East Coast Airways

[beaconfinal]

Also read this today on cbc.ca, link at bottom of post...

"East Coast Airways has announced it will start service to five communities in the Maritime provinces on Nov. 1.

Sample fares

Halifax – Charlottetown $139

Sydney – Halifax $169

Saint John – Halifax $149

Yarmouth – Halifax $179

The new airline is targeting what it calls under-served cities in the three provinces: Charlottetown, Halifax, Yarmouth, N.S., and Sydney, N.S., and Saint John, N.B.

Jay Hasson, the president of operations, said the airline, which is based in Halifax, will use small turboprop planes that can carry 19 passengers. When the service expands, bigger planes will be added.

"We'll be utilizing about five airplanes to service all the cities," Hasson said. "We have daily non-stops and then we will add more airplanes in 2011 for a total of between 17 and 20 aircraft."

Hasson said schedules are designed for the convenience of business customers.

"We've got schedules that will get you out in the morning, not too early, but it'll get you home for suppertime," he said. "We run several times a day to most of our cities."

Joyce MacDougall of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to see more competition at the local airport.

"That always drops fares, gives people more options of flight times and makes sure that Sydney Airport is busy," MacDougall said.

Fares for most flights range between $150 and $200."




http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... s-584.html

bf

[~Hollywood~]

Saw them flying today in YHZ, plane painted with East Coast Airways on the side.

C-GZOS was the registration, I guess doing some training flights....

[av8tor_assrope]

You get a good look at any of their gate agents Hollywood??? Did they seem DTF in the YHZ?

[~Hollywood~]

Haha nah bro, no gate agents to be seen yet. Hopefully they aren't landmines or grenades. After I GTL next time in the YHZ, I'll let you know if they are DTF!

[linecrew]

Looks like it's for real. They are a division of Integra Air of Lethbridge:

http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com ... le/1270270

http://www.integraair.com/

[phillyfan]

Yep. Hope none of you told them off too harshly about the hoax. Just goes to show you can't really trust a god damn thing you hear on AvCanada.

[av8tor_assrope]

I'm glad to hear that Hollywood because I need someone that's a team player in the YHZ; knows how to entertain a grenade or two, and maybe decipher a bomb.....it's a bloody war out there!

[snowshoe]

flameboy_99 wrote:

"Its quite the convoluted shift of companies names and OC's. Integra Air in Lethbridge will now be operated under Bar XH. Integra Air will be transferred out east to operate East Coast Airways. And I believe Alberta City Link is operating something else out east as well".

Convoluted is the key word it seems. Does anyone know if Integra/-XH are actually involved in the upper reaches of management of this show, or have they been brought in as hired hands to do the grunt work? Wasn't -XH or City Link involved in a project such as this, out of Kitchener , about 10/15 years ago?

[~Hollywood~]

So just checking the AC website I see they finally dropped their prices on these routes, as expected.

The company is also offering fixed prices. A one-way ticket from Saint John to Halifax, for example, is listed at $159, plus tax and fees.

"If you book for tomorrow morning, or if you book for two weeks from now, the price is the same," Hasson said, noting East Coast Airways' prices will be - on average - $700 cheaper for a roundtrip ticket than Air Canada.

Not sure if this guy was thinking AC wasn't going to drop the prices or not, but just compared AC's new prices with East Coast Airways for YSJ roundtrip from YHZ.

East Coast Airways
Price: $318.00
Fees:$74.32
Taxes:$58.85
Total:$451.17

Air Canada
Price:$514.00
Taxes&Fees:$160.94
Total:$674.94

Definetely not the $700 cheaper buddy was talking about, but lots of the Novemeber flights seem to be sold out already so who knows. Maybe they will last longer than a couple months....

[fish4life]

ya although just because the planes are full doesn't mean they will be making money.

any idea what they are paying crews?

[Troubleshot]

Maybe if they do a good job Air Canada will give them some/all of the Air Georgian flying...OH SNAP...yeah I said it lol. Just pokin fun at the Jazz/Sky Regional/ACPA/ALPA/Air Canada stuff from the other 20 threads on that subject.

[down north]

This is an interesting development.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/st ... coast.html

I was really hoping East Coast Airways would finally bring competition & jobs to the East Coast.

With this news I am no longer sure how long they will last.

[Tim]

not good news for the ECA folks

Creditors chase businessman behind Maritime airline
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 | 9:42 AM AT Comments26Recommend30CBC News
East Coast Airways is based in Halifax. Service is set to start next week. (CBC)
A businessman behind a new airline in the Maritimes has a messy financial history in the United States.

East Coast Airways is set to launch service to five communities in the Maritime provinces on Nov. 1. The airline is based in Halifax, and will fly to Charlottetown, Yarmouth and Sydney in Nova Scotia, and Saint John, N.B.

Angry creditors in the U.S. say Jason Hasson, president of operations, owes hundreds of thousands of dollars and they've been unable to track him down.

Greg Crider, lawyer for Ameriana Bank in Indiana, said the bank loaned a company called Vertical Velocity Helicopters nearly $600,000 to buy a helicopter in 2006. Owner Hasson and his wife, Tina Simpkins, were named as guarantors.

Crider said loan payments stopped in the fall of 2008. The bank sued to get its money back, but there was a problem.

"The address given in Noblesville for Vertical Velocity Helicopters to the state of Indiana Corporations Division, when we attempted to serve that address, we were told 'moved with no forwarding.' And we had the same results for Jay Hasson and Tina Simpkins," Crider told CBC News.

The bank seized a partially dismantled helicopter. The aircraft was sitting in mechanic Patric Wells's shop in Ohio.

Wells said Hasson disappeared, owing him $90,000.

