Flights from Prince George direct to Kamloops, Kelowna, Naniamo, and Victoria – these are some deals that would be of interest to Prince George Airport Authority President and CEO Gord Duke in 2024.
“We are always interested in expanding service,” he told My PG Now. “We believe those are all good, solid markets within the province.”
Duke said he also wants to see a twice-weekly flight from Prince George to Toronto to give residents better cross-continental access.
More seasonal destination flights are also on Duke’s radar following the success of the direct to Tucson flight last winter, and the direct to Puerto Vallarta flight that has been busy this season.
“We are really pleased with the response from the community on that offering… That allows us to leverage that and seek other destinations in the leisure market,” he said.
Thinking even bigger, Duke said a European connection from Prince George would also be something he would love to see happen.
As for this holiday season, Duke said travel went “really well” for most passengers, ground fog was the only factor when it came to delays locally.
“Overall, the aviation sector did a lot better than last year,” he said, thinking back to the numerous snowstorms – especially in Vancouver – that caused serious delays around Christmas.
The official numbers for the holiday season are not in yet, but Duke said he thinks traffic was slightly down in the airport compared to previous years.
“I think there was some worry that was still fresh in people’s minds from last winter. There was days that were busier, but overall it will be interesting to see how it shapes up,” Duke said, guessing the number of people traveling was likely near pre-pandemic levels, but not above.
Looking back at 2023, Duke said the numbers the airport saw were “really solid,” and very close to pre-pandemic.
“It is very encouraging for us to see that starting to come back,” he said. “It allows our airline partners to build solid business cases to expand their services.”
“The industry is struggling with staffing,” Duke continued. “This allows them to put their resources where they can make a profit – Prince George is certainly one of those airports.”