46 business elite canada
H
SEPTEMBER 2017
In February, WestJet announced it would
resume flights to the airport for the first
time since 2003, in response to strong de-
mand and favourable government condi-
tions. Currently the airline flies betweenTo-
ronto and Sudbury, shortening the 5-hour
drive (in good conditions) to a 45-minute
flight. Next on the agenda, says Tripp, is to
look into flights bound toWestern Canada.
EXPANDING ITS REACH
“Our prime market is going toToronto, and
of course we have Bearskin Airlines that
operates within northern Ontario, but we
are always looking to enhance our destina-
tions,” says Tripp. “We are predominately
trying to see if we can feed from here to
western Canada so our travellers don’t
have to go south before they go west.”
The airport has also seen terminal up-
grades in the past year, including added
counter space, office and passenger stag-
ing renovations, and introduced LED light-
ing—which will reduce the hydro bill by 70
per cent.
It’s a case of “Build it and they will come”.
“Sudbury continues to grow as its air ser-
vice market continues to grow,” says Tripp.
“The airport is supported by a solid team
of strong minded professionals who are
helping our airport launch into this new,
busier chapter.”
