I read an announcement recently that Westjet will begin service to Dublin, Ireland in June 2014.  The flight will use a 737-700 and will make a stop at St. John's, Newfoundland.

 

I find this very interesting because this new transatlantic flight will use a similar routing model to that used back in the 1930s - 1960s by the old flying boats and propliners.  Almost all flights to Europe back then made a stop in Newfoundland, usually at Gander airport, to refuel before proceeding on across the Atlantic.

 

I'm not sure if the airline is making the stop at St. John's to refuel, or simply to pick up passengers.  If they are using a B737-700ER then a refueling stop wouldn't be necessary.

 

Anyhow, I think this is pretty cool and it's a flight I'm looking forward to simulating later this year.  It hearkens back to the "golden age" of aviation when the propliners like the Lockheed Constellation or the flying boats flew from New York to London and stopped at Gander, Newfoundland.  I've seen pictures of the well-dressed passengers getting off the plane during these stops; I'm guessing they headed to a lounge where they could get something to eat or drink and perhaps have a smoke. 

 

I wonder if the Westjet flights will allow passengers to disembark and hang out a while while the plane refuels?

 

Dave

Back in the "Golden Age" of aviation, the passengers could have smoked on the plane... :Whistle:

Back in the "Golden Age" of aviation, the passengers could have smoked on the plane... :Whistle:

In the real Golden Age of trans Atlantic flight - the 1939 to '45 war years - Pan Am's (Martin & Boeing) flying boats out of New York, stopped overnight at Bermuda. After passengers were safely ensconced in a Nassau hotel, the mail bags were removed to a secret basement room, and under the supervision of British Intelligence, all mail was expertly steamed open by a team of young women, contents microfilmed and replaced, mailbags resealed, and reloaded onto the plane for the next leg to the Azores! German agents operating in Portugal apparently never caught on.

Many of the young women were Canadians who presumably had one of the best assignments of the war.

Nothing new in the current controversy over NSA snooping!!!

january

I'm not sure if the airline is making the stop at St. John's to refuel, or simply to pick up passengers.  If they are using a B737-700ER then a refueling stop wouldn't be necessary.

 

It is a flight from Toronto to St John's then onto Dublin. They will be using St John's for connecting passengers from other flights from Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, Kelowna, Montreal, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg. This is going to be a daily service. That aircraft wouldn't make it from Toronto to Dublin so they are using St John's for refuelling and connecting passengers.

 

It is kind of an inconvenient route however many Canadians dislike Air Canada so this is another option for those passengers.

Back in the "Golden Age" of aviation, the passengers could have smoked on the plane... :Whistle:

 

That's true.  Ahh, the good old days...

 

I'm in my 40s, but actually remember when you could smoke on airplanes, and almost anywhere else, too, for that matter.

 

Dave

Air Canada does not fly directly to Dublin (they go through Heathrow and a codeshare partner Aer Lingus), so this may be a better option for passengers (with exception of comfort in flying in a 737 vs. 777).  Both airlines usually match pricing so I would not expect significant savings on WJ vs AC.

 

 

They will be using St John's for connecting passengers from other flights from Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, Kelowna, Montreal, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg.

 

 It just sounds funny. Not convenient at all, this isn't the 70's. I just don't see a market from West of Thunder bay. I truly think this is a bad move. There are FAR easier, shorter and probably cheaper options for the majority of travellers.

A WestJet 737-700 is going to look so out of place at EIDW. May as well have a Qantas Q400

It would be a great route to try in the PMDG 737. That's if I don't get a CTD when I reach the Irish Coast 

I'm not so sure this flight will be inconvenient for everybody.  It depends on how long the layover is and whether the passengers can disembark and enter the terminal.

 

I've taken many flights to Europe over the years and always hated the 7-8 hours of sitting on the plane.  Some people might prefer to take a 2-3 hour flight to St. John's, then have a relaxing 2 hour layover in the terminal, and then a 4 hour flight on to dublin.

 

Now, if I fly from Toronto, land in St. John's, have to sit on the plane for 30-45 minutes at the gate, and then take off again, well, that's a different matter.

 

We'll know how successful this itinerary is if they do or don't repeat it next summer.

 

Dave

 

 

I'm not so sure this flight will be inconvenient for everybody.  It depends on how long the layover is and whether the passengers can disembark and enter the terminal.

 

Not sure how they will do it but the leg from Toronto to St John's their is no restrictions for customs so they are allowed off the plane unless the airline says otherwise. From Dublin to St John's they will most likely get off the plane and go through customs.

 

On Air New Zealand flights when they make stops like that they let us off the plane. The most stopovers I ever had was Sydney - Auckland - Cook Islands - Honolulu - Los Angeles on the same 747-400 for that journey, each stop we were allowed off the plane but by the time we got to LAX it was a bit too much. I still had one more connecting flight to Toronto. That took 36 hours to get from Sydney to Toronto, only reason I did that way because I used Air Miles.

"It just sounds funny. Not convenient at all, this isn't the 70's. I just don't see a market from West of Thunder bay. I truly think this is a bad move. There are FAR easier, shorter and probably cheaper options for the majority of travellers."

 

Considering that the flights are basically sold out and they were 50% sold 30 days after the announcement was made points to the contrary. This is a great first step for WestJet and with the fleet of -700's and -800's, there may be more cities in Europe we can serve using St-John's as a jump off point.

 

 

Some people might prefer to take a 2-3 hour flight to St. John's

 Key word here is some.. For many in Canada it's a 5-7 hour flight to St. Johns not including connections, only a few hours less than a direct flight to the UK and not on a 737. It's going to have to be CONSIDERABLY cheaper (which it won't be) to appeal to those other than Eastern Canadians, and non-revs.

"It's going to have to be CONSIDERABLY cheaper (which it won't be) to appeal to those other than Eastern Canadians, and non-revs."

 

Again, considering the flights are basically sold out already what you're saying contradicts the numbers. The response to date has been VERY favorable so I'm not sure if you're quoting personal opinion or something you've read. People wanted options Dave and WestJet is offering an option whether you agree with the route or not, people are buying tickets and not just people east of Thunder Bay.

 Key word here is some.. For many in Canada it's a 5-7 hour flight to St. Johns not including connections, only a few hours less than a direct flight to the UK and not on a 737. It's going to have to be CONSIDERABLY cheaper (which it won't be) to appeal to those other than Eastern Canadians, and non-revs.

After a 5-7 hour flight I'd definitely want to get off and walk around for a while, in St. John's or just about anywhere else!

 

This is all personal preference, of course.  I know people who'd rather endure a single 12 hour flight instead of two 6 hour ones with a layover.

 

I'm just looking forward to doing the hop to St. John's and then on to Dublin (and maybe even London in the future?).

 

Dave