Air Canada upgrading service at Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton airports

An announcement by Air Canada is good news for air travellers in Kamloops and the Okanagan.

The airline announced plans in a press release issued today, Feb. 14, to increase capacity on several of its western routes, including its Vancouver-Kamloops, Kelowna-Calgary and Vancouver-Penticton runs, using state of the art Bombardier Q-400 aircraft.

The new aircraft will add 25 per cent more capacity to the Vancouver-Kamloops run, 13 per cent more seats to the Calgary-Kelowna run and 17 per cent more capacity to the Vancouver-Penticton run, according to Air Canada.

The new aircraft also come with state of the art navigation capabilities that should eventually allow the aircraft to operate in more restricted weather and visibility conditions, the airline said.

The move should come as a pleasant surprise for customers using the Penticton Regional Airport as Air Canada stated less than a year ago its Dash 8-300 aircraft were “the right sized plane for the Penticton market.”

It is anticipated the new aircraft will be deployed this spring.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.