• Labour Unrest ---Air Canada's crew and in-flight operations schedulers have voted to go on strike if the airline moved some operations to Toronto.  The CAW Local 2002, which represents 76 in-flight and 46 flight operations crew schedulers, said a deadline for the strike has not been set.  The union has been in negotiations with Air Canada since the summer over the airline's plan to move its scheduling operations from Montreal to Toronto.  The airline is also in the midst of discussions with its pilots union.  The airline's pilots said Air Canada had abandoned contract talks, but the country's largest carrier said it was awaiting the union's response to its latest offer.

• New York Service Increase ---has announced plans to re-enter the Toronto-New York-JFK route beginning May 3, 2012 with up to three flights per day operated by 50-passenger CRJs flown by Jazz Air LP.  This will make Air Canada the only airline to serve all three New York area airports from Toronto.  Air Canada is also planning to increase its frequency on the Toronto-New York-LGA route to hourly on weekdays effective on May 1st, 2012.  The new YYZ-JFK flights will depart Toronto at 0820/1510/2030hrs and the JFK-YYZ flights will arrive back in Toronto at 0835/1225/1915hrs.

• Summer Schedules ---the following are changes indicated to some North American and Caribbean routes for the peak summer 2012 season which runs from May 1st through Labor Day;  a)..Montreal-Cancun to increase from 4 to 5 weekly as of June 24th, Montreal-Fort de France increases from 1 to 2 weekly effective July 3rd, Montreal to Ft. Lauderdale increases from 10 to 11 weekly effective Jun 24th, Montreal-Montego Bay will operate with A319 replacing A320, and Montreal-Pointe-a-Pitre 2 weekly service operates on Day 4/6 instead of 2 flights on Day last summer.   Montreal-Punta Cana 2 weekly service operates with A320 on both flights, Montreal-San Francisco reduces from 2 daily to 1 daily this summer.  Montreal-Sept Iles 2nd daily service introduced Feb 1st is maintained in summer season and Montreal-Wabush 1-stop service introduced Feb 1st is maintained in Summer replacing operations via Quebec City.  Montreal-Varadero 3 weekly service operates with A320, replacing 2 A319s and an A320 in summer 2011.   b)..Toronto-Ft.Lauderdale increases from 8 weekly to 2 daily with a mix of A319/320 effective June 18th, Toronto-Ft. Myers weekly service operates with larger A320, replacing A319, Toronto to Grand Cayman weekly service operates with EMB190, replacing A319 in Summer 2011.  Toronto-Holguin operates with an A319, replacing A320 and Toronto-Miami operates with EMB190, replacing A320/E190 mix in 2011.  Toronto to Portland OR operated daily with EMB190, replacing A319 in S11.  Toronto-Puerto Plata cancelled this summer and Toronto-Punta Cana operated on Day 5/6/7, same as S11.  Toronto-Seattle 2 daily service operates with EMB190, replacing A319/E190 mix in S11.  Toronto-Sydney NS operates daily wit CRJ200, replacing CRJ705 in S11 and Toronto-Varadero increased fro 2 to 3 weekly between Jun 23 and Aug 27th.

• Capacity Increase ---effective with the beginning of the IATA summer schedule period on March 27, 2012 four flights per week will be offered using Boeing 737-800s on the Panama-Toronto route.  

• Service Increase ---Porter is enhancing its Newark service with two additional daily flights and a more convenient schedule.  This increases daily roundtrip departures between Toronto City Airport (YTZ) and Newark (EWR) to as many as 13 flights, and provides a wider range of morning, afternoon and evening departures for passengers.  "Demand for our Toronto-Newark route continues to increase and we are responding with additional flights," said Robert Deluce, president and CEO.  "Porter offers the only service between downtown Toronto and New York, which is one of the reasons we've become a top choice for business and leisure travellers between the two markets."  The first new flight starts March 26th, with a second flight beginning on April 16, and additional weekend options as of March 25th.  Porter also launched a new non-stop service between Newark and Mt. Tremblant Que., this winter, a popular skiing destination, making it easier than ever to enjoy a season on the slopes.  

