Direct flights to Europe from Winnipeg!! okay.. to Iceland.. but still!

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/fly-non-stop-to-iceland-again-121550979.html

That is one trip outside of north america I think I actually might enjoy!

The bigger picture with the new terminal is to attract more direct international flights to Winnipeg. From what I have heard, Manila has been on the radar for awhile, as has more European, Sunshine and American destinations.

thats good to hear. I really hate stop overs and transfers

I can hardly wait till there are more direct flights....my flight to California has a stop over in Calgary.

Heh....funny how they're spinning it, imo.

Landing in Iceland is not really landing in Europe...it's landing in Iceland. Ya' gotta' take another flight to get outta' there.

But I guess it's all about what one would define as "Europe".

still.... a 24 hour layover in iceland would probably be better then a 4 hour layover in montreal

It would be different...

Iceland is on my list of places to see...

I have a friend who used them last year for a trip to England and she loved it. The total trip time including layover in Iceland was a couple hours less than flying through Pearson and the cost was way cheaper than the alternatives considering that it was during the peak of high-season (mid-July). Total cost roundtrip for 2 tickets was around $1400 taxes included.

Considering you can get a flight most anywhere in Europe from London for $200-300 return it's a pretty compelling option for travelling from Winnipeg especially during high-season. Hopefully more Winnipeger's investigate this option and help support their efforts. It would be a shame to lose this very convenient and cheap connection.

"The discount airline is leasing the Boeing 757 that had been used for touring by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden — the jet still bears the band's logo — and some flights will be piloted by the band's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, who also happens to be a commercial pilot"

How freaking cool is that? Bruce Dickinson as your captain, all kidding aside the guy is a very competent pilot. He used to have a show on Discovery where I saw him do a VFR night landing in a Sopwith Camel. If you don't know why that's a big deal, look up rotary engines and centrifigal forces and what they do to a gyroscopic mass.

They need to start marketing the heck out of this.....

shiat.. that line alone will sell out flights from winnipeg every single day.

damn.. apparently the company is toast

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2064355/Iron-Maidens-Bruce-Dickinson-job-Astraeus-Airlines-collapse.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

I've seen the Iron Maiden painted plane fly into Winnipeg this summer, straight from Iceland I assume

What we really need is a direct connection to Hawaii - it takes like 15h with various connections and is still considered a "domestic" trip, so no food etc. Huge need for this during the long winter for sure.

eViL tRoLl wrote:I've seen the Iron Maiden painted plane fly into Winnipeg this summer, straight from Iceland I assume

What we really need is a direct connection to Hawaii - it takes like 15h with various connections and is still considered a "domestic" trip, so no food etc. Huge need for this during the long winter for sure.

I've never flown to Hawaii. out of curiosity what size plane do they usually use? Its around 3800 miles from winnipeg to hawaii (ish).. so... is the size of plane a limit?.

I dont think a 727 or 737 or 757can make that trip.. so can we fill a 747 with enough regularity that it would pay for itself?

Deank wrote:damn.. apparently the company is toast

[url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2064355/Iron-Maidens-Bruce-Dickinson-job-Astraeus-Airlines-collapse.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2064355/Iron-Maidens-Bruce-Dickinson-job-Astraeus-Airlines-collapse.html?ito=feeds-newsxml[/quote[/url]]



Which company are you referring to, and where exactly is the article in this link?

Deank wrote:damn.. apparently the company is toast

[url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2064355/Iron-Maidens-Bruce-Dickinson-job-Astraeus-Airlines-collapse.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2064355/Iron-Maidens-Bruce-Dickinson-job-Astraeus-Airlines-collapse.html?ito=feeds-newsxml[/quote[/url]]



Astreus is only one of the companies Iceland Express leases aircraft from, just because Atreus the leasing company is going under does not mean that Iceland Express will necessarily be following suit. It's pretty common for a lot of carriers, Air Canada included to lease a large portion of their fleet and many carriers lease aircraft and crew together. A good example of this is a lot of the regional flights operated by United Express or Delta Connection, practically all those flights are actually operated by a 3rd party.

Deank wrote:

eViL tRoLl wrote:I've seen the Iron Maiden painted plane fly into Winnipeg this summer, straight from Iceland I assume

What we really need is a direct connection to Hawaii - it takes like 15h with various connections and is still considered a "domestic" trip, so no food etc. Huge need for this during the long winter for sure.

I've never flown to Hawaii. out of curiosity what size plane do they usually use? Its around 3800 miles from winnipeg to hawaii (ish).. so... is the size of plane a limit?.

