YOW - OTTAWA INT'L AIRPORT

Page 1 of  1

  Add a Comment to Airport Forum

Ottawa International Airport by D Howe

19 May 2008   Customer Rating :

I think the simplicity of the YOW airport is striking. It is not tiny except perhaps in comparison to Toronto! Flow is smooth to and from the gate. I find the arrivals area particularly appealing. The new extension is very nice too, with a good restaurant there now. Its a smaller version of the international pier at YUL. I hope YOW gets more direct flights and extra services which a metropolitan area of over a million people - and the nation's capital deserves.

Ottawa International Airport by Mark Fabres

7 December 2007   Customer Rating :

I guess I have only seen the airport from the outside-in, having just arrived from the US and going through baggage claim, Canada customs, and out of the arrivals area. I have to say that ugly and plain really describes the airport. The baggage claim area, which is never a highlight of any airport, is particularly ugly and mismanaged. The airport is tiny, so it shouldn't take one hour to unload a commuter jet's amount of luggage. Really, not impressive, even for a small airport. There are many other airports smaller in size in N America that are better than this. I agree with another posting above. Isn't Ottawa the country's capital? Shouldn't there be a more impressive Welcome to Canada display.

Ottawa International Airport by Wendy Black

19 January 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

Ottawa airport misses an oportunity to welcome visitors. There is no 'Welcome to Ottawa' sign that I have seen, and few photos of the region in the arrival area. The screens in the baggage arrea are mostly watched by those meeting pasengers. The seats in the arrival area are appalling - no backs and they mosty do not face the arriving escalator nor do they have a view of the arrival information screens. The few seats that do have backs have no view of the escalators or the flight information screens either. When waiting for a delayed flight that has a constantly changing arrival time, it is very uncomfortable to sit on backless seats and anoying to have to get up and down to check the arrival time. I agree that the lack of washrooms in that area is bad- many folk wait til they arrive to avoid a queue on the plane, and then there is a hike to get there if they can find the sign.The food outlets are disappointing- is there no room for one that is NOT a franchise in the hope we could buy some fresh and interesting food? I had family arrive on a 30 interntional flight at 11.30pm. They were delayed in customs for over 45 mins because they declared some cans of passionfruit! No one knew what it was and decided all luggage must be searched. These were middle aged people who had arrived from Australia via the US! Highly suspcious. A great welcome! Slow Saturday night I guess.One favourable comment- I have noted that there is now an arrival screen visable in the restaurant area. Hallelujah!

Ottawa International Airport by Antoine Normand

15 October 2006

I agree with M. John Kotsopoulos comments about this very nice and growing airport (phase 2 is in construction). There is actually a spot for non-travellers to see the tarmac just besides Nates restaurant on the check-in level.

Ottawa International Airport by John Kotsopoulos

12 October 2006

This is a very airy and relaxing airport. Check-in was easy and well organised. The only complaint is that there is little to do on either side of the security check. There are few stores and restaurants of interest. One other complaint -- and this mostly for airline spotters -- is that, despite the massive terminal windows, there are almost no places for non-travellers to sit and watch the action on the tarmac.

Ottawa International Airport by Jeff Patterson

7 November 2005

It's nice to have a spiffy new building, but flyers to US be warned that you must pass US Immigration at the Ottawa airport, and they can take a long time - over 45 minutes one trip nearly made me miss my flight, even though it's a relatively small airport and none of the planes are that large. Once past Immigration, there's only a small cafe and newspaper stand, so do your shopping beforehand. lso when flying into Ottawa, be warned that this is a training center for new Canada Customs and Immigration staff, so you get some particularly keen and overly-thorough young inspectors which can also slow things down.