• New 10-Year plan ---The Vancouver Airport Authority has announced a 10-year strategy outlining $1.8 billion in improvements designed to keep Vancouver International Airport competitive and an economic generator for British Columbia.  "YVR is facing increasing competition from other airports; both travellers and airlines have choices," said Larry Berg, President and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority.  "In order to remain competitive and an airport that British Columbia can be proud of, we must continue to invest in projects that make it easier and faster for passengers and their baggage to move through the airport."  YVR has set its sights on being the gateway of choice for travellers and airline--particularly for the fast-growing Asian market.  To meet this objective, YVR will decrease connection times between international and domestic flights, enhance baggage systems and invest in terminal upgrades.  The following projects will kick-start the Airport Authority's 10-year strategy:  a)..more than 700 metres of secure corridors and moving walkways to reduce connection times for passengers.  b)..new high -speed baggage systems.  c)..upgrades to the original areas of the 1968 Domestic Terminal Building.  d)..runway safety enhancements.  To help fund these improvements, the Airport authority is increasing the (AIF) Airport Improvement Fee from $15 to $20 beginning May 1, 2012 for passengers travelling to destinations outside of B.C.  Passengers travelling within B.C. and to the Yukon will continue to pay $5.  The AIF at YVR will still be among the lowest in Canada, with most other airports collecting $25 per passenger.   

• Dash 8 Mods ---Air Creebec has entered into an agreement with Authorized Dealer Mid-Canada Mod Center to fit Universal Avionics into its entire fleet of Dash 8 aircraft.  This includes Wide Area Augmentation System/Satellite Based Augmentation System Flight Management Systems (WAAS/SBAS-FMS) and Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS).  They are the latest Canadian regional to begin this conversion.  Air Creebec selected Universal Avionics' UNS-1Lw WAAS/SBAS-FMS, with a 4-inch Flat Panel Control Display Unit and a remotely mounted navigation computer.  The navigation computer is contained in a 2-MCU sized Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) which includes the integral CPS/SBAS receiver.  Air Creebec will gain access to all RNAV (GNSS) approach types as well as the additional accuracy of WAAS correction for other on-board systems.  Universal Class A TAWA will be installed concurrently, with its unique look-ahead function and three views of terrain, with man-made obstacles alerting.  

• Orders and Deliveries ---Bombardier announced its deliveries and orders results for the 11-month fiscal year which ended December 31, 2011.  Despite a volatile economic environment that continued to create uncertainty in many sectors around the world, Bombardier put in a solid performance.  Bombardier delivered 245 aircraft compared to 256 in the previous fiscal year.  This delivery total is essentially in line with the 240 aircraft delivery guidance that was provided in February 2011 although with a different mix of aircraft.  Bombardier received 249 aircraft orders, net of cancellations, compared to 201 orders for the previous fiscal year.  Bombardier delivered 163 business jets, compared to 155 for the previous fiscal year and received 191 net orders for business jets, compared to 107 for the previous fiscal year.  The company delivered 78 commercial aircraft, compared to 97 for the previous fiscal year and received 54 net orders for commercial aircraft, compared to 93 the previous fiscal year.  

• New Corporate Shuttle ---Bombardier have started using a Q400 turboprop (C-GLOZ) on their corporate shuttle route linking Montreal-YUL with their plant at Downsview (YZD).  It has a special blue and white livery and the Bombardier name on the underside.  This aircraft has replaced their older Q200 (C-FBCS) aircraft due mainly to the fact that extra seats were required because of the increase in activity both at Downsview and at Montreal.  

• New Order ---Bombardier announced that Geneva-based PrivatAir has placed a firm order for five CS100 airliners and has taken options on an additional five CS100 aircraft.  Based on the list price for the CS100 aircraft, the firm order contract is valued at approximately $309 million US, and could increase to $636 million if the five options are exercised.  PrivatAir was founded more than 30 years ago and operates a large fleet of commercial and business aircraft to provide private charter and private airline services.  Its specialized services include exclusively business class flights on behalf of several major network airlines.  As a superb example of the versatility of the world's only all-new aircraft in its segment, the CSeries aircraft acquired by PrivatAir will be delivered in an all-business class configuration.  

