TheRED DEER - KELOWNA Connection
BY MAUREEN MCEWAN F
or those who travel regularly between Central Alberta and the Okanagan, commutes will soon be easier – and shorter. In early 2012, Northwestern Air will begin non- stop service twice a week between Kelowna International and Red Deer airports.
The flights, which have been four years in the making, will be welcomed by those who travel between the two regions on a regular basis. One such frequent flyer, Dawna Allard, is looking forward to the time savings, as she and her husband travel between the two cities about half the weekends throughout the year.
“I was excited to hear [Northwestern’s] announcement,” says Allard, who lives and works in Red Deer. Her husband, who works in Vernon, resides in Coldstream, which makes for a lot of long distance commuting. “We’re usually together on the weekends and we often start flying back and forth beginning in
October,” adds Allard, due to the unpredictable weather conditions.
The new flights will save a trip from Red Deer into either Calgary or Edmonton airports, which could be a 90-minute drive in good weather, or substantially longer in bad. Now, travel time will be 75 minutes, door to door. “Checking in, security, all those things will be quicker in Red Deer,” says Allard, “and there won’t be expensive parking to contend with.” In fact, parking at the Red Deer airport is free – an unheard of luxury at an airport. “There’s the convenience, the hassle-free factor and the fact that we don’t charge for parking,” says RJ Steenstra, CEO of the Red Deer Airport, “but really it’s about the convenience.”
And, of course, it’s about the demand. “The market is there,” says Steenstra. In fact, in 2009, 28,312 passengers
from Central Alberta made their way to Kelowna, with 23,434 leaving from Calgary and 4,878 leaving from Edmonton.
Will Stayer is another one of those passengers who, and like Allard, travels from Red Deer to Kelowna regularly. Stayer is in construction equipment sales and he makes the trip between the two cities five or six times a year. For him and his wife, who have lived in Red Deer for 17 years, it’s a city that just makes sense – its central location is beneficial and it’s easy to fly in and out of.
“I love flying out of the smaller airports,” says Stayer. “You can walk out the door and jump in your vehicle. You’re in and out in no time and the parking is free.”
While many people like Allard travel between the two cities to see family or to vacation, many others, like Stayer, commute for work. “If you were to do a quick poll, many of the people would have second homes in the Okanagan Valley,” says Steenstra. “But there is a tremendous amount of labour coming in from different regions, and Kelowna is one of those.” Although some people work in Red Deer, Steenstra says many more continue north to Fort McMurray or northern Saskatchewan.
Because of Red Deer’s central location, and its smaller size, it’s a popular choice for people to work and live – even if it does mean a commute from the Okanagan. Allard and her husband have lived in Red Deer for 20 years, and have been commuting for the last four. Allard says they chose Red Deer originally because of its location; then fell in love with all that it has to offer.
12 | YLW CONNECTION
Tourism Red Deer
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