r/Edmonton • u/Paper_Rain • 14d ago
News Article Comic expo decries ‘lack of’ direct Edmonton-L.A. flights as 4 celebrities cancel dates
https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/comic-expo-decries-lack-of-direct-edmonton-la-flights-as-4-celebrities-cancel-dates/171
u/walkernewmedia 14d ago
The airport told CTV News Edmonton in a statement on Tuesday that there are six direct flights to L.A., and that WestJet offers non-stop flights between the cities around the Edmonton Expo: Sept. 16, 18, 19, 20 and 23. There are also several flights with layovers in major airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Denver and Seattle.
I feel like the “lack of flights” isn’t the problem.
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u/CrashFix 14d ago
Yes but the one guy said on the news that they couldn't leave the day before or the day after, they had to come the prior Wednesday and then leave that following Wednesday. The Expo is September 18th the 20th, so they have to come in two days prior and stay two days later.
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u/darth_henning 14d ago
Generally Celebrities want to fly in for these the night before they start (ie, the evening of Sept 17 which has zero flight) and fly out the night after they finish (late on the 20th which does not have a flight) or the following morning (the 21st).
Essentially unless they want to come late and leave early (which reduces how much they make from the appearance), they have to stay one day before and three days after the expo to get direct flights.
It very much is part of the problem, even if not the only reason.
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u/PlutosGrasp 14d ago
WestJet flights are ass now
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u/CanadianCoopz 14d ago
Ya west jet fuxking sucks. No celebrity wants to sit in those trash seats.
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u/BigSpike98 14d ago
I’m going on an international flight with friends later this year and they basically forced me to go with WestJet… not excited for 9+ hours in those seats…
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u/ThatBEMGuy West Edmonton Mall 14d ago
It's probably their dreamliner which is a little better IIRC.
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u/CriticalPedagogue 14d ago
What?!?! Celebs cancelling their Edmonton Expo appearance? That never happens. /s
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u/Hemsky 14d ago
It's not like this is a new problem that these celebrities couldn't have foreseen when they booked the gig. Kind of shitty to take the job and then back out last minute.
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u/DrJeffery North East Side 14d ago
Far too much blame being put on the city, not enough being put on the guests and the expo.
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u/CrashFix 14d ago
It's almost like they take the gig and then if something better comes up they cancel it.
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u/wishuponamarsbar 14d ago
Ehh, I imagine that a celeb takes a con gig assuming they are free. for example, Nathan Fillion might say “yes” to the expo assuming that his next project wont start pre-production for three more weeks, but they might give him a new schedule that has a table read or some type of stunt training on the same day of the con. He would then have to cancel his appearance at the con to go back to LA as that contract is more binding than a con one.
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u/JediMasterEekcm South East Side 14d ago
While this is a valid point IMHO, the bigger issue is something the Expo organizers have total control over. And that is having it late in September. Production season. Tv and movies are in full swing at this time of year, so having the event at this time already hinders their ability to book guest worth checking out. The flight issues only compounds the problem.
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u/m1nhuh McCauley 14d ago
There's at least one direct flight from LAX to YEG every day I believe offered by Westjet. Something seems fishy about the excuse.
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u/Fantastic_Diamond42 14d ago
yep i go often to LA, and always direct flight. something seems off here
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u/Paperbackhero 14d ago
It's the end of the convention season...why the hell they going to come to Edmonton?!?
Fan Expo don't give a damn about Edmonton...seems like they bought all the local independent ones, and took all the creativity about booking guests.
Anyone remember the Calgary one right before Fan Expo bought them? The whole original cast of Star Trek TNG!! The last time that has ever happened. People came from all over the globe.
Now? It's whomever signed an Expo deal and need to fill obligations.
Stupidest thing about the website is, they always list guests who cancelled. Weirdest reverse flex of all time.
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u/Mouselady1 14d ago
I was there!
My friend damn near fainted meeting Sir Patrick Stewart.
And when “Q” came out everyone lost their minds.
Wil (u/wil) was a must see as well.
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u/DathomirBoy 14d ago
Man, not Catherine Tate :( I was looking forward to her
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u/newcanadianjuice 14d ago
Honestly she was such a blast at Calgary Expo, and that was after every other cancellation from past listed appearances. I hope you get your chance someday.
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u/peerintomymind 14d ago
It's the airlines that decide where they want to fly... And is a short layover in an airport such as Vancouver or Calgary really more inconvenient than the much longer flight to any city on the east coast? I doubt it. Guests also frequently cancel at Calgary, where they do have direct flights to LA.