• Southern Charter Base ---Canadian North has selected Edmonton International Airport (YEG) as its primary southern charter home base.  Canadian North recently added three additional Boeing 737s and is working with Executive Flight Centre to build up to 500 additional staff to service industrial clients from their new primary charter base in Edmonton.  The new aircraft and staff will provide chartered air service for Oil & Gas and Mining industry clients working in Northern Alberta and Northern Canada.  "We're excited to have this premium facility at Edmonton International," said Tracy Medve, President of Canadian North.  "The Canadian North Charter Terminal /Executive Flight Centre T3 offers everything we need to provide a seamless travel experience for our valued charter customers.  Furthermore, the rapidly growing economy of the Edmonton area makes us confident that this is a great place to invest."  Executive Flight Centre has extensively renovated and upgraded the largest hangar at Edmonton specifically to serve Canadian North's industrial charter business.  

• New Facilities---the Western Canada Aviation Museum (WCAM), Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) and Exchange Income Corporation (EIC) announced plans for building infrastructure to forever connect Manitoba to its aviation roots, provide new connections with the North and a state of the art vision for the future.  The joint announcement sees the creation of a new facility to house the world-class collection of bush aircraft and other one-of-a-kind artifacts of the Aviation Museum.  Additionally EIC announced the development of a state of the art maintenance facility for large aircraft in its fleet of 100 aircraft.  The trransaction will see EIC invest in a long term lease with WAA for 40 years on what is now the WCAM site.  Additionally, understanding the importance of preserving where they've come from, EIC will contribute $2.5million towards the capital campaign for the new WCAM purpose built site.  EIC's four airlines have operated for an average of 50 years.  They comprise Perimeter Aviation, Keewatin Air, Calm Air International and Bearskin Lake Air Service.  

• Traffic Growth ---the year 2011 ended in a healthy 5% increase resulting in a new record for a total of 579,329 customers at the Greater Moncton International Airport in comparison to 2010.  On the cargo front, the year ended at a 1% increase.  Volumes finished at 23,035 metric tonnes in comparison to 22,789 tonnes in 2010.  This growth in air travel is attributed to a great 2011 southern destination season, in addition to all our airline partners continuing their success in Moncton.  Adding to this upward trend is our newest airline partner, Porter Airlines that started service in June 2010.  Both Continental and Porter increased service during the holidays to Newark and Toronto respectively.  For 2012, Sunwing Vacations is offering Montego Bay Jamaica service and WestJet began a seasonal Orlando service in mid-January.  With a new name and with the introduction of the Q400 in their fleet, Air Canada Express remains our main carrier offering the most frequency to major Canadian centres.

• Vote on Regional ---WestJet Airlines 8,500 non-union employees began voting on Jan 22nd on whether to support management's plans to start a regional carrier, most of them will be making their decision as both workers and shareholders.  Nearly 85 per cent of WestJet's employees are shareholders, so management's efforts to create a regional subsidiary that pays reduced wages to pilots will be attractive from a corporate viewpoint.  The proposal to launch a wholly owned subsidiary for short-haul flights within Canada "is the building block for a global WestJet", the airline's executives said in an internal presentation to WestJet pilots.  WestJet plans to start its regional service in 2013 with turboprops, either Canadian-built Bombardier Q400s or French-Italian ATR 72-600s.  If all goes well, the carrier envisages ordering wide-body aircraft for flights to Europe and Asia as early as 2018.  

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• New Code-Share ---announced a new code-sharing agreement on flights within the United States and Canada with Delta Air Lines.   The two airlines began an interline agreement that allowed customers to purchase connec -ting flights on one ticket, receive boarding passes for all segments at their first check-in, and tag bags through to their final destination.  Under the first phase of the new code-share agreement, Delta will place its code on WestJet flights to more than 15 cities, while the WestJet code will be added to Delta flights on five markets, expanding the networks of both airlines for customers flying between the two countries.  Members of the Delta Air Lines' SkyMiles® program and WestJet's Frequent Guest Program® will be able to earn miles or rewards on the code-share flights, providing customers another benefit of the enhanced relationship.  Phase 1 of the codeshare routes are;  Delta operated by WestJet (DL7060-7149) Calgary-Kelowna/Las Vegas/Regina/Saskatoon/Vancouver /Victoria and Winnipeg.  Edmonton-Kelowna & Victoria, and Halifax-St.John's.   Toronto-Calgary/Charlottetown /Edmonton/Halifax/Kelowna/Ottawa/Regina/St.John's/Thunder Bay and Vancouver.  Vancouver-Honolulu/Kelowna /Las Vegas and Winnipeg-Montreal.   WestJet flights operated by Delta (WS6300-6399) will include Boston to Toronto, Detroit-Montreal/Ottawa/Quebec City and Toronto.  

