There will be more flight options for travellers to and from the Northwest this fall out of the Terrace-Kitimat Airport, with Air Canada announcing the return of a route to link Terrace and Calgary.
The expanding economic prospects for the Terrace-Kitimat region appear to be have been the deciding factor in the Air Canada decision, with Kitimat the new centre for LNG development and ongoing growth found in Terrace as well, the timing was deemed right to bring back a service that was previously introduced and subsequently cancelled four years ago.
In a statement from Air Canada yesterday, Mark Galardo, Vice President of Network planning Air Canada noted that with the introduction of service to Calgary, another hub for travellers out of the Terrae-Kitimat area will now be available for other destinations beyond the Alberta metropolis.
"We are very pleased to add a new route linking Northern BC with our Calgary hub this fall in response to economic growth in the Skeena Valley area. The new daily, non-stop flights between Terrace and Calgary will not only offer convenient flight options in response to travel demand between these two respective areas, but also the choice of another hub where easy connections to and from our extensive network are available. Further, with significant development projects underway in the Terrace-Kitimat area, we are also strategically boosting capacity on our Vancouver-Terrace route this winter with five daily flights. With these new schedule enhancements, Air Canada will offer the most flights and options to travel easily between Terrace-Kitimat and anywhere across North America and internationally,"
The move by Air Canada, will also likely put pressure on competitor West Jet which also serves the Terrace Airport to match the flight options with their own service at some point.
Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society President Gary MacCarthy took note of how the new service will add to the airports place in what seems to be its evolution as a regional transportation hub for the Northwest.
"The Airport Society is thrilled to have another route added to our business schedule. Air Canada has been a valued partner in helping us create the true regional airport. We look forward to growing with them in our region,"
The new daily flight between the two cities which starts October 28th, will leave Calgary at 11 AM MT and depart from Terrace at 11:55 PT.
The new route will be in addition to Air Canada's existing schedule of flights between Terrace and Vancouver. The new service in the fall will bring the number of scheduled daily flight movements out of Terrace from all airlines to seventeen.
By comparison Prince Rupert's Digby Island Airport will continue to have two departures and arrivals each per day this fall. Air Canada recently added to the capacity of its Vancouver to Prince Rupert service with the introduction of the Q-400 service.
Air Canada still remains as the only scheduled airline that currently serves the Prince Rupert market.
The full roll out of the new Air Canada service to Terrace can be reviewed here.
For more items of interest related to aviation in the Northwest see our archive page here.
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