Ottawa International Airport by B McDonald

29 May 2005

Personally, I believe that the renovations to the Ottawa International Airport are outstanding. It has a very fresh and clean feel with many interesting architectural features (eg. lighting in baggage claim area and waterfall). I look forward to the other extensions planned for the near future. Additionally, the airport offers costly but wonderfully convenient "BIZ Parking" which is ideal for early-morning, harried business travelers or vacationers. Despite the positive aspects, I have a plethora of negative comments to share. Firstly, the airport does not support recycling. Prior to a domestic flight from YOW to YYZ, I was forced to eat at a restaurant there (I must say that there is not a good selection of restaurants or dining outlets). Upon finishing, I attempted to recycle the iced tea bottle that I had drunk. However, an airport cleaning staff member by the recycling cans stated that the airport did not recycle, so there was no need to put my bottle in the recycling bins. I was flabbergasted at the airport's environmental unfriendliness. Moreover, I do not find that the new terminal has done any good for the old. On occasion, domestic short-haul flights land in the old terminal (such as YOW to YYZ on Air Canada Jazz). This is something for a passenger to dread: the walk between the old and new terminals is horrendously long. In addition, should a valued Air Canada client wish to take advantage of the Maple Leaf Lounge prior to boarding, he or she must walk this long distance from the main terminal and then hurry back to the gate. It was a major design flaw that the lounge was not moved to the new terminal. My final negative comment is the inconvenient placement of water closets. While waiting for baggage at the carousels, one would expect to have a water closet conveniently placed. However, this is not the case. With such recent designing, it is surprising to think that this would not have been incorporated. Conclusively, there are major assets to the Ottawa International Airport; primarily, its eye- pleasing design and freshness. However, there as some small but vital elements that affect my personal view in a negative manner.

Ottawa International Airport by Giles Norman

6 January 2005

I really like what they've done with Ottawa airport, the improvements are great as is the shopping and amenities for a small airport. I think it's one of the best airports in N America. However, I have two beefs: (1) coming back from Calgary on Jan02, the baggage claim area only had one carousel working for two full flights causing chaos. No ground staff were taking off bags that were left unclaimed for hours and again there was no information given (2) Ottawa Customs officers are bored. There's one truly international flight a day, from London, that I take at least once every two months. This is the highlight of the shift for these guys. I've never seen so many passengers pulled aside for the most trivial offences. There's a food-sniffing dog employed by the Food inspection people. A very cute dog but your heart sinks when he sits next to your bag. I did not appreciate being hauled into the inspection zone for a bag of potato chips from London that I'd forgotten to eat on the flight! A Customs guy freely admitted to me that they use the flight as a training opportunity. However, at what cost to PR given that most of the passengers have been flying for over 12 hours!

Ottawa International Airport by Jim Eaton

18 December 2004

Agree with the comments about Ottawa's bright and spacious new terminal. As there already are two hotels less than 5 minutes drive from the Terminal, another hotel seems unnecessary. One relatively unsung advantage of Ottawa's airport is its express city bus service to downtown - in rush hours, when the drive (by car or taxi) takes up to 45 minutes, the number 97 bus gets one to the heart of downtown in 20 minutes - and for a mere$2.60, as opposed to the $25-30 a taxi charges.

Ottawa International Airport by Jake Lindsay

4 April 2004

Ottawa's new terminal (opened autumn 2003) is aesthetically pleasing; it is bright, spacious, and the fountains are a nice touch. I have flown out of here twice and found it to be as relaxing an airport as is possible. Because the airport uses "levels", you do not need to walk very far after checking-in to the gates. {though the discount airlines and charters leave from the older terminal, which is a bit of a walk}. With regards to the other comment, Ottawa does not really need any airport hotels (though there is at least one medium sized one already). It is a relatively small city and it is, at most, a 15 minute drive in traffic to the centre of Ottawa. The "Airport Parkway" out to the airport is only 2 lanes, but I am not sure the cost to make this 4 lanes could really be justified. My one concern, with regards to the new terminal, would be that the Air Canada lounge needs to be moved to the new terminal!! It is still in the old terminal so you have to talk all the way to the old terminal, then walk back to the new terminal to catch your Air Canada flight!

Ottawa International Airport by M Devor

22 December 2003

Small sized, easy to connect, and friendly staff. I have not yet used the US pre-clear facility but I am happy that they have installed it, saving you from the fun of US customs when you land. The Airport serves the Ottawa area (Ontario) and Hull in Quebec, but it isn't subject to the rigorous language laws across the river in Quebec which is better for business. Signs in Quebec must be big French, small English, which wreaks havoc for businesses in Quebec and has been a nightmare for the tourist industry over there. I would like to see a good airport hotel or 2 and a better expressway out to the city. Air Canada needs a better lounge.

ADD YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

IMPORTANT NOTE

Comments and opinions contained in these pages do not represent the views of Skytrax. All features contain unsolicited input from site visitors, and we seek to exercise the minimum level of editorial control and censorship to ensure the widest debate and platform for customer opinions. We will not publish submissions that contain abusive language. We do not guarantee to publish all opinions submitted.

ADD A COMMENT

If you want to make a comment about this Airport, please use the box below. This is normally posted within 24 hours, and is only published if your name is supplied.