[David A]

As for this year, happy to be proven wrong but I am a bit skeptical on the ability to set a record this year, might just be a overly cautious approach on my behalf. Regarding mid-terms I don't know how those will shake out (Trump popularity not great but Democrat brand isn't strong currently either) and not sure if it matters as Trump isn't going anywhere whether he controls the house/senate or not. Edmonton may well start to see some much needed passenger growth and I am here for it, wherever those travelers are headed.

TINA - there is no (other) alternative. A flaw with the US system is it is really only two parties, so as people become increasingly disappointed, frustrated and/or angry with the Orange Menace and his tactics, they only have one other option, unless the republicans disavow or get rid of him, which I feel is very unlikely.

Edmonton has very strong domestic service, so more people traveling within Canada will help the numbers here. It would also be good if we could get some more non US international routes.

 

[MacLac]

Defence Minister McGuinty in town and not here for the NEW airborne Fuel Aircraft base? Hmmmm……

 

[IanO]

Took the 747 from Downtown to YEG last week.

$5
~1hr door to door
LRT was busy and no issues this time
747 bus was a couple minutes late, but PACKED at 10:05am, with i'd guess 95%+ on board

Interestingly enough though, I canvassed coworkers and 1/6 knew about the service.

 

[Glenco]

The 10:05 bus was always packed because it was the last of the half hour buses. I thought it would get better with the new half hour service.

 

[IanO]

Apparently a gear failure on a Dash 8 tonight made for some interesting ATC and diversions.

 

[TagYEG]

Apparently a gear failure on a Dash 8 tonight made for some interesting ATC and diversions.

I was on my parent's deck in the deep south at this time and an AC A330 (AC171) made an unusual maneuver over their house and sure enough it was after a failed landing and diversion to YYC, according to FlightRadar.

 

[BrettB]

Statistics Canada released screened passenger data from YEG for July (ie not counting connecting traffic). I've included July 2019 and July 2024 for reference.

	July 2019	July 2024	July 2025
Total passengers	325,128	340,233	344,780
Domestic sector passengers	285,752	287,424	304,933
Transborder sector passengers	30,279	44,272	32,437
Other International sector passengers	9,097	8,537	7,410

 

[TAS]

Statistics Canada released screened passenger data from YEG for July (ie not counting connecting traffic). I've included July 2019 and July 2024 for reference.

	July 2019	July 2024	July 2025
Total passengers	325,128	340,233	344,780
Domestic sector passengers	285,752	287,424	304,933
Transborder sector passengers	30,279	44,272	32,437
Other International sector passengers	9,097	8,537	7,410

Given Edmonton's population has increased by more than 20% since 2019, the numbers are not great.

 

[BASE]

In terms of growth Westjet & Porter have some room to move. I don't foresee much from Flair or AC. I think Edmonton has a foundation for steady but not explosive growth over the short term.

 

[Markyeg]

In terms of growth Westjet & Porter have some room to move. I don't foresee much from Flair or AC. I think Edmonton has a foundation for steady but not explosive growth over the short term.

I don’t see much growth from Porter in the near term either. Not until they open a base somewhere out west and start doing point to point between AB and BC.

Apart from YOW, YYZ and YUL there’s not much more they can add from YEG. YHM just got added so it’s still too new to see if it sticks around. YHZ is a little bit too far to comfortably reach with the range they have on their jets.

 

[David A]

In terms of growth Westjet & Porter have some room to move. I don't foresee much from Flair or AC. I think Edmonton has a foundation for steady but not explosive growth over the short term.

Yes, I feel Air Canada has ceded a lot of western markets to its duopoly partner Westjet in return for likewise in the east. Not so sure about Flair, but Porter seems to have some ambition and ability to grow.

I feel we really should take surpassing the 2019 numbers as a glass half full result and also feel there will be steady growth in the short term.

 

[Glenco]

The needle has not moved from the 2014 numbers. Twenty fourteen. Think about that the population of Edmonton has grown about 30% in that time period and the airport passenger numbers have barely budged. That includes the addition of KLM that started in 2015 Still only the one intercontinental flight and not even daily. How is this even possible. Part of the reason can be attributed to WS and AC doing their best to protect their hubs but even so there must be some other underlying reason. So unless an international carrier wants to interline with WS any other international flight would be at a serious disadvantage serving the Edmonton market. The only carriers I can think of are Air France and Korean airlines who both have shares in WS and have an interline agreement. How likely are those destinations to becoming a reality?
Condor also have an agreement with WS and we can only hope they come back a seasonal twice a week service. Yippee

 

[yeggator]

The needle has not moved from the 2014 numbers. Twenty fourteen. Think about that the population of Edmonton has grown about 30% in that time period and the airport passenger numbers have barely budged.

Part of the reason can be attributed to WS and AC doing their best to protect their hubs but even so there must be some other underlying reason.

The business travel… it’s dead, Jim. If it makes you feel better, YEG’s not alone. YYC’s passenger numbers from last year are barely a million more than in 2019 (18.9 vs 17.9 million), and that’s despite all the population growth that’s happened there (more than in Edmonton), the growth of their tech industry, more tourism to the mountains and WestJet doubling down on its hub. Apply the same logic to YYC and they should be at 25 million, but they’re still far from it.

 

[David A]

The business travel… it’s dead, Jim. If it makes you feel better, YEG’s not alone. YYC’s passenger numbers from last year are barely a million more than in 2019 (18.9 vs 17.9 million), and that’s despite all the population growth that’s happened there (more than in Edmonton), the growth of their tech industry, more tourism to the mountains and WestJet doubling down on its hub. Apply the same logic to YYC and they should be at 25 million, but they’re still far from it.

This makes total sense and clearly it is not just us. I am relieved the answer is that it is not some Edmonton specific problem as we do not need to add to our sense of inferiority. Although I did doubt that all those people that moved here did not travel much as opposed to those elsewhere, that just did not make sense.

Even though COVID is over, many conferences and other events are still being held virtually, as the technology is now in place and for a lot of attendees it is more cost and time effective.

 

[Glenco]

If it makes you feel any better YYC is up 3.5 million since 2014 that is about a 20% increase
YWG is up 14% since 2014. Need I go on?