YMX, a big political boondoggle. Back in the 60's, Montreal was Canada's largest city. Most international services served Montreal first and Toronto as an afterthought. And everyone forecast that transatlantic flights would be nothing but 747s and Concordes (Air Canada even had orders for Concorde, later cancelled). Then there was the noise factor, and the desire for future expansion. So Mirabel was built way out in the sticks. The intial plan was for more than one terminal. Plans also included autoroute and rail links (in fact there is a rail station in the basement of the terminal, but with no rails!) Then the world changed. The Concorde ended up as an expensive toy for the rich. The separatists took power in Quebec and Montreal became the no. 2 city in Canada, with the consequential drop in traffic. Airlines went hub-and-spoke, and with two airports (Dorval and Mirabel), Montreal became at a distinct disadvantage. Many airlines pulled out. Others only grudgingly served Mirabel. On top of that the highway and rail links were never completed, hwy 13 designed to go right to the terminal ended several miles short forcing a long detour on other roads. When airports were privatized in Montreal, ADTML eventually decided to relocate all sched flights to Dorval and leave charters at YMX. Now, by 2004, all passenger traffic will relocate to Dorval. I expected this would happen, that on charter traffic alone Mirabel couldn't support itself (on some weekdays, there were as few as 7 departures for this huge terminal). It's too bad. Mirabel could have worked with the rail and highway links, if all traffic was relocated there. The terminal, in spite of the PTVs, was much better than Dorval's. Getting through customs was much more efficient, you spilled out from the PTVs right at passport control instead of the interminable walk you face at Dorval. That's it in a nutshell. I leave it to others to fill the gaps in the story and name the specific politicians that spent our money on this huge wasteful project. Mike Gammon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alireza Alivandivafa" <DEmocrat2n@xxxxxxx> To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 3:37 AM Subject: YMX > Can someone tell me the story about Mirabel, why they built it and why it has > become little more than a glorified GA field and a base for AirTransat? > Peut-etre Jean-Michel, parce-que tu habite a Montreal. Also, where is Dorval in > relation to downtown Montreal? > > AA >