WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky, frustrated with the new $2-billion terminal at Calgary International Airport, says passengers put off by long walking distances and inconvenient connections may soon avoid travelling through YYC altogether.
In an interview, Saretsky said the airport authority has failed to listen to concerns about the two-million-square-foot terminal, which opened in October to serve people flying to international destinations.
“We’re on record as not having been happy,” he said. “We’ve asked the airport to sit and meet and work with us to solve some of these problems. I think they believe these are all things that will just sort out … Well, it’s open, and it’s still not sorted out.”
The new terminal was designed to ease congestion and clear the path for growth, after passenger volumes nearly doubled over the past two decades. It features a number of new technologies and processes aimed at streamlining connections — including enhanced procedures at customs and pre-board security, as well as a new connections centre which allows many passengers to transit through the airport to other destinations without picking up their bags or having to be re-screened.
But Saretsky said the terminal’s sheer size — the equivalent of 34 football fields — makes it difficult for passengers to get around.
“For WestJet guests arriving domestically and going trans-border or internationally, it’s up to a two-kilometre walk,” he said. “And the baggage systems between the domestic and international terminals don’t connect, and won’t until 2019. So we’ve got a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility that is actually broken in the middle.”
In an email, Calgary Airport Authority spokeswoman Jody Moseley said the design of the new international terminal was endorsed by WestJet prior to the start of construction in 2011, and WestJet was an active participant on the operational planning team. She said WestJet’s input was incorporated into a number of aspects of the terminal’s design, including the WestJet check-in layout as well as the electric-powered passenger shuttle service called YYC Link.
“WestJet is an important partner and as such has been an active participant in our growth and development plans, which are driven by our airline partners’ business strategies,” Moseley said.
But Saretsky said WestJet was concerned from the beginning that the proposed layout would cause problems, and the airport authority failed to fully heed its warnings. He acknowledged the shuttle was in part an effort to address WestJet’s concerns, though he added the shuttle can’t handle large volumes of connecting passengers getting off a 767 jet at once and said the airline would rather have seen the construction of a monorail or terminal link train instead.
“It (the shuttle) is better than nothing, but it’s not world class,” he said.
Saretsky added WestJet has had to build longer connection times into its schedules to allow for walk distances. In Seattle, for example, WestJet builds a 35-minute connection time for passengers into its schedules. In Calgary, Saretsky said the airline now must allow for a 75-minute connection time.
“If some of these issues don’t get addressed, and the connectivity issues don’t get resolved, guests will figure out very quickly that it’s easier to connect in Vancouver or in Seattle than coming through Calgary,” he said. “I think this terminal risks actually forcing traffic to other airports.”
Saretsky added WestJet is waiting for incoming CEO Bob Sartor to take the reins at the airport authority in January, in the hope he will take a fresh look at the airline’s concerns. Sartor, the former head of Big Rock Brewery, is replacing retiring airport authority CEO Garth Atkinson.
“We were urging the airport to build a plan that would better address (our concerns),” Saretsky said. “Now we’ll wait for the new CEO and give him the same list and see if we can make more headway.”
On its Facebook page, the Calgary International Airport has fielded a number of reviews of the new terminal — some positive, some negative. Of the negative reviews, many specifically mention walk distances and difficulties getting around.
But Moseley said the airport authority is “hearing great things” about the connections process, and believes that passengers are moving smoothly through the facility.
“Familiarity with the new systems and processes will take some time, but we are providing information in the terminal, online and through our social media channels to reassure passengers,” Moseley said.
WestJet hired 225 new people to staff the new terminal, adding $15 million in salary costs to the company’s bottom line. Saretsky said the new hires were necessary not because the number of WestJet flights has increased, but because the size and layout of the new facility require staff to be in different physical locations.
Calgary Herald
