Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

22 March 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 646, recorded on 22 March 2002, Bert Titcomb reporting.

In this issue...

1 - Montreal St-Hubert airport prepares for take-off

Avtech Inc., a major aircraft service company at Saint Hubert airport is predicting traffic at the facility will soar, prompting a $10 million expansion of its operations. The company which provides ground service, maintenance and passenger facilities to private airplane owners and companies, is building new aircraft hangars and a bigger terminal with a business lounge for business executives. Professional sports teams and executives are already major users of the facility due to the site's proximity to downtown Montreal.

WestJet, Canada's second largest carrier and its most consistently profitable airline, is attracted to the airport for the same reasons. WestJet has hinted that Saint Hubert is its first choice when it brings its service to Montreal. The airline also announced it will offer flights to Toronto beginning May 23rd.

2 - Airlines cut travel commissions

Several U.S. airlines have axed travel agents' commissions. The loss of airline commissions for travel agents will result in more surcharges for consumers and could push many agents out of the business, observers said recently. Air Canada is expected to follow the lead of various U.S. airlines that have eliminated all commissions for travel agents. Northwest Airlines Corp. joined the growing list of zero-commission carriers recently. The list includes, Delta Air Lines Inc., American Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc.

3 - Ottawa Airport expansion update

Work is ahead of schedule on the $300 million expansion of the Ottawa Airport, according to Claude Bennett, chairman of the Ottawa Airport Authority. The new terminal might be ready for service late next year which is several months before the target date of spring 2004. The new terminal is rising next to the old one, which is inadequate to deal with future passenger traffic. The number of passengers using the airport has grown by more than 40 per cent since the existing terminal was expanded in 1987. The expansion will be paid for by the $10 departure fee charged to all passengers.

4 - Rural Ottawa transit plans

Ottawa City planners plan to expand public transit to rural areas. Last June, the city began public consultation on the type of public transportation needed in areas outside what's known as Ottawa's "urban transit area," from Kanata to Orleans and south to South Nepean and Riverside South.New rural express bus service for morning and afternoon rush-hour will be created between major villages and downtown. Greely, Manotick, Navan, and Notre Dame des Champs will get the serice, and current service will be expanded for Stittsville and Richmond. Connector routes will also be extablished from Vars, Kars, North Gower, Carp and Dunrobin.

Many of these small towns or villages are located close to existing railway lines. Why are city planners only discussing buses as an option?

5 - Air security fee fallout

Children as young as two years old will be charged the same $24 air-security fee as adults to fund the government's new air security agency. The tax, which will take effect on flights booked after April 1st, will apply to anyone with a ticket, even a discounted children's fare. Only infants under age two, who sit on an accompanying adult's lap, will escape the fee. For a family of four with two children older than two, the new fee will add $96 to the cost of round-trip travel within Canada. Transport 2000 Canada supports a user fee for air security, but feels a $12 charge on a one-way trip and $24 on a round trip are too high, compared to the U.S.A. where the maximum fee is $5.

Passengers are becoming increasingly frustrated by advertisements for air fares that do not reflect taxes and fees in the final prices. Travellers must pay, GST, airport departure fees, NAVCANADA fees, and starting next month, the security fee.

6 - New Brunswick VIA derailment

The TSB says a broken rail caused the recent derailment of a VIA Rail train in northern New Brunswick. None of the 215 passengers and crew on board the train were injured when the last seven cars jumped the tracks near New Mills, located about 40 kilometres east of Campbellton. Passengers were put on the train's remaining cars and continued on to Halifax, where they arrived two hours late.

7 - Rocky Mountaineer eyes BC Rail services

Rocky Mountaineer Railtours is considering taking over BC Rail's passenger service to northern BC according to company president and CEO Peter Armstrong. "A number of people have approached us to look at opportunities at BC Rail and we are looking at them", he said. BC Rail will cease operating the Cariboo Prospector between North Vancouver and Prince George next October and will retire its fleet of ten 50-year old RDC cars. Armstrong stated his company will require "more clarity" from the government-owned railway concerning its long-term intentions, and would need to update union work rules to conform with industry standards. Armstrong said another expansion opportunity would be Amtrak's Seattle-Vancouver service if parts of Amtrak are privatized. He stated, "passenger rail operations are extremely complex, very expensive to operate and fraught with all kinds of risk."

8 - British Airways grounds extra Concorde flights

British Airways has decided to delay the relaunch of its second daily Concorde service to New York by six months. The reason is due to poor market conditions and a more cautious approach by management to supersonic operations in the aftermath of the Air France Concorde which crashed outside Paris more than 18 months ago. BA had originally planned to return to twice-daily services in early April, but has now decided to postpone it until late September or early October.

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