• New regional airline? ---announced it is considering the launch of a new short-haul, regional airline as early as 2013 using a fleet of up to 40 smaller turboprop aircraft.  "A short-haul aircraft combined with WestJet's brand, balance sheet strength and low-cost structure will allow WestJet to profitably accomplish four main goals; introduce WestJet's friendly service to many smaller communities who have asked for our service; optimize the size of aircraft to efficiently increase frequency; create new connections between existing WestJet markets; and build additional feed to our current 71-city network so that we can continue to profitably grow and add shareholder value," said Gregg Saretsky, President and CEO.  No final decision will be made until after consultations with employees and the Board of Director's.  

• New Customer ---has signed a contract with First Air which will become the Company's largest Canadian customer for seven Automated Flight Information Reporting System ("AFIRSTM") 220 and 12 of the next generation AFIRS 228B, for a total of 19 aircraft.  The contract requires AMA to install AIFRS 220 and AFIRS 228B on Boeing 737-200, 767-200F and ATR 42/72 aircraft.  First Air has been in business for over a half century and operates in major Canadian centre and remote northern regions.  The airline also operates charter flights within the country.  AFIRS will enable real-time flight following and 24/7 connectivity between the aircraft and operations through the Iridium satellite communications system.  The airline will also utilize AMA's other services including engine trending, airframe and engine exceedances, and Out, Off, On and In times.  The airline will use the date AFIRS provides to operate its Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program, a type of safety monitoring program.  AMA will provide equipment and services to the airline over a five-year contract.  Installatiions are scheduled to begin within the year and be completed over the next 18 months. 

• New Route Announced ---the airline has announced that effective April 16, 2012 it will be starting up its newest route linking Toronto City Centre airport (YTZ) with Washington Dulles (IAD).  Three flights per weekday will be offered each way and one on Saturdays and two on Sundays.  Weekday flights will depart YTZ at 0700/1355 and 1815hrs with arriving flights from Washington at 1045/1800 and 2205hrs.  

• New Orders ---announced that it has sold five Level D full-flight simulators (FFS) to customers in Asia.  They include an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 737 to Air China, A Boeing 737 to Shandong Airlines of China, an A320 to the new Cebu Pacific-CAE joint venture aviation training centre in the Philippines, and an A320 for Alpha Aviation Group's flight training academy in the Philippines.  CAE also received contracts for CAE Simfinity™ integrated procedures trainers and for simulator update services from several airlines.  The contracts are worth a total of more than C$65 million at list prices, and bring the total number of FFS sales that CAE has announced to date during fiscal year 2012 to 30.  The CAE 7000 Series A320 and B737-800 FFSs will be delivered to Air China training centre in Beijing, China.  The simulators will be certified to Level D, the highest qualification for flight simulators, by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).  The CAE 7000 Series Boeing 737 FFS for Shandong Airlines will be qualified to CAAC's Level D standards.  The simulator will be delivered to the Shandong Airlines training centre in Qingdao, China.  The Cebu Pacific-CAE aviation academy is scheduled to start operations in the third quarter of 2012 in Clark Freeport Zone, northwest of Manila in the Philippines.  The joint venture will initially cater to Airbus A319/320/321 series pilot type-rating training requirement and will provide "wet" instructor-led type-rating training for Cebu Air's current and new hire pilots.  Initial, recurrent, conversion and jet introduction training will also be available to other Airbus operators.  The CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS for Alpha Aviation Group will be delivered to its training academy at Clark Freeport Zone in the Philippines.  Formed by UK-based C&C Alpha Group Limited and Singapore-based Prescient Systems & Technologies Pte. Ltd. (an associate company of Singapore Technologies Engineering Limited), Alpha Aviation Group Limited has aviation academies in the UK, UAE and the Philippines.  Alpha Aviation Group (Philippines) Inc. is an Approved Training Organization (ATO) and a certified Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO) for the training of A320 commercial pilots for airlines in the Asia Pacific region.  

