles on all published fares between the two cities (and other new routes of Chicago, so if you connect to one of them you'll get even more miles). The promo runs from April 6 to June 30, 2010 and requires registration. You can find out more details on Rewards Canada's AAdvantage Bonus Mile Opportunities page.

Air Canada - Canada Wins Promo

From Aircanada.com:

Go Canada! Save 20 % on Executive First fares

In celebration of Canada’s recent wins, we’re pleased to offer you 20% off Executive First Flexible and Executive First Lowest fare types for travel from Canada to international destinations until December 31, 2010.

Book by February 16, 2010!

To get your discount, simply enter this promotion code when booking right here at aircanada.com:
Promotion code
NCAR6YG1

* Book by February 16, 2010 at midnight from the city of departure.
* All travel completed by December 31, 2010.

Air Canada reduces flights from Calgary to Western U.S.

The following Air Canada routes will be changing out of Calgary:
- Los Angeles will drop to 2 flights per day from 3
- San Francisco will drop to 1 flight per day from 2
- San Diego is cut fully after initial reports had it going from AC mainline to AC Jazz
- Phoenix is cut fully after initial reports had it running over the summer season on weekends.

There is always the possibility that Phoenix and/or San Diego will return for the winter season as those destinations rely more on Calgarians trying to escape winter.

Rocky Mountain Lounge Update

I had the pleasure of communicating with the Servisair Lounge Supervisor at YYC and she was kind enough to provide further news on this lounge after I asked if any airlines had contracted the lounge. Well as of yet no airlines have contracted the relatively new lounge in the YYC Transborder area but American Express Platinum card holders (Amex Platinum, Amex Business Platinum, Amex Corporate Platinum, Holt Renfrew Platinum, Aeroplan Plus Platinum and the Centrium Card) have access as do A-Circle, and Airport Angel members.

The pricing for the lounge has changed, probably to reflect the new rules of not allowing passengers through US Customs until 2 hours prior to their flight. The new rates are as follows: before 09:30 $20.00 / person and after 09:30 $25.00 / person

Continental expands Air Canada codesharing out of YYC

Continental has expanded their codesharing with Air Canada by adding their flight numbers to Air Canada flights between YYC and Castlegar, Ft. McMurray, Kamloops, Lethbridge and Seattle.

Source: Airline Route Updates

Security Update for U.S. Bound Passengers

From Transport Canada:
"Canada’s Transport Minister John Baird today announced that airline passengers who are travelling to the United States are now permitted to bring one carry-on bag with some small exceptions. This new measure replaces the temporary restriction on carry-on bags introduced as a result of the December 25, 2009 security incident on Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit."

and from YYC.com
"U.S. bound passengers are now permitted to bring ONE carry-on items on board aircraft. Transport Canada now permits one small carry-on bag for airline passengers who are travelling to the United States. This carry-on bag must not exceed a size of 23 cm x 40 cm x 55 cm (9 in x 16 in x 22 in), which is equivalent to the size of a small gym bag. The carry-on bag must fit into an airport’s carry-on baggage sizer."

The details go further to say that you can have the one carry on and a small personal item like a purse or laptop. Air Canada has a good chart describing these new allowances.

KLM back to 5 flights per week for summer 2010

According to KLM's online schedule, the Calgary to Amsterdam flight will return to five flights per week for the summer season versus the current four for winter. The additional flight on Thursdays will begin the first week of May and is currently showing that it will stay on into the Winter season for 2010/11. That of course can change as official Winter 2010/11 schedules have not been released.

Three U.S. Majors raise luggage fees....again!

Continental, Delta and United have all followed US Airways lead and raised their checked luggage fees once again. This is at least the second time in the past twelve months that they have done this. As U.S. airlines continue to struggle financially they are finding that ancillary revenue streams such as checked luggage fees are lucrative and what help them keep afloat. The question is how much and how far are the airlines willing to push the customers to pay for these services that used to be free in the past and are still free on some airlines like Southwest and WestJet. Of course the airlines charging the fees hope that the customers become accustomed to the fees and in some ways many have, they want to travel, they need to travel and although they are not happy about it they pay the fees so that they can conduct their business or go on that much needed vacation.

By the way, the latest round of increases see the CO, DL and UA fee go to $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second. Discounts are available for those who prepay online. Elite Members of each airlines frequent flyer programs continue to be exempt from the checked luggage fees.

United's flight changes for Summer 2010 means less capacity out of Calgary

According to Airline Route Updates, United is making the following changes to their Calgary flights for Summer 2010:

Chicago will be served twice daily with CRJ-700's and once daily with an A319. Summer 09 was 4 times daily with CRJ-700, which leads to a slight decrease in overall capacity (-7 seats per day)

Denver will be once daily A319, three daily CRJ-200 and once daily CRJ-700. Summer 09 was a mix of three daily 737 or A319/20 and two daily CRJ, a larger sized decrease (approx -100 seats per day)

San Francisco will go to three daily CRJ-700 flights from four in Summer 09. This is a decrease of 66 seats per day.

Calgary - Newark for $158++ ($265-270 all in)

An amazing fare from Calgary to Newark, only $79 each way. However it is limited to flights during the week of May 2-7. The total all in price comes in at $265 on AC or $270 on DL. A good fare for a mileage run as same day return is available for Air Canada routings through Toronto that take the Red Eye out of YYC. See the link below to FlyerTalk for other routings that can earn more miles and segments.

Book online at Aircanada.com or at Delta.com

Thanks to Keithguy on FlyerTalk for the find

ANA to codeshare on Air Canada's Calgary-Tokyo Service

ANA (All Nippon Airways) will be adding their flight codes to Air Canada's 3x weekly Calgary-Tokyo service beginning on Mar 28, 10. ANA's flight numbers will be NH6817 (YYC-NRT) and NH6816 (NRT-YYC)

Source: Airline Route Updates

Air Canada Transborder Changes for Summer 2010

The folllowing changes are being made for several Air Canada Transborder flights out of Calgary

- Las Vegas is being downgauged to an E190 from A319 last summer
- Newark is being upgauged to A319 from E190 last summer
- Phoenix will now be served year round with summer 2010 flights operating on Saturdays and Sundays
- San Diego is being downgauged from mainline E190 to AC Jazz CRJ700

Thanks again to Airline Route Updates

Air Canada and WestJet offering great fares with latest seat sale

I believe WestJet started this great seat sale and Air Canada has matched. There are some great fares to be had out of Calgary if you book by Jan 7 for travel on certain days until the end of May

Sample fares from Calgary (One Way, taxes and fee extra)
Interior BC/Saskatchewan $50
Vancouver/Victoria/Winnipeg $75
Montreal/Toronto $100
California/Las Vegas/Phoenix $100 (some dates even come in lower then this)
Hawaii $250

Book online at Air Canada or WestJet

Save 10% on Air Canada flights to Europe and Israel

Here is this months Visa Perks offer for Air Canada

Save 10% on our flights to Europe and Israel

Travel from January 11 to March 30, 2010 and enjoy extra savings on flights from Canada to Paris, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Zurich and Tel Aviv ! To get your exclusive discount, simply enter this promotion code when booking and pay with your VISA card: NXTEKDV1

Offer ends January 31, 2010.

Full details at AirCanada.com

Air France now codesharing on KLM flights from Calgary

Air France is now officially codesharing on KLM's flights between Calgary and Amsterdam. The flight numbers are as follows:

ROUTE	AF Codeshare	KL Operating
Amsterdam – Calgary	AF8376	KL677
Calgary – Amsterdam	AF8375	KL678

Source: Airline Route Update