Regina International Airport president and CEO James Bogusz was the keynote speaker at a Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday, giving the business community an update on operations at the closest major airport to Moose Jaw.
Bogusz announced that, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport exceeded 2019 activity levels for two consecutive months.
He said the pandemic was unprecedented for airports, and reaching that milestone was significant.
“This means stability, to be able to look ahead on our capital plan, start thinking about how to develop the airport further, how to ensure we have the right flights for the people of southern Saskatchewan,” Bogusz said.
In August, about 106,700 people used the airport. Bogusz noted the number could have been even higher if not for the Air Canada labour disruption.
Air Canada strike
Bogusz discussed the Air Canada strike that saw flight attendants walk off the job from Aug. 16 to 19.
For almost five days, Regina International Airport had no Air Canada mainline flights, meaning all Rouge and Air Canada routes mostly to Toronto were cancelled.
With Air Canada making up about 35 per cent of flights at YQR, the disruption had a major impact.
“We lost, for those five days, about 25 per cent of all capacity that would normally be at the Regina airport. It was massively impactful. In fact, this affected hundreds of thousands of Canadians in a five-day period, including thousands out of Regina,” Bogusz said.
Recently, the flight attendants’ union voted against its most recent deal with Air Canada. The terms to end the August strike prevent either side from taking job action that would cause further disruptions.
“I've not yet heard of any threatened action like we saw yet, but these things can change and frankly, I've been doing this long enough to see a very dynamic industry that sometimes what you think happens the week before something can shift in the future,” he said.
Non-stop flights to Ottawa are being negotiated
Regina International Airport has been in talks with Porter Airlines for two years about offering non-stop flights to Ottawa.
Porter, which started as a small airline out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport, has expanded and is positioning itself as a third national carrier alongside WestJet and Air Canada.
The airline recently purchased a fleet of 132-seat Embraer aircraft and is looking at routes out of Ottawa. Currently, its only Saskatchewan service is Saskatoon to Toronto.
Bogusz said the airport has offered Porter strong incentives and had hoped for flights this summer, though it now appears more likely in 2026.
“Our view at the Regina airport is that we want them to serve an unserved route, so there’s no competition for them to Ottawa. We also see them making significant investments in Ottawa, connecting to other points both in Canada and the U.S.,” he said.
Non-stop flights to Denver return
Bogusz said a major highlight this past year was the return of non-stop flights through American Airlines to Denver.
After securing non-stop flights to Minneapolis with Delta last year, YQR landed an agreement with American Airlines to resume its Denver service.
“This connects us to the sixth-busiest airport in the entire world. It’s an opportunity to access United Airlines’ network with an American carrier that competes with our two Canadian carriers,” Bogusz said.
Bogusz is hoping down the road of adding a second Denver flight, which could open the door to more markets such as Chicago.
While passengers can book Denver or Minneapolis flights through WestJet, Bogusz recommended booking directly with Delta or American Airlines to access more connecting options.