• Summer Schedule ---the latest updates on the GDS systems indicated that Qatar Airways will be boosting capacity on its Doha-Montreal route this summer.  Effective March 25, 2012 the service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER instead of their -200LR model.  This will add an additional 76 seats per flight.  Westbound flights arrive in Montreal at 1455hrs on Day 3/5/7 and depart at 2315hrs back to Doha.  

• Summer Schedule ---the latest updates on the GDS systems indicate that the Taipei-Vancouver route will be reduced from daily to the following;  from 25Mar to 06May 5xweekly operating on Days 1/3/4/5/6.  From 07May  will be 6 weekly operating except Day 7.   All flights show operating with Airbus A340-300 equipment type.

• Expansion in Kansas ---Bombardier is about to expand their Learjet site in Wichita.  The growth of the site includes the expansion of the Bombardier Flight Test Center, the establishment of a Bombardier Center of Excellence of Engineering and Information Technology, new facilities for paint and production flight test as well as a new delivery center.  The expansion will also help create 450 new jobs over the course of seven to ten years.  This expansion is being supported by an incentive offer worth $16 million in financial support from the State of Kansas, which will be added to the $600 million investment Bombardier is currently making to develop the Learjet 85 midsize jet and to expand Learjet's Wichita facility.  

• Increased Service ---has announced it will launch a second daily flight between Gander, Goose Bay and Wabush Labrador starting the first of February.  The flights are operated by EVAS Air using 18-seat Beech 1900D aircraft type.  Gander Airport President Gary Vey says the initial flight launched last year has proven very successful given Labrador's booming economy, which is driving the demand for air service.  

• New facility? ---Bombardier Inc. will hire another 400 workers in Wichita Kansas, in exchange for state and local incentives, a Sedgwick County official said, offsetting some of the losses from Boeing Co.'s planned shutdown in the city.  Kansas officials plan to announce $16 million of incentives for Bombardier at a news briefing January 10th.  The news follows Boeing's decision to bolt from Wichita, where it 80-year old operation employs 2,160, by the end of 2013.  "It's very positive news for Wichita," said Dave Unruh, chairman of the county's Board of Commissioners.  "It shows the attractiveness of our region."  Bombardier fired 820 workers from its Learjet division in Wichita in 2009, or about a quarter of the workforce, as sales of corporate aircraft slumped during the recession.  The Montreal-based maker of rail cars and aircraft plans to add 1,050 jobs in the city over about a decade under a 2010 agreement to build a new business jet there, said Patrick Botter, a spokesman.  The Learjet unit has filled 400 of those jobs, bringing employment to 2,822 in the city, which bills itself as the "Air Capital of the World."   Wichita may lose another 800 aerospace jobs if Hawker Beechcraft Corp. fails to overturn a U.S. Air Force contract award to Embraer SA and Sierra Nevada Corp.  The $355 million order for a light attack aircraft would support 1,400 jobs, according to U.S. Senator Pat Roberts.  About 800 of those jobs are in Wichita.  The company sued to block last month's award to Sierra Nevada and Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft maker.  

• New Orders ---has announced it received a firm order for five Challenger 850 jets from an undisclosed customer.  The total value of the order is approximately $156 million US, based on the 2011 list price for typically equipped aircraft.  The Challenger 850 jet combines outstanding dependability with an executive cabin and the superior level of support business jet customers demand.  The aircraft features the cabin volume of an ultra long-range jet with a range of up to 2,811 nautical miles.  It is the benchmark for cabin comfort in its market segment.  