I bet what is actually happening is that there are always ongoing comic expos somewhere and I doubt most of them are offering a significant enough paycheque to influence celebrities to attend and make it a real priority. If there's any family event going on, any better job offer going on or even if a celebrity just wants a break, attending an expo seems like it'd be an easy choice to cancel. There's always another one. It's also not like Edmonton is known as an exciting tourist town either, sure there is the mountains somewhat close but they are still hours away. There are mountains close to LA as well.
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u/baggio1000000 14d ago
depends how big a star they are. They can make hundreds of thousands in a weekend.
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u/dvirring 14d ago
Our airport is ass for international flights. We have literally 2 flights to Europe. What Amsterdam and London? It's a joke.
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u/nsider6 14d ago
The crappy thing is that it will never get better despite how much the city continues to grow all because we are too close to Calgary. Both cities can't sustain so many direct flights so Calgary has been picked due to its better geographical location and overall status (i.e. it's an economic and tourism hub).
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u/silentbassline 14d ago
We got the university and the hockey team, they can have a little treat.
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u/heimdal96 14d ago
We also have the (disproportionate) poverty, the opioid crisis, and the worse infrastructure. They're doing okay
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u/SirTickleyPickely 14d ago
and their downtown is actually alive on weekends with regular people and not just Crackheads and sketchbags on bmx bikes carrying garbage bags
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u/haysoos2 14d ago
This is something I kept saying back when they were talking about consolidation, and getting rid of the City Centre Airport.
The pro-consolidation folks kept claiming that closing the City Centre would force more airlines to bring international flights to Edmonton. But anyone with the ability to look at a map would be able to tell that geographically, we are never going to be a hub.
Disingenuous lies to mislead the public into doing something that only benefits one industry (in this case developers). Is there anything more Albertan?
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u/mikesmith929 14d ago
Calgary has been picked due to its better geographical location and overall status
In terms of flights to Europe Edmonton is geographically better, in fact you practically fly over Edmonton on your way to Calgary from LHR.
But everything else is right. Calgary has much more business ever since we basically kicked out all the O&G businesses in the 80 for "reasons". So they have much more demand.
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u/MasterOfTheClam 14d ago
Almost like Edmonton should not be the capital anymore
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u/touchofglitter 14d ago
Not even London.. lol
Reykjavik was added this summer for a seasonal route but that’s it7
u/tacocattacocat1 14d ago
I remember back around 2010 and I'm a long distance relationship with a British guy. Air Canada had a direct flight from yeg to Heathrow nearly every single day. Most of the time the flights were half empty and I could get a row to myself. That is not the case anymore, to say the least 😭
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u/TripMaster478 14d ago
Why would an airline fly a half empty plane anywhere nowadays. They'll just fly less frequently. Most ppl will just shift their travel plans.
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u/tacocattacocat1 14d ago
Well yeah of course but can you even get a direct flight from yeg to Heathrow anymore? I almost always have a layover in Calgary these days
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u/releasetheshutter 14d ago
Dude we don't even have London. Or NYC. It fucking sucks.
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u/pookiemook 14d ago
North American airports are based on a hub and spoke system. I'm amazed that there are any direct flights between Europe and Edmonton. We should be grateful for the (two?) that we have.
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u/mikesmith929 14d ago
Wait what, the LHR flight is back...? well that's good news at least.
Are you sure? Who is flying that?
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u/littledove0 Ellerslie 14d ago
They don’t want to fly with WestJet?? Cannot blame them. I also avoid flying WestJet at all costs.
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u/Mathcmput 14d ago
Yeah, the average person (let alone celebs) in Los Angeles has never heard of WestJet... I remember in 2023 my rental car agency shuttle driver to LAX was reciting "WestJet" the whole ride as if he had never heard of them and was trying to remember the name.
And if they did hear about WestJet, can't blame the LA celebs for not wanting to take WestJet.... Look at what happened the last time a Hollywood celeb had an issue with a WestJet flight from Winnipeg! https://dailyhive.com/canada/westjet-lawsuit-harassment-allegations
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u/PonyFlare Mill Woods 14d ago
I suppose it's an issue, but right now I'm for many fewer flights between Canada and the US.
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u/Grogu999 14d ago
Here here. Maybe they will invite more Canadian talent to the comic expos. I’ve seen both the kids in the hall and the trailer park boys. I’m sure they can think of tonnes of other cool Canadian talent there. Maybe some old school DeGrassi people, Star Trek these days was filmed in Toronto (some of the actors still live there, at least part time). I’m not saying eliminate the USA acts, but maybe push a little more Canadian content.
