More flights add by Air Canada

Air Canada is adding an additional daily flight to Vancouver starting on Oct. 31 and another on Jan. 30, bringing the total to seven a day.Fred Legace, Kamloops Airport’s managing director, said the flights were added to meet the demand of international travellers visiting Sun Peaks Resort so they can make better connections to and from Kamloops.Though it may be getting easier to fly to the Lower Mainland from Fulton Field, it appears direct service to Las Vegas won’t be coming this year.

Securing a direct flight to Sin City has been a major focus of airport officials for months, but there aren’t any takers yet.Legace said the airport made a pitch to WestJet and Air Canada, both of which operate out of Kamloops, but the airlines are concentrating on larger markets.
He noted there were a couple of start-up airlines interested, but nothing has been confirmed.
A recent airport survey of local travel agencies suggested the city would have no problem filling a flight to the Nevada gambling capital.Legace said the problem is it’s very costly for an airline to run service one or two days a week.

He said the airport is trying to entice an airline by structuring daily service that would also include flights to Kamloops.Meanwhile, for the first time in months and only the second time in years, the airport has seen a drop in the number of people passing through its doors.A total of 21,559 travellers used Fulton Field in August, compared to the 22,141 who used the airport in the same month of 2009.That’s a three per cent decrease.Airport officials are blaming the drop in part on the smoky skies from the summer wildfires that put a halt to some flights.It also appears travellers are taking longer and less frequent trips, meaning fewer people in seats.Despite the slightly quieter August, the airport is still seeing steady growth.The total number of travellers that used the airport so far this year has jumped to 181,071 from 171,685 a five per cent increase.It’s an increase that has somewhat surprised airport officials.Legace said he was forecasting the passenger numbers would flatten out this year after several years of unprecedented growth.We’re fitting into a little more of a cycle now,Legace said.I’m fairly certain there is still growth in the market.The numbers could begin to soar again with the addition of the two new flights to Vancouver.