• New Upstart ---Air Guyana is planning to operate a former ATA Airlines Boeing 757-23N (N524AT) for newcomer Fly Jamaica of Kingston Jamaica.  Fly Jamaica is planning to offer flights to New York and Toronto as well as connect back to Georgetown, Guyana.  Wings Aviation Limited (Georgetown) is the parent company of Air Guyana Inc.  Wings Aviation was established on February 1, 1984 as a result of the demand by the local mining sector for reliable and economical air transport service to the Interior of Guyana.  In November 1993, Wings Aviation Ltd. became an ICAO approved aircraft -operating agency in the State of Guyana.  On January 20, 1999 Wings Aviation registered the name "Air Guyana".  On November 21, 2003 Air Guyana received its new AOC from the Guyana Government.  Air Guyana was incorporated on September 1, 2009 and has since been operating a Cessna 206G and a Cessna 208B to the interior of Guyana and adjacent countries.  The Boeing 757 is the first jet aircraft for the company.  

• Schedule Reduction ---as per the latest updates on the GDS systems the Beijing-Vancouver route will be reduced from ten flights per week this coming summer to a daily service using the Airbus A330 aircraft.  Flight CA991 arrives at 1150hrs in Vancouver and flight CA992 departs at 1350hrs back to Beijing.

• New Training Centre ---CAE has announced that Mexico's first business jet and civil helicopter training centre is open and ready for pilot training.  New full-flight simulators (FFS) for the Bombardier Learjet 40/45 aircraft and the Bell 412 helicopter were recently qualified to Level D-equivalent standards by Mexico's Direción General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC).  The new CAE training centre is located at Mexico's leading business aviation airport, Aeropuerto Internacional de Toluca, Lic. Adolfo López Mateos, in Toluca Mexico, easily accessible from Mexico City.  "CAE continues to expand its presence in emerging business aviation and civil helicopter training markets around the world," said Jeff Roberts, CAE's Group President, Civil Simulation Products.  "We are pleased to bring CAE's world-class, customized instruction to the Latin America region so operators of the Learjet 40, Learjet 45, and Bell 412 can received the highest-quality training, conveniently close to their base of operations."  

• Traffic Report ---for the month of December, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 81.0 per cent, versus 80.8 per cent in December 2010, an increase of 0.2 percentage points.  System traffic increased 3.0 per cent on a system-wide capacity increase of 2.8 per cent.  Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity.  "For the month of December and full year 2011, Air Canada recorded load factors of 81.0 and 81.6 per cent, respectively," said Colin Rovinescu, President and CEO.  "Load factor for the full year was the second highest in Air Canada's history, surpassed only by our all-time record of 81.7 per cent for 2010.  For both the month of December and 12-month period, we experienced traffic growth in all markets Air Canada serves.  These strong results underscore the effectiveness of our disciplined capacity management and award-winning product.  I want to thank our employees whose professionalism and focus on taking care of our customers was recognized throughout the year."  

• Advance Schedule Changes ---for the summer 2012 season the airline has modified their Paris-Montreal schedules as per the latest release in the GDS systems.  Overall frequency between June and October 2012 will be 20 flights per week.  Westbound as follows;  AF342-1215 with 77W x7,   AF344-1500 with 388 x235 and with 77W on 235,  AF348-2045 with 772 daily.  Eastbound AF345-1730 with 77W x7,  AF347-1955 with 388 x235 and 77W on 235,  AF349-2300 with 772 daily.   

• New Configuration ---as per the Jan 5th updates to the GDS Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER with New Business Class Seats with 3 variation (77D, 77G, 77H) for summer 2012 season.  On the Hong Kong-Vancouver-New York route will be daily with 77D, and Hong Kong-Toronto will see the 77G (New Business Class/Premium Economy/Economy) operate flights CX828/827 on day 357 and flights CX826/829 on Day 7 from Hong Kong and Day 1 departure to Hong Kong.  

• Traffic Report ---announced a record December 2011 traffic result with a load factor of 80.9 per cent, tying its second highest December load factor ever.  Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) increased eight per cent year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 7.1 per cent over the same period.  "We finished the year with strong traffic results confirming that our capacity continues to be absorbed by the market.  We flew nearly 1.4 million guest this month, a new December record," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky.  "We also achieved a new single-day record by flying approximately 53,000 guest across our network on December 23rd."  