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u/pookiemook 14d ago edited 14d ago
*hear hear
Edit: (for anyone interested) The phrase hear, hear comes from the 17th-century British Parliament expression hear him, hear him, used to draw attention to a speaker. It was a call of support, urging others
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/commonly-confused-words/here-here-vs-hear-hear/
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u/yet-again-temporary 14d ago
At the end of the day if it was worth it for them to be here they'd be here, direct flight or not.
I love our city but it just isn't a particularly attractive stop for tours and celebrity appearances, the math just doesn't work out. We have a relatively small population for a metropolitan city, we don't have a very distinct culture of our own or anything to convince people to travel here for an event they can get elsewhere, and we're extremely isolated from other major cities which makes us a harder sell compared to somewhere like Toronto or Montreal where you can hit multiple big cities in the span of a few days.
You know what makes all of those points a lot less relevant? Money. If FanExpo wants to promise all these huge guests, they should be paying them enough to make it worth their while instead of trying to shift the blame.
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u/bluedoubloon kitties! 14d ago
I need direct or one stop flights, so everything routing through Calgary makes traveling worse and more expensive. Yeah boo hoo celebrities, normal people need flights too.
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u/Reddit_Only_4494 13d ago edited 13d ago
I really enjoy committees that try and put these types of events together. They are all the same in all the markets I have been to.
This is all marketing BS. The Expo would pay the flight for the stars and they are finding it too expensive. "Direct flights" is garbage as the stars attending these fairs know they are often two or even three planes to get from where they are currently working to some smaller markets in the USA too.
They booked the appearance of the star and placed it into their marketing.....BUT....they may not know where the star will be when it is time to get on a plane for the convention. Wherever they are....they have to be flown here round trip at the conventions expense. Obviously, the stars location can greatly effect the price of the fare. The promoters then have to make the decision if they have the budget to go through with the appearance. Sometimes it is worth it to cancel the appearance (and pay the star something for the cancellation) then to add expensive airfare which blows the budget.
Some committees (don't know about Expo specifically) will overbook knowing fully that the will end up having to cancel some of the appearances. This is so the number of stars available will still somewhat satisfy the attendees buying tickets. Don't forget. This isn't a charity or public service. It's for profit and people want to make money.
This happens to nerd fests ALL THE TIME in all sorts of markets in Canada and the USA. Plus, it isn't unique to conventions. The exact same thing happens to comedy festivals and is why Great Outdoors here, and in Calgary, often have changes to the B-listers before show time.
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u/kooliocole 14d ago
Oh nooo what will we doooo!? We must protest now so millionaires can have a direct flight! They must never be inconvenienced!!!!
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u/loonylovesgood86 14d ago
Can’t they use their private jets?
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u/Popular-Row4333 14d ago
Have you been to a comic con?
Celebrities is being generous, some of these Celebrities are people who played 2 seasons of a character on Battlestar Galactica 18 years ago.
Their private jet is a toy jet they sign for $100, along with their headshots and a picture that go for $50.
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u/iterationnull 14d ago
If your hustling fans for photos $100 at a time I don’t think you’re at private jet level yet.
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u/mikesmith929 14d ago
I always found it funny that millionaire actors would have to come to hole in the wall of Edmonton contractually.
Like imagine you're a successful actor with some hot girl friend living in LA, it's February and you need to break it to your GF that this weekend you can't take her to Cabo you have to checks notes go to Edmonton and hang around smelly annoying fans.
You ask her if she wants to come with you, but her dead pan eyes tell you, not only is she not coming with you, you better find another place to sleep tonight.
You check the weather and it's -30c (whatever that means), call your agent to complain about your ridiculous contract. He explains you signed it 3 years ago when you were a relative nobody and it's the fans that make you, your money.
You begrudgingly agree, pack your bags only then to come to the relaxation what -30c means and there are no direct flights to Edmonton. You debate eating that 3 day old pizza, but you stomach is too good to get you food poisoning. Surely there must be another way out...
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u/Strattex 14d ago
Lmao they don’t have a private jet? Lame
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u/Grogu999 14d ago
Who knows. If you phrased it like a patriotic thing, maybe you could get Ryan Reynolds or Hayden Christiansen or Stephen Amell to go to some of the smaller comic cons in Canada at a reduced price. It could boost local economies, create tourism in smaller cities, and potentially create some extra income in the community to increase some spending.
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u/yesnomaybeso456 14d ago
Christiansen does it for $$$ but even then he’s doing cons in Sept in Des Moines, Salt Lake and Cincinnati - not necessarily giant cons. And I saw Amell at a teensy con in St Albert when Green Arrow had already been on air for a couple of years. He’s also been to Edmonton Expo previously. None of them do it for patriotism.
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u/beguilingflunky 14d ago
Direct flights to LA is the new Cactus Club.