First, let me be clear. I am not one of the many people who live in Edmonton and either secretly or not-so-secretly hate it. I even like the airport itself. Especially with the new renovations, I think they've got a fantastic facility. However, as most seasoned travelers will tell you, trying to actually travel out of that airport is far from awesome.
The major problem is Edmonton's location. If you haven't noticed, we live in the middle of nowhere. Natural resources will only get you so far. At the end of the day, it is expensive to fly to/from Edmonton because you can't/don't fly THROUGH Edmonton. Unless you are going to Grande Prairie, Fort MacMurray, or Yellowknife (total COMBINED population of ~120,000), the only reason you are flying to Edmonton's airport is because it is your final destination.
The fact that no one flies through Edmonton to get anywhere leads to the second problem. Since we're not a major hub, most airlines and most other airports (especially non-Canadian ones) put a very low priority on us. This means we get the worst possible time slots for departure and/or arrival. This leads to my primary example and the genesis of this post.
Up until now, Continental (now United) has had a single direct return flight from Edmonton (YEG) to Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH). The YEG->IAH flight leaves at 0645 and arrives at 1212. This is a decent arrival time but to be at the airport in Edmonton on time means waking up somewhere in the neighborhood of 4:00 AM. The IAH->YEG flight leaves at 1805 and arrives at 2145. This one isn't terrible actually. However, with that departure time it does mean that you either have to drag your luggage to a shortened work day in Houston, get a VERY late checkout time at your hotel, or sit at the airport for a few extra hours. Inconvenient: yes. Horrible time: not really.
The downside to these flight has always been their popularity. Not only do people use these flights to go to Houston on business, but they also open up a lot of options out of Houston to Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Consequently, if you did not purchase a ticket 2-3 months in advance, it was either very expensive or simply not available.
I was then excited to hear that United was adding a second direct flight starting in mid/late February. In my mind, it only made sense that the times would be reversed: IAH->YEG in the early morning and YEG-> IAH in the late afternoon. Naturally this isn't the case. The second IAH->YEG flight departs at 1435 and arrives at 1811. This is actually fantastic. Absolutely no complaints here. However, the second YEG->IAH flight departs at 2355 and arrives at 0509. They made it a red-eye. This is good for anyone who is trying to catch an early morning flight from Houston to a sunny destination and perhaps it will alleviate the other flight to be more for business travelers. But that's just me trying to find an excuse. Really, it sucks. I would rather have to take an entire day of traveling and spend 3 hours in Denver or Calgary than take a red eye for a work trip.
Speaking of Calgary (YYC), here is a list of their flights to Houston (note all flights are YYC->IAH):
| Airline | Flight # | Depart | Arrive |
| Continental | 1655 | 0700 | 1213 |
| Air Canada | 8102 | 0920 | 1414 |
| Continental | 1464 | 0920 | 1433 |
| Air Canada | 8104 | 1150 | 1644 |
| Continental | 1207 | 1307 | 1820 |
| Continental | 1429 | 1720 | 2224 |
| Air Canada | 8106 | 1850 | 2337 |
That is 7 direct flights per day. They all do have matching return flights (which I won't bore the reader with) which are also spread throughout the day. If you'll notice, they even have two flights on separate airlines at the exact same time.
Considering that there are no less than 20 direct flights between YEG and YYC daily, I guarantee you can find a flight to Calgary with a connection as long or short as you like allowing you to take a good flight out of Calgary to wherever you want.
This is in the midst of Edmonton Airports advertising campaign to try to stop people from going to Calgary. They say you should just fly out of Edmonton. This leaves you with 10 American destinations (including such hot spots as Minneapolis and Chicago), London UK (at a terrible arrival time that precludes most connections), and seasonal charter flights to Mexico and the Caribbean.
I would gladly fly direct out of Edmonton more often. Having no connecting flights is amazing. I love it. But realistically, it's not an option for most destinations.
But this isn't news to most. We'll all continue to (not really) enjoy our time in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal...
</rant>