• Future Plans ---a Globe and Mail article dated January 1st indicates that WestJet has it sights set on Air Canada's title for the top spot in carrying domestic traffic within five years.  CEO Gregg Saretsky said in a year -end interview that WestJet will focus on acquiring smaller aircraft for neglected domestic markets before consid -ering larger planes for routes to Europe and Asia in the long term.  Plans call for Calgary-based WestJet to move beyond its single-fleet configuration of Boeing 737s--workhorses for the carrier since it launched in 1996.  Industry experts said they were surprised by Mr. Saretsky's comments and expressed optimism that WestJet will be able to tap into Canadian destinations neglected or underserved by Air Canada and its regional affiliate, Jazz Air.  WestJet's domestic market share could grow to 45 per cent by 2017 from its current 36 per cent if it carefully launches short-haul service within Canada with new aircraft, observers say.  In 2000, Air Canada had 77 per cent of the domestic market, while WestJet held just 7 per cent.  But Air Canada decided to devote greater attention to its routes to the United States and overseas.  By early 2011, the competitive gap had narrowed to a point where Air Canada's domestic market share slid to 56 per cent and WestJet's grew to 36 per cent.  Porter Airlines and others had the remaining 8 per cent.  If WestJet decides to order smaller planes by late 2012, the aircraft will likely start arriving by early 2014, positioning the airline to introduce service to smaller Canadian cities.  The carrier has 97 Boeing 737s in its fleet, with another three to be added this year.  On WestJet's shortlist for smaller aircraft is the 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop, currently flown by Porter Airlines and two of Air Canada's regional carriers, Jazz Air and Sky Regional.  Also on the shortlist is the French-Italian ATR72 turboprop.  "The Q400 would be ideal as a regional airplane," Mr. Erickson said, "but I still think the end play will be WestJet's entry into the international arena in the longer term.  That would be transatlantic routes for starters, and at some point, transpacific, and the connecting passengers from smaller Canadian cities could assist with that."  Mr. Erickson is an aviation consultant with RP Erickson & Associates in Calgary.  Mr. Saretsky emphasized that no corporate decision has been finalized on whether to order larger or smaller planes, but he favours nurturing the home market first.  He cited examples of new destinations that could benefit from a WestJet expansion; Cranbrook, Prince Rupert, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek in BC, Lethbridge AB, Saguenay QB, and Sudbury, Sarnia and Timmins in Ontario.  

• Traffic Report --- Porter Airlines posted record passenger numbers for 2011, including a December load factor of 63.9 per cent, 1.5 points higher that the previous year.  Over 2.1 million passengers travelled with Porter during the year, which is another record compared to 1.56 million in 2010.  December results show 117.6 million ASMs and 75.2 million RPMs.  ASMs increased 26.7 per cent from 92.8 million and RPMs grew 29.9 per cent compared to 57.9 million last year.  "Porter is one of the fastest growing airlines in North America," said Robert Deluce, president and CEO.  "The big highlight of 2011 was our 5th birthday celebrated on October 23rd, and our 5 millionth passenger also flew with us that same week."  New destinations initiated were Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, and Burlington VT for winter seasonal skiing traffic.  Flight frequencies were also increased to numerous existing markets such as Thunder Bay and Moncton with six new Bombardier Q400 aircraft being added to the fleet.   The new year gets off to a quick start with new service to Timmins commencing on January 16th, a sixth U.S. market to be anticipated by spring.  

• Labour Agreement ---NAV Canada has announced the receipt of an arbitration decision which concludes collective bargaining with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), representing approximately 400 engineering, computer service, physical science, purchasing, economic and social science specialties.  In September 2011 the parties concluded negotiations on several issues and agreed to refer outstanding issues to binding arbitration.  The settlement is a result of an arbitration award issued by a tri-partite board, chaired by Brian Keller, Arbitrator.  The resulting two-year collective agreement covers the period from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2013.  The award provides for wage increased each May 1 of 2.75%.  

