[blue12]

Without stating last years frequency the "increase" or "decrease" means little. And you wrote in an earlier post "splitting the hub network between YYC and YEG". Since when is YYC a AC HUB? AC took a meat clever when they gutted service at YYC. Clearly AC does not see YYC as a HUB and why bother since WS sucks the tits of the Alberta taxpayers with the sweetheart support UCP provided to WS to bolster YYC and screw YEG.

To add clarity, YLW is up from 19x weekly last winter to 27 this winter. YYJ from 11x to 13x. MZT from 2x to 3x. HUX from 2x to 3x. ATL from 7x to 4x.

But to respond to the rest - I’m not sure where you got some of this from. I never wrote about YYC being an AC hub, because it isn’t one. My previous comments were about Westjet’s current strategy and how, although it sucks, it makes sense.

Regardless, my post this afternoon was solely talking about some changes to YEG’s schedule this winter. That is what this thread is for, after all - Edmonton’s airport. I didn’t mean it in an inflammatory way.

 

[blue12]

The full Westjet winter schedule is up, there are a few other changes in addition to the route to MBJ:

Kelowna increased to 27x weekly
Victoria increased to 13x weekly
Mazatlan increased to 3x weekly
Huatulco increased to 3x weekly
Atlanta reduced to 4x weekly

I seem to have missed a few, so here they are for those interested (and I’ve included the previous frequencies this time):

Puerto Vallarta from 10x weekly to 11x
Cancun from 9x to 10x
Grande Prairie from 4x to 9x
Regina from 11x to 13x
Las Vegas from 11x to 5x
Phoenix from 10x to 8x
Palm Springs from 7x to 6x
Los Angeles from 6x to 4x
Ottawa from 12x to 2x
Montreal suspended until Spring 2026

Unsurprising to see the American destinations continue to struggle.
YOW/YUL took quite a big domestic cut, not just from YEG - those have always been very sluggish markets for Westjet, but I wasn’t aware it was this bad. Hopefully next season we can regain some of those “lost” frequencies.

 

[BASE]

YEGs (and others similar) outsized vulnerabilities (compared to hubs) are certainly on display during some of these market disruptions. Hopefully this threat can be used as a opportunity to strengthen domestic and other international flying until transborder returns at which point perhaps some of those gains can be maintained. As far as Westjet is concerned though they are really displaying struggles out east which is on display in the changes above.

 

[blue12]

Not all of the east - YYT and YHZ are going very strong, not just domestically but internationally as well. It’s just YOW and YUL that they chronically have issues retaining service in.

 

[Glenco]

Not all of the east - YYT and YHZ are going very strong, not just domestically but internationally as well. It’s just YOW and YUL that they chronically have issues retaining service in.

Opportunity for Porter to upgrade their service to YUL and YOW

 

[BASE]

Below is what would be expected with the transborder route reductions. International is a small number so the % can swing wildly. ​

Monthly passenger stats June 2025​

Terminal​

• Terminal Traffic: 642,323 passengers (Year-to-date 3,476,609 passengers) 2.2% (Year-to-date 4.4%)
• Domestic 568,782 passengers (Year-to-date 2,725,834 passengers) 5.8% (Year-to-date 6.7%)
• Transborder 56,091 passengers (Year-to-date 432,074 passengers) -25.6% (Year-to-date -4.3%)
• International 17,450 passengers (Year-to-date 318,701 passengers) 10.2% (Year-to-date -1.7%)

Fixed Base Operators (FBO)​

• 64,360 passengers (Year-to-date 370,760 passengers) 22.7% (Year-to-date 16.2%)

Total passengers (Terminal and FBO)​

• Month overall 706,683 passengers (Year-to-date 3,847,369 passengers) 3.7% (Year-to-date 5.4%)

Passenger stats

flyeia.com

 

[BASE]

When do we see a significant terminal project begin? I appreciate they have been plugging away at items like the departure roadway, jet bridge improvements, and others.

 

[yeggator]

When do we see a significant terminal project begin? I appreciate they have been plugging away at items like the departure roadway, jet bridge improvements, and others.

The airport master plan mentions completely redoing the northern half of the terminal building sometime before 2048 (no mention of tying it to passenger counts). But major expansion on the south end of the terminal would only happen when we see annual passenger counts on the verge of 16 million (and we're only halfway there), currently projected for sometime after 2050.

 

[Windermere]

I didn't know there was an official planespotting spot. I had a chuckle at the "Planes to Watch For" which included the MD-11 and F28 - that could use an update.

There's also a cool little cafe there, great to grab a coffee and watch the planes.

Dark Kiss Coffee LTD. · 6420 50 St, Leduc, AB T9E 6P1, Canada

âââââ · Coffee store

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Glenco]

When do we see a significant terminal project begin? I appreciate they have been plugging away at items like the departure roadway, jet bridge improvements, and others.

The current terminal is supposed to be capable of handling 10 million passengers annually. At present we are about 8 so I don’t see anything materializing for a few years unless we see a major boost in passenger numbers.

 

[mcr]

The current terminal is supposed to be capable of handling 10 million passengers annually. At present we are about 8 so I don’t see anything materializing for a few years unless we see a major boost in passenger numbers.

I hope they focus on their refresh of the arrivals / baggage area first. It's looking incredibly dated and dark.

 

[ChazYEG]

The current terminal is supposed to be capable of handling 10 million passengers annually. At present we are about 8 so I don’t see anything materializing for a few years unless we see a major boost in passenger numbers.

Agreed, but it would not be a bad idea to start planning for an expansion, and get ahead of the curve, instead of waiting for capacity to be reached and have to deal with an overcrowded airport AND construction, all at the same time.
I would not be shocked if the numbers reached close to the 10M by the end of the decade, based on populational growth prospects alone.

 

[Oilguy]

Agreed, but it would not be a bad idea to start planning for an expansion, and get ahead of the curve, instead of waiting for capacity to be reached and have to deal with an overcrowded airport AND construction, all at the same time.
I would not be shocked if the numbers reached close to the 10M by the end of the decade, based on populational growth prospects alone.

The problem is paying for it when the revenues aren’t there, but I do intend to agree with your premise.

 

[IanO]

Agreed, but it would not be a bad idea to start planning for an expansion, and get ahead of the curve, instead of waiting for capacity to be reached and have to deal with an overcrowded airport AND construction, all at the same time.
I would not be shocked if the numbers reached close to the 10M by the end of the decade, based on populational growth prospects alone.

Population growth does NOT = PAX if you do not have the capacity.

 

[BASE]

The problem is paying for it when the revenues aren’t there, but I do intend to agree with your premise.

Agree, I don't know what kind of borrowing capacity is reasonable for them. If i understand the financials from the 2024 report it looks like they have around 1 Billion in long term debt on the books.