"He lied to me on numerous occasions about payments, about his plan, about many different things. Including, 'I'm sending you a cheque,' and it never showed up. And, 'well I sent you that, it must have got lost in the mail, I'll send you another one,'" said Wells.

Companies in Minnesota and Texas say Vertical Velocity owes them about $125,000.

Hasson told CBC News he sold all of his U.S. helicopter businesses around 2003, and that this is all a misunderstanding.

"I'm finding it, as the person you're talking to, very confusing. Because I have documentation of all the sales we made with the company," said Hasson.

Crider said he has contacted a lawyer in Halifax to see if he can recover more than $300,000.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/st ... coast.html

[ILS26_Steep]

Well if creditor's are after this guy already, it sounds like the airline won't be flying very long at all! Or money will be put towards legal bills rather than maintenance of the JetStream's, which I hear are hangar queen's!

[ehbuddy]

Here we go again........

Once the flying public know that this company already has financial issues the domino effect occurs. And typically when one creditor starts asking for his money the others tend to follow suit.

I do not know the dynamics of ECA but I hope the Alberta Operators that have a vested interest in this do not get the big enema from this Halifax business man.

[Pilot1500]

I have a buddy who got hired to ECA and he was supposed to start flying in september, then it delayed a week...then another week...and another...and yes...another week until the plane finally showed up and in 2 weeks has only done a 1.5 hr flight (so i've heard) and they are supposed to star flying next week. anyway this airline will probably go under pretty soon. I dont see it making a profit when you have georgian out there already plus jazz ( only to sydney though i beleive )

[Spinner]

CBC reports tonight that they are booking people on other flights because their startup is delayed. (no OC)

[Beachparty]

CBC reports tonight that they are booking people on other flights because their startup is delayed. (no OC)

Do you have a link ?

[~Hollywood~]

Couldn't find any news on the no OC, but here the YYG Airport CEO talks about no security deposit arangement has been reached as of yet ....

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward- ... n-584.html

"There is a requirement in the agreement for a security deposit. Certainly all the discussions that we have had with the airline to date, we expect them to sign that agreement in the next few days to a week if their plans to start are still as scheduled."

Newson said he's heard some of the start dates may be delayed by about a week. He expects airline representatives will be in Charlottetown next week to finalize the agreement

[Tim]

this is spiraling into a shitstorm pretty quickly...i hope the employees dont get screwed over on this one.

[Widow]

Unpaid loan won’t affect N.S. airline — official

By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter
Wed, Oct 27 - 4:53 AM

The new operations president of East Coast Airways says his past business liabilities won’t affect the airline’s efforts to start a regional service in Halifax.

"This has no impact on ECA," Jay Hasson said in an interview on Tuesday. "They’re two separate entities."

Hasson confirmed that he and his wife, Tina Simpkin, a CTV Halifax meteorologist, are guarantors of a $600,000 loan from Ameriana Bank in New Castle, Ind., to Vertical Velocity Helicopters, an Indiana company he once owned.

Ameriana Bank sued Hasson and Simpkin to get its money back but had trouble finding the couple, bank lawyer Greg Crider told CBC Halifax. Crider couldn’t be reached Tuesday for comment on the details of the loan default.

Hasson said the loan default may have arisen from a mistake in failing to remove the couple’s names from company documents when they sold the helicopter business.

"We’re finding out what we need to do to rectify this," Hasson said. "At the end of the day, I am responsible to do whatever is necessary to make this right."

Kate Marshall, a Halifax lawyer representing Crider, said Tuesday that Hasson has not contacted the bank’s lawyer about the loan default.

Hasson said he was stunned by suggestions that creditors couldn’t find him and his wife, noting that they both have relatively high public profiles.

Hasson is an airline employee and does not own East Coast Airways, which is a subsidiary of Integra Air Inc. of Lethbridge, Alta.

Prior to this month’s airline launch, which received substantial media attention, Hasson was in the news for pitching a hovercraft service between Halifax and Bedford to regional council last year.

On Nov. 1, East Coast plans to begin scheduled flights between Halifax, Yarmouth, Sydney, Saint John, N.B., and Charlottetown.

However, Integra needs to amend its air operator certificate with Transport Canada to offer flights under the East Coast Airways banner in Atlantic Canada.

The required documentation was filed with the federal department last week, Hasson said.

"We’re still taking bookings. We’re looking forward to Nov. 1."

Transport Canada spokeswoman Melanie Orlowski said Tuesday her department hasn’t received the documentation required from Integra to consider a certificate amendment.

Integra president Brent Gateman couldn’t be reached for comment.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1208884.html

[Rippen]

You know what is hilarious about this? Sydney is now welcoming the competition? Really? Two years ago the airport manager refused to let AG land because they didn't want a 19 PAX airplane, how about Sunwing? Anyone remember them refusing to let SWG fly in there? SWG serviced YQY for how many years in the summers, before WJ & AC decided to service. WTF? WJ & AC announces they'll start flights to YQY and SWG gets turfed....how's that for loyalty.

[Tim]

You know what is hilarious about this? Sydney is now welcoming the competition? Really? Two years ago the airport manager refused to let AG land because they didn't want a 19 PAX airplane, how about Sunwing? Anyone remember them refusing to let SWG fly in there? SWG serviced YQY for how many years in the summers, before WJ & AC decided to service. WTF? WJ & AC announces they'll start flights to YQY and SWG gets turfed....how's that for loyalty.

that doesnt really have much to do with ECA...

[ehbuddy]

Either way.......do they have an O.C. yet? Have any other Maritime Airports asked for cash up front?

[Tim]

any word on when theyre gonna get going?