• New Route Announced ---effective March 25, 2012 with the start of the "summer" schedule period US Airways will commence a three times per day service between Washington-Reagan (DCA) and Ottawa.  The new route will be flown by 50-passenger CRJ aircraft operated by one of the US Airways commuter affiliates, most likely Air Wisconsin.  North bound flights will arrive in Ottawa at 1144/1647/2240hrs and southbound departures will leave at 0615/1220/1725hrs.  

• Service Reduction ---effective January 3rd the Los Angeles-Vancouver route is going to be reduced from two daily down to one flight per day utilizing a CRJ-700 aircraft.  The northbound flight will arrive in Vancouver at 1616hrs and the southbound flight will depart at 1700hrs.  The schedule for the summer of 2012 originally showed a second daily flight being restored on this route, but the latest update on the GDS systems would indicated that the once-daily frequency will be maintained throughout the summer period.

• Route Cancelled ---effective January 30, 2012 American will be stopping its current non-stop service between Chicago and Calgary.  It is currently operated by an American Eagle CRJ-700 on a daily basis.  Advance schedules for the summer of 2012 would also indicate that it will not operate.

• Trial Schedule ---during the Easter weekends (April 2012) the airline is offering on a "trial" basis Arctic Bay-Igloolik and Arctic Bay-Pond Inlet routes using their DHC8-100 aircraft.  

• Las Vegas Route ---will operate a one-time charter on January 26th southbound from Whitehorse (YXY) to Las Vegas using one of their Boeing 737 aircraft.  The northbound flight will operate on January 29th.  If fuel stops are required the southbound flight will route through Vancouver and the northbound flight through Portland OR.  

• Summer Schedules ---the summer schedules have been uploaded to the GDS systems and indicate that service to Porto and Shannon will operate this year.  Initial updated on October 17th did not show these two cities.  Montreal to Porto operates from June 13 to Sep. 20th and will route Montreal-Lisbon-Porto-Montreal on day 3 eastbound.  The Toronto-Dublin route will see an increase from four weekly to five weekly (including one via Montreal and one via Shannon).  Nonstop service in both direction maintains at three weekly.  Toronto-Porto service will operate once again with 2 weekly flight on day 3 and 5 eastbound and day 4 and 6 westbound.  The following Air Transat routes will be cancelled this summer; Calgary-Munich (service will originate to/from Vancouver), Halifax to London -Gatwick, Montreal-Vienna, Ottawa-London-LGW, Toronto-Exeter-Newcastle, Toronto-Hamburg, Toronto to Ponta Delgada and Toronto-Terceira.  

• Year End ---the Toronto City Airport (formerly Toronto Island airport) which is owned and operated by the Toronto Port Authority is expected to surpass its estimate of 1.5 million passengers for 2011, an increase of 37 per cent over 2010, and double the number of passengers it served in 2009.  Geoff Wilson, CEO of the TPA, said that the numbers really demonstrated that Torontonians and visitors alike consider the airport a great asset for the city.  "Together with our airlines--Porter and Air Canada Sky Regional--we have made great strides in meeting customer demands for a quality travel experience," Wilson said, noting that earlier this month, CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg referred to Billy Bishop Toronto City Centre on the CBS' The Early Show as "one of the coolest urban airports in the world."  Wilson also said the Port Authority is on track to have its most profitable year ever.  In addition to meeting passengers' needs, the TPA introduced a range of improvements for the benefit of the local community, including quarterly community consultation meetings, establishing a new noise management program with dedicated staff, state of the art technology to track aircraft noise, and the completion of an environmental assessment and final design for noise mitigation barriers on the island side of the Western Channel.  Work on the noise barrier is slated to start in January 2012.  The TPA also finalised plans to build a public-private pedestrian tunnel, having received green lights from the municipal and federal governments in July and October, respectively.  Work on the tunnel, which is now expected to stretch 800 feet from the mainland under the Western Channel directly to the Airport Terminal building, is scheduled to begin in spring of 2012.  The TPA reached agree -ment with the City of Toronto to include the City's important replacement utility mains as part of the TPA's pedestrian tunnel project.  This represents another example of the ongoing partnership between the two public bodies, whereby the City will use the TPA tunnel to install its own infrastructure, thereby saving City taxpayers millions, and eliminating duplication of construction work in the busy downtown core.