Are you sure about that? Because the war in Ukraine only started in February 2022, and if I’m not mistaken, the first flight from Montreal to Delhi was on October 31, 2021. So the Russian airspace wouldn’t have been closed at that time unless I’m wrong.
My apologies, you’re right. But flights from Vancouver where cancelled at some point and Montreal went up to 6-7 weekly.
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I think mostly they figured Toronto has so much local traffic, and constrained capacity, that the best bet is to focus YYZ more on Toronto traffic and get more of the connecting traffic via YUL.
Of course, now YUL is also collapsed on a summer evening but it has given us some good growth post-Covid!
Hopefully with airport renos, REM… and in the more distant future, Alto, removing the need for some short haul traffic and leaving space for flying that does NOT have a reasonable replacement…
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The issue at YUL on summer evenings is on the street side. It means that this collapse is entirely due to O&D traffic, and not the connecting passengers.
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Berlin 3X par semaine 2 juillet au 10 octobre
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Emirates will use new A359 on DXBYUL route starting 1 Feb 2026
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Quelle compagnie?
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Good news!
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Glad to see YUL-BER. Berlin Should be a bigger international (long haul) hub than it is IMO. I don’t think Lufthansa has major overseas routes from there or at least not many. Good to see a Montréal connection especially with the A321XLR. Berlin is an amazing city.
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There are many reasons why Berlin is not a large hub:
History
Berlin has been an important political center only since 1990 with German reunification. While it was the capital of East Germany, the hub at Berlin Schönefeld Airport didn’t survive because Interflug, the East German flag carrier, was liquidated after reunification. Also keep in mind that no German airlines were allowed to fly to Berlin during the Cold War, and thus Lufthansa developed hubs at Munich and Frankfurt instead.
Population and economics
While the Berlin metropolitan region has the second largest population and economy in the country, Frankfurt sits in the middle of the richest and most populous areas in Germany (the Rhine-Ruhr, Stuttgart, Frankfurt itself). Munich has an economy almost as big as Berlin’s and a similar population to Berlin.
Geography
Berlin is too far northeast to serve as a useful hub within Europe, while Frankfurt and Munich’s locations are more optimal for connections.
Bref, there are little reasons why Lufthansa would shift its hubs to Berlin. It will remain a center for tourism for the foreseeable future, which is good for YUL!
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Good over view. There are some things that have changed that may help a new startup or existing long gal carrier (Condor, Eurowings Discover?) put more emphasis on Berlin
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Munich was built up by LH when the new terminal opened. So history isn’t really that important for current day potential. Shifts in route emphasis and strategy can come quickly when the infrastructure is in place. .
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Berlin being situated north and east is as close to North America (think straight line top of globe worldview) than Frankfurt and Munich (there’s approx 100 miles difference between each one from YUL, FRA being the closest and BER second). It could be city to start North American services from and connect to the rest of Europe.
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Air Canada has 3 big hubs, Lufthansa is an even larger airline albeit in a smaller sized country and could also manage three hubs. This could alleviate long term congestion at FRA and MUC.
I suppose if it were all that easy it would have been done by now. So, I’m looking at Condor or Eurowings potentially creating major hubs there. Both have long haul leisure & vacation destinations so connections are less important. They wouldn’t be as hemmed in by Lufthansa (gate wise) as they are at FRA or MUC. This would also free up space in Frankfurt and Munich.
Just my random thoughts.
Air Berlin was supposed to position its global hub there but it went bankrupt before the airport opened.
As for Lufthansa, it developed the Munich hub in the 90s because of capacity constraints at FRA, but it likely chose Munich as the hub because it’s the richest area in Germany per capita and there’s probably a whole lot of business travel there.
All this to say, BER has a nice tourist niche and Air Canada’s A321XLR will serve perfectly there. I’m happy YUL gets to have this direct flight!
I wonder if they’re going to start Warsaw from YUL for the same reasons.
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I agree, the XLR Is perfect for it. Going back to Stockholm and starting, as you say Warsaw too makes sense. Prague, Budapest, Helsinki and Oslo are other possibilities if not from YUL then at least YYZ.
When I went to Berlin a few years ago I landed at Tegel and it was a cramped mess. Air Berlin was still operating then, I think they shut down a year or too after I came home. Tegel was not an airport for a large carrier like Lufthansa to develope. But they have Brandenburg now so who knows.
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Go to the terminal and try to get into the Aeroplan lounge, then tell me.
Even at the concessions you stand in line 20 minutes to grab food. Then there’s nowhere to sit.
So yea it’s not just streetside, it’s also the airside.
I understand that the airport is packed on summer evenings when the Europe flights leave, I truly get that… but it’s the same at any large hub during peak hours. The new satellite terminal will certainly help.
Streetside though… The fact that it can sometimes take more than an hour to get from downtown to the airport is apalling and is truly unacceptable.
As for the Maple Leaf lounge… That’s an Air Canada problem, and it’s not even the worst place… YVR domestic and YYZ international are the big winners when it comes to long lines.
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À mon souvenir, l’été, il n’y a pas assez de portes d’embarquement, donc certains passagers doivent être amenés aux avions avec des bus. J’imagine que le nouveau terminal satellite va venir répondre à cette problématique.
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Ça a toujours été le cas… Ces bus ne sont pas nouveaux du tout.
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A propos d’une route YUL ARN (sto), je vois sur MTL International que les flux de business vont se développer avec la Suède.
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Ça serait super le voir de retour YUL ARN, j’ai pris l’année passé pour visiter des amis. Le vol était rempli, donc j’etais surpris que Air Canada n’as pas continue avec la route.
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