Nunavut airline schedule change leaves CamBay business owner short
Kalgen’s notes a 60 per cent drop in sales at airport location since Nov. 1
Keith Lear, seen here at his Kalgen’s Dis ‘N Dat convenience store, says that business has nosedived at his other store at Cambridge Bay’s airport, since the new Canadian North airline changed its flight schedule. (Photo by Jane George)
A week after the new Canadian North flight schedule came into effect on Nov. 1, a Cambridge Bay business owner said he has no other choice than to cut back the hours of his airport concession.
Keith Lear, who also runs the Kalgen’s Dis N’ Dat convenience store, said that business at his airport location, where you can buy coffee, hot dogs, travel supplies and souvenirs, has dropped by 60 per cent since Nov. 1.
“The problem is now we don’t have the eastern Arctic folks traveling through CamBay,” he said.
On Nov. 1, the newly merged Canadian North started its new 9:30 a.m. flight out of Cambridge Bay. This flight connects travellers from the western Nunavut hub through the eastern Kitikmeot communities to Yellowknife, arriving in Yellowknife much earlier than the previous scheduled flight did.
It also provides new daily connections between Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Kugaaruk, as well as connections to Yellowknife and Edmonton—something people in the region had been asking for.
In the old schedule, everyone heading to the communities had to pass through Cambridge Bay.
Now, flights leaving Cambridge Bay go to the communities in the morning and on to Yellowknife, while flights that leave Yellowknife go to the communities first, reaching Cambridge Bay as the final destination.
But that’s no comfort to Lear.
“The early morning flight at 9:30 has a few Government of Nunavut employees and that’s it,” Lear said.
When the flight, which now overnights in Cambridge Bay, returns, there are only a few GN workers coming back from the eastern communities, he said.
The result is less traffic through Cambridge Bay, Canadian North told Nunatsiaq News.
“We’ve heard good comments that people appreciate the efficiency compared to the old way,” said Dan Valin, Canadian North’s communications manager, in an email.
But the airline should have been thinking about the impact on local businesses and workers in communities before it made “such drastic changes to scheduling of flights,” Lear said.
The new Canadian North flight schedule means Kalgen’s airport location will only be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, to serve the jet flights from Yellowknife.
“We used to open at 10 a.m. and some days be there till 6 p.m.,” Lear told Nunatsiaq News.
His current three-year contract ends in July 2020, he said.
“The new scheduling has sure cut down on the amount of people that used to come through our airport,” Lear said.
“It used to be so nice to go to the airport and visit with family members and friends from Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Kugaaruk that you haven’t seen for a while who were passing through, but those days are now gone.”
But another business has benefited from the changes: the Kuugak Café is now providing food for flights out of Cambridge Bay.
It’s not the airlines responsibility to prop up businesses that may otherwise be unprofitable.. people complain that they don’t have same day connections, they get them, and now people complain because they have same day connections and people spend less $$ in the airport stores. Always someone complaining about something
>It’s not the airlines responsibility to prop up businesses that may otherwise be unprofitable
1) The airlines themselves provided no business to the airport c-store location, unless one of the pilots bought a hot dog while on duty using their employer’s funds.
2) Profitability is a function of clientele. Any business can move from profitable to unprofitable if their client base vanishes. The airlines at no point developed their current or historical flight plans to support this business. The business never made a request of it.
3) The people who were seeking same day connections are not the same as the people who are impacted by the clientele availability. The business is not seeking both things at once – you are erroneously grouping two different things together in your statement.
4) Clearly you are not a member of this community, and we wouldn’t want you to be. Communities look to support each other, not to equate complaining with addressing challenges in a community. Our sympathies to whichever community has to put up with your self-centered thought process.
in response to (2), “But the airline should have been thinking about the impact on local businesses and workers in communities before it made ‘such drastic changes to scheduling of flights,’ Lear said.” — sounds to me as if the owner of the business would like the flight plans to be better scheduled to accommodate his business needs
We are proud of your business and you have done great things to improve things in our Community with Cstore Keith.
But the Airlines have to serve their Customers best like you do. The planes revolve around the world, not your store.
With less business out at the airport, it will have an economic impact at the community level. Less hours, means less pay for the employee(s) who work at the airport store, which in turn means less spending in the community by the employee(s). Also ever since Nov 1st came around, the Boeing 737-200 combi jet has hardly been flying into Cambridge Bay due to mechanical issue’s or whatever reason. They either use an existing ATR turboprop aircraft or charter another aircraft from another airline company, which increases the costs to the newly merged airline company. The flight leaving YK to Cambridge Bay/Kugluktuk route is always late, the same goes for the Cambridge Bay – Kitikmeot East/YK route.
The newly merged airline and schedule was suppose to benefit the passengers and streamline the schedules, but currently I don’t see that happening. But in due time, hopefully things will improve?
Of course it’s difficult to lose business however for the town’s economy, the airline is spending money nightly for 3+ hotel rooms for crews. Enough moaning already!