neroden
Engineer
The Maritimes transport situation is getting pretty dire.
Canadian and Ocean cancelled
- Thread starter NS VIA Fan
- Start date
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NS VIA Fan
Conductor
People just aren't travelling!!....... and it shows in the extremely low Covid numbers here. Currently there are 55 active cases in Nova Scotia (pop nearly a million).....and no one is in the Hospital or ICU.
If you have to fly.....there are flights and Maritime Bus is still running so no one is stranded.
VIA will be back and transportation will return to normalcy when this is all over!
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So the pandemic appearing to showing that passenger rail service is irrelevant.
In fairness though, people really aren't allowed to travel - especially in the case of long distance. It's not like they're making a choice.
While that's true in Halifax, it's a tough sell to the people whose airports closed in the last two weeks when they lost their last few flights, including major cities like Saint John, NB. I have several relatives and friends in NB who are quite concerned about the future of transportation in their province.
I hope you're right. I have way more confidence in VIA than either of the airlines.
NS VIA Fan
Conductor
The problem with running VIA's Ocean is the 14 day quarantine requirement once you cross the Provincial Border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Maritime Bus passengers would have the same problem when crossing the border but they serve a larger number of stops wholly within each province than VIA does to make the bus a more viable option. And like I said above....no one is travelling anyway!
NS VIA Fan
Conductor
There are restrictions to non-essential travel between some provinces but right now there is nothing stopping me from getting on the plane to say Toronto or Calgary....It's just when I return to Nova Scotia I have to isolate for 14 days. But would I travel....NO!
Sydney loses all air service on Jan 11 and it's a 4 hr drive to another airport.....but when it was reported a couple of weeks ago there were 6 on a flight to Toronto .....it's just not sustainable.
Saint John is another story.....you can still fly out of Fredericton an hour away or Moncton. (anytime I travel it's a hour to VIA in Truro or 2 hrs to Halifax Airport)
I'm certainly not concerned about transportation options returning when a good portion of the public is vaccinated as early as perhaps next summer or fall. There's going to be a pent up desire to travel!
(The local airline here....Provincial Airlines has just announced new routes that will help fill the gap by the AC and WestJet withdrawal and hopefully Sydney will be next)
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NS VIA Fan
Conductor
There's probably not that many travelling on the 'Canadian' right now anyway.......but beginning on Friday, January 29:
”Anyone entering Manitoba, including people coming from Western Canada, will have to self-isolate for 14 days starting Friday”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/covid-19-manitoba-brian-pallister-1.5888250
”Anyone entering Manitoba, including people coming from Western Canada, will have to self-isolate for 14 days starting Friday”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/covid-19-manitoba-brian-pallister-1.5888250
Time to Shut her down again!!!!
I guess if one's final destination is Winnipeg this is not a disaster, but otherwise they may as well truncate it in Saskatchewan. I have not heard how the restart has been in actual numbers, but between the season, the reduced dining and no access to dome cars, I can't imagine it's been too popular for anything but basic transportation.
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But the food is better than Amtrak!
The Ocean remains on hiatus until May 15. Sleeper accommodation on the Hudson Bay service from Winnipeg is now suspended until the same date.
As anticipated by @NS VIA Fan, VIA has also posted the following warning for those travelling eastbound on the Canadian:
"The Manitoba government recently announced that as of January 29, 2021, the province will be tightening its borders and ordering all incoming travellers to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. Customers travelling to Manitoba are asked to keep themselves informed of any changes and exemptions to provincial travel restrictions that may apply to them."
Passengers are now faced with quarantine or disembarking in Saskatchewan to connect to other locations.
As anticipated by @NS VIA Fan, VIA has also posted the following warning for those travelling eastbound on the Canadian:
"The Manitoba government recently announced that as of January 29, 2021, the province will be tightening its borders and ordering all incoming travellers to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. Customers travelling to Manitoba are asked to keep themselves informed of any changes and exemptions to provincial travel restrictions that may apply to them."
Passengers are now faced with quarantine or disembarking in Saskatchewan to connect to other locations.
So basically, every Province in Canada requires a Quarantine when someone crosses the Provincal Border to another Province?
In your quest for travel by train plane or other means - consider that this is the winter of Shakespeares (covid virus 19) discontent !