I dont think a 727 or 737 or 757can make that trip.. so can we fill a 747 with enough regularity that it would pay for itself?

There's actually a few aircraft that could make that trip that are considerably smaller than a 747. Both the 767 and Airbus A330 are more than capable of that trip, heck even the 737-900ER only falls about 500 miles short. Once the 787 and A350 enter widespread service that would be the type of route both those aircraft would be ideally suited for, 4,000+ mile trips with 200-250 passengers. Westjet also uses the 757 for a non-stop to Hawaii out of Calgary as it's just at the edge of it's operating range.



BTW, 727's have be relagated to courier service in the developed world. The only place you'll still be hopping aboard a 727 commercial passenger flight is some 3rd world backwoods airline or northern bush flying (not sure if anyone uses them but they would be suited for it). They are old and super thirsty. Amazing short takeoff capabilities and build like tanks, but complete pigs on fuel.

grumpyrom wrote:There's actually a few aircraft that could make that trip that are considerably smaller than a 747. Both the 767 and Airbus A330 are more than capable of that trip, heck even the 737-900ER only falls about 500 miles short. Once the 787 and A350 enter widespread service that would be the type of route both those aircraft would be ideally suited for, 4,000+ mile trips with 200-250 passengers. Westjet also uses the 757 for a non-stop to Hawaii out of Calgary as it's just at the edge of it's operating range.

Cheapest from Winnipeg is United through DEN or ORD, sometimes need a third leg through SFO or LAX. They tend to use 777, 767, or A320.

This is another hopeful attempt to stimulate travel from Manitoba's (and eastern Saskatchewan's) significant Icelandic population - but I'm sure one flight a week will prove to be a challenge to fill. However the direct offering itself should cause increased travel. I went to Iceland 11 years ago and the 7 day trip had us in Iceland for only about half that time - with a lengthy stop in Toronto and then an overnight in Halifax (both ways). That was the downside that made the trip exhausting. I would do it again - but only if it was direct.

[quote="grumpyrom"]

Deank wrote:damn.. apparently the company is toast

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2064355/Iron-Maidens-Bruce-Dickinson-job-Astraeus-Airlines-collapse.html?ito=feeds-newsxml[/quote]



Astreus is only one of the companies Iceland Express leases aircraft from, just because Atreus the leasing company is going under does not mean that Iceland Express will necessarily be following suit. It's pretty common for a lot of carriers, Air Canada included to lease a large portion of their fleet and many carriers lease aircraft and crew together. A good example of this is a lot of the regional flights operated by United Express or Delta Connection, practically all those flights are actually operated by a 3rd party.

hmmm well I was given to understand that the only plane they used was this particular one with this particular pilot.

", heck even the 737-900ER only falls about 500 miles short."
I am guessing those last 500 miles are kinda important

" Once the 787 and A350 enter widespread service that would be the type
of route both those aircraft would be ideally suited for, 4,000+ mile
trips with 200-250 passengers"

ahh but thats the kicker aint it. do we have enough 200-250 groups of people that would make a direct from Winnipeg flight feasible AND cost effective for the passenger? ie.. say it costs me 2000 to fly to hawwai but I have to go through Vancouver or Calgary with a slight delay of 5-10 hours. will it be worth it to enough people to pay $1000 more to fly direct from winnipeg?
(numbers pulled out of my a$$ and used only for illustration)

Deank wrote:" Once the 787 and A350 enter widespread service that would be the type
of route both those aircraft would be ideally suited for, 4,000+ mile
trips with 200-250 passengers"

ahh but thats the kicker aint it. do we have enough 200-250 groups of people that would make a direct from Winnipeg flight feasible AND cost effective for the passenger? ie.. say it costs me 2000 to fly to hawwai but I have to go through Vancouver or Calgary with a slight delay of 5-10 hours. will it be worth it to enough people to pay $1000 more to fly direct from winnipeg?
(numbers pulled out of my a$$ and used only for illustration)

If they run them the same as all the charter flights through tour operators like Transat that go to the Caribean I dont see why not. You could probably easily fill 200 seats for a once a week flight to Hawaii during the winter months if the flights became common place. I also forgot that there is a version of the Airbus A319 that is capable of 5,000+ mile trips and only seats 125. That would be ideally suited to a niche market such as this although with so few seats the seat/mile costs would probably make it a premium option. Spend more to fly direct rather than connecting in Van or LAX.