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Hamilton International Airport

I'm surprised the kitchener service is even successful, and the kitchener service makes more sense than the Hamilton service.

Hamilton airport has more expensive parking and for most who would use it is a drive in the wrong direction from YYZ. I can't imagine many would opt for it instead of just driving to YYZ themselves or booking an Uber.

Kitchener is further away, actually has affordable parking options at YKF, and isn't the "wrong way" in terms of travel from YYZ for most who would use the service, and Ubers are more expensive as the distance is greater. Still, I figured most would still make their own way to YYZ.
 
Does anyone know how Porter is doing in YHM? What's the growth potential for next year, any insiders with knowledge on routes? Original I heard they were hoping for 2 million passengers within 3 years but with the economy and stuff, I just don't see that happening plus I heard from some people that have flown out recently that the planes have been half full and some calgary flights are less than half.
 
YHMaviSpotter said:
Does anyone know how Porter is doing in YHM? What's the growth potential for next year, any insiders with knowledge on routes? Original I heard they were hoping for 2 million passengers within 3 years but with the economy and stuff, I just don't see that happening plus I heard from some people that have flown out recently that the planes have been half full and some calgary flights are less than half.
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I'd expect loads to be fair this time of year considering it is the shoulder season. Longer term is the problem. There was one poster upthread that stated they were a Porter pilot so there's your insider. I wish them success but they will have some serious challenges ahead of them. Based on what I see, it will be very challenging for them and the cash burn must be giving the finance guys ulcers. It will be real interesting to see their first collective agreements with CUPE (FAs) and ALPA (pilots).
 
Additional renovation work is going on in the International Arrivals Hall at YHM. They are apparently redoing it to have the same vibe and look of the rest of the terminal. They are also installing automated arrival check-in machines like the ones at YYZ and something I know is requested a lot is a dedicated Nexus line for people who have a card.
 
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Access tunnels at Hamilton Airport! Found images on IG from the contractor
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A wide shot of the terminal from the YHM facebook page.

You can now see the two jet bridges installed.
That brief 100m walk or so outside for international flights will still suck, but at least it's not as long as it was before.

I'm flying out on Wednesday, I'm curious if the bridges will be up and running at that point.

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Absolute embarrassment of a terminal. I get that there has to be more traffic to justify a new terminal, but wow. I really hope they get the traffic required to redevelop this airport, it would be a great alternative to Pearson.
 
Yea it’s a joke. The problem is that passenger traffic has been so up and down over the years they’ve never been able to justify something proper. Hopefully if Porter can build a stable presence here they can eventually justify investment to build something decent. We know Porter isn’t shy to do so like they did at YTZ and now YHU.
 
Tim MacDonald said:
That's a lovely shed thing they have going on there in YHM.
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It does have insulation and I believe that it is also mostly waterproof.

There are probably cities in the Third World that are half of Hamilton's size that have terminals that are 5x as large and 10x as nice.
 
I don't see YHM getting a new terminal without showing a need for a terminal. Yes, Fort McMurray (and many similar size cities around the world) have bigger terminals but they have passengers. Fort McMurray has a transient workforce and is 4.5h away from Edmonton's airport. Hamilton has much less people travelling long distance for work and is only 1h from Pearson and 1.5h from Buffalo airport. In 2024 Hamilton had 324K passengers, similar to London at 314K, but significantly less than Waterloo's 523K.
 
EnviroTO said:
I don't see YHM getting a new terminal without showing a need for a terminal. Yes, Fort McMurray (and many similar size cities around the world) have bigger terminals but they have passengers. Fort McMurray has a transient workforce and is 4.5h away from Edmonton's airport. Hamilton has much less people travelling long distance for work and is only 1h from Pearson and 1.5h from Buffalo airport. In 2024 Hamilton had 324K passengers, similar to London at 314K, but significantly less than Waterloo's 523K.
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I am just wishing that there were more passengers for Hamilton. Waterloo and London have both hit peaks of half a million, but Hamilton has hit a million in the past and had over 800k as recently as 2023. The dream is 3 to 5 million, with a corresponding good number more destinations than exist today.
 
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YHMaviSpotter said:
Porter is canceling Orlando and Halifax routes on Tuesdays in January out of YHM
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Edmonton and Calgary also down from 6x to 5x weekly from January - March.

Had a family member fly in last night from Edmonton, was told by the gate agent there was only 39 passengers on board.
I fly out tonight to Edmonton and that seat map is looking…. Grim….

The summer PAX was strong but our shoulder season load factor is terrible.
I really hope Porter maintains these routes year round but wouldn’t be suprised if they go seasonal given our low pax for various reasons (current economy being the main factor)

Swoop was able to maintain YHM-YEG about 3-4x weekly in the shoulder season, but they were offering the fares at barebones rates, something Porter doesn’t (and can’t really) do.
 
JakeLRS said:
Edmonton and Calgary also down from 6x to 5x weekly from January - March.

Had a family member fly in last night from Edmonton, was told by the gate agent there was only 39 passengers on board.
I fly out tonight to Edmonton and that seat map is looking…. Grim….

The summer PAX was strong but our shoulder season load factor is terrible.
I really hope Porter maintains these routes year round but wouldn’t be suprised if they go seasonal given our low pax for various reasons (current economy being the main factor)

Swoop was able to maintain YHM-YEG about 3-4x weekly in the shoulder season, but they were offering the fares at barebones rates, something Porter doesn’t (and can’t really) do.
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Like I said previously, this should have only been summer seasonal at best. The market simply isn't there for multiple trips a day off peak.
 
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