This is not the time to think travel across frozen tundra - extreme sub-zero windchill factors - and frightful frozen misadventures.
Stay home - hunker down - keep warm - global warming will occur and things will get better - perhaps like marriage vows - or worse !
LOL
Seriously I am looking forward to travel - this is probably going to happen late summer after all the vaccinations and mutations of
the virus have run the course - we have licked small pox and polio - covid you are going down for the count with frozen medicine !
This is not the time to think travel across frozen tundra - extreme sub-zero windchill factors - and frightful frozen misadventures.
Stay home - hunker down - keep warm - global warming will occur and things will get better - perhaps like marriage vows - or worse !
LOL
Seriously I am looking forward to travel - this is probably going to happen late summer after all the vaccinations and mutations of
the virus have run the course - we have licked small pox and polio - covid you are going down for the count with frozen medicine !
NS VIA Fan
Conductor
No....you can still go from say Alberta to BC for a Ski trip. Even as a resident of Nova Scotia with our travel restrictions I can go to Ontario or BC but when I return home I have to quarantine for 14 days. (but would I travel?....NO!)
Below is a good site. It's constantly being updated and will probably be again today with those changes now for Manitoba.
https://time-to-travel.ca/where-canadians-can-travel-now
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The problem here has been inconsistency between the provinces. I can't help thinking that if the Feds had imposed a uniform strategy modelled on the "Atlantic bubble" or Australia, we might not be in the mess we're in now.
They are expected to further restrict travel outside the country however:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana...r-BB1dcFkT?ocid=MF11KM&li=AAggNb9&OCID=MF11KM
They are expected to further restrict travel outside the country however:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana...r-BB1dcFkT?ocid=MF11KM&li=AAggNb9&OCID=MF11KM
This just in:
Government and Canada's main airlines agree to suspend service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30
Last Update: 1/29/2021 11:44:13 AM
TORONTO (AP) — Government and Canada's main airlines agree to suspend service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Government and Canada's main airlines agree to suspend service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30
Last Update: 1/29/2021 11:44:13 AM
TORONTO (AP) — Government and Canada's main airlines agree to suspend service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Well that's one way to limit out-of-country travel. This is a funny development only days after Canada's major charter airline (now part of Air Canada) announced suspension of all their vacation routes from Toronto, but maintaining their routes from Montreal to Mexico and the Caribbean. Oops.
Mailliw
OBS Chief
Are they still allowing flights to repatriat Canadian citizens abroad?
Sort of a "wait and see" on that one. They had certainly threatened to strand people who had left the country unnecessarily, but I think that would be hard to support both legally and ethically. OTOH, whether air carriers want to fly empty planes down south to retrieve them without a financial incentive is anyone's guess.
Exvalley
Conductor
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Just to clarify, Air Transat is not yet part of Air Canada. They are still awaiting regulatory approvals.
As you've mentioned several times, however it is a formality that has not prevented the two from moving ahead with some logistical arrangements. The only thing that's holding it up is the Feds being busy with other concerns:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/pol...rule-on-air-canada-and-air-transat-merger-in/
All returns must be complete by Sunday when flights will halt. Passengers returning will be required to quarantine in airport hotels for 3 days at their own expense.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana...r-BB1ddqwJ?ocid=MF11KM&li=AAggNb9&OCID=MF11KM
Anyone stranded in Mexico or the Caribbean after Sunday would still have the option of flying back through the US, which now requires a negative test pre-flight, and the airlines are "working with" customers to make arrangements for dates later than Sunday. It's important to note that the major Canadian airlines have alliances with US carriers.
Exvalley
Conductor
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You are also forgetting the European review:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_934
I would not call approval a "formality" when Canada's Commissioner has determined that the proposed merger is likely to result in substantial anti‑competitive effects. It would not surprise me if approval is ultimately given, but nobody can say that it is a sure thing.
The salient point is that Air Transat is not "now part of Air Canada" and is being run independently from Air Canada. Neither airline wants to invoke an antitrust complaint while the merger is pending review.
Believe me... as a person who holds a large voucher with Air Transat, I would very much like the merger to be over and done with. I trust their solvency much more as Air Canada than as a standalone Air Transat.
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