Local residents flying out of the Calgary International Airport will soon have an early-morning option to get them there.
Red Arrow Motorcoach is introducing a connector service between Red Deer and the Calgary airport. Beginning Monday, June 10, a 14-passenger shuttle will depart from the iHotel at 6500 67th St. at 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and arrive at the airport at 8 a.m.
The shuttle will continue on to Calgary, and then return north in the early afternoon. It will pick up passengers at the airport shortly after 1 p.m.
Cost of the service is $29, one-way, including GST.
Red Arrow currently runs buses from Red Deer to Calgary seven days a week, with these stopping at the airport. But the earliest doesn’t arrive there until about 11 a.m., said John Stepovy, Red Arrow’s general manger.
He said Red Deer customers wanted an earlier alternative.
If demand is strong, said Stepovy, the frequency of the airport connector service could increase. Returning passengers can also book seats aboard one of Red Arrow’s buses.
The one-way fare from Red Deer to the Calgary International Airport aboard a Red Arrow motorcoach is nearly $50.
But Stepovy said its passengers receive services that won’t be available on the shuttle, such as snacks and beverages, and access to a washroom.
Concurrent with the introduction of Red Arrow’s airport connector service will be changes to its Rocky Mountain House-Sylvan Lake-Red Deer shuttle, which has been operating Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the past year.
That will now revert to a Tuesday and Thursday schedule, said Stepovy.
“The uptake, unfortunately, just wasn’t there for us,” he said, adding that his company would try the new schedule over the summer.
Additional information about Red Arrow and its connector service to the Calgary International Airport can be found online at www.redarrow.ca.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com