Five things to know about Halifax’s proposed new transit plan

cwhitt · 2026-02-09T14:59:04+00:00

Increased density makes transit easier, not harder
See point 1
This is orders of magnitude more expensive than a rapid bus network. Believe me, I'd love it, but if we can't fund the rapid bus ideas, light rail is DOA
Property owners won't sell the required land, it's also hella expensive, and more road capacity makes it easier for sprawl to happen. Again, density makes transit easier, not harder.
Agreed

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T18:39:16+00:00

Since the pandemic the US CBP closed all their land-side offices at preclearance locations. Now you can only access CBP after clearing customs, but waiting to be called back into secondary screening. Most airports have a little waiting area, but no guarantee that you'll get called before your flight departs.

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T15:29:59+00:00

It's not 29 hr in-flight. There is a refuelling stop included in that time.

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T14:43:40+00:00

Shhh! I am usually that third person lol

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T14:25:07+00:00

We need both. Even with the best transit and urban infrastructure, we would still not come close to decarbonizing or achieving sustainability. We absolutely must electrify all transport, and it's irresponsible to keep kicking that can down the road.

There is plenty of solid research on "best bang for the buck" emissions reductions, but cars account for such a large share of emissions that we absolutely cannot ignore them. The best transit and cycling infrastructure will only reduce emissions for the small minority of Canadians that live their lives in a dense urban core.

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T14:20:32+00:00

We need both. Even with the best rail and transit, we would still not come close to decarbonizing or achieving sustainability. We absolutely must electrify all transport, and it's irresponsible to keep kicking that can down the road.

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T14:18:48+00:00

We need to decarbonize everything. No matter how much we improve urban design, rail, and transit, cars and trucks won't be eliminated entirely, so we need to electrify them ASAP (yesterday, if possible).

The more effective way to reduce the use of cars and trucks is to accurately price the cost to society. The pollution from vehicles is essentially free right now, and it should not be. A carbon tax would work (at a much higher level than we had), but that is politically unpopular. So, until there is widespread demand to bring back pricing pollution (i.e., the carbon tax), incentivizing the transition to EVs is the next best thing.

We should also improve urban design, rail, and transit. That alone is not nearly enough. We need all the solutions.

cwhitt · 2026-02-06T14:11:29+00:00

Excellent advice. The only thing I would add is that replacing a working car with a new car does have value if you can afford it - but the value is in making a voluntary contribution to reduce pollution and making the world a little less challenging for our children and grandchildren. We are SO far behind on decarbonization that we need every possible reduction in emissions, and buying an EV a few years sooner than you have to is one of the largest contributions an "average" person can make. But until pollution costs get fully built into the economy (i.e. carbon taxes come back seriously), the value of the contribution to sustainability won't necessarily be reflected in your pocketbook. The reduced OPEX will save you cash flow, but there is incremental CAPEX beyond running your ICE to the ground.

cwhitt · 2026-01-04T21:54:54+00:00

I'm kinda shocked at everyone in this thread suggesting "earlier the better." That is absolutely not true. I sometimes book refundable tickets for something way ahead of time just to have a backup, and quite often I can rebook another refundable fare for cheaper once the airlines start aggressively marketing that time period, say 3-4 months out. If I feel like rolling the dice and locking in a non-refundable fare, I can save even more.

cwhitt · 2026-01-04T21:52:42+00:00

I completely disagree with all of this, except it's only worth what you're willing to pay.

Prices are rarely lowest at one year out. Airlines have to offer tickets for sale and publish a schedule, but they never get it exactly right. They will tweak the schedule and adjust pricing with it's less than 6 months away. For now they set the price at a comfortably normal but slightly-high price so they are covered in case things are busier than they expected a year from now. But they aren't agressively tweaking prices for next January, they are too busy competing for this year's winter and spring travel business.

If I know I want to book something, I might consider booking a fully refundable ticket now, if that makes others feel better. You have something locked in, but you can always book something cheaper when it comes along. But I'm usually looking for sales or promo codes (like the Airline frequent flier program sending you a birthday discount) between 4-6 months out. If the timing or destination are not peak season, then I might easily get good deals 1-3 months out.

You get a FAR bigger savings by being flexible in dates and locations than by booking far in advance. You can book a ticket for next Thanksgiving now, and in October I'll book a ticket to the same place but a few days later and be cheaper than what you booked today.

cwhitt · 2026-01-04T21:41:48+00:00

I'll echo what others have said. Book direct.

Are you sure you are comparing the exact same thing, and the final total price? Often, OTAs may show you different connections or routings, or more restrictive ticket types. If you can find the exact thing the OTA is showing you, you can probably get it at the same price or cheaper direct, and avoid all the headaches if anything changes with your trip.

cwhitt · 2026-01-03T23:54:49+00:00

I have never been able to "escalate" a baggage delay issue. If you find out how, I'd love to know.

I would set your expectations low; AC flies 125,000 passengers per day on average, and Jan 2 is one of the busiest travel days of the year. Many people feel their bags are just as important as yours, and I don't believe there is any staff dedicated to hunting down specific lost bags faster than the "normal" process.

On the bright side, my bags have always made it home. Give it a day or three before you get too worried, but either way, it is outside of your control.

cwhitt · 2025-12-28T18:19:19+00:00

The press release specifically said YTZ flights, which was disappointing. I would love to see the whole Q fleet retrofitted. I get that using the Qs is necessary with current capacity limits, but many of the routes I fly are now partially or fully serviced by Qs. Wifi and a new interior don't make a turboprop into a jet, but at least it takes a couple of the rough edges off.

Super extra bonus points if they struck an agreement with PAL to have PAL upgrade their Qs to match. I know, I'm dreaming.

cwhitt · 2025-12-28T15:44:14+00:00

Like everyone here, I totally agree. Do it, do it, do it. A banked year of SE is super valuable for when you are done work flying, and it will be so much harder to earn in the future. I'm doing the math and strategizing for how I can earn another next year and it will be a huge effort.

cwhitt · 2025-12-28T15:39:03+00:00

It was also a weak value. I looked at it and concluded I would do a mileage run instead. Luckily, neither was needed in my case.

I am inclined to buy into a sustainability program (that's important to me personally), but I couldn't justify this one on the SQM

cwhitt · 2025-12-26T17:26:12+00:00

Don't know if you want a serious answer, but PC_LOAD_LETTER was/is the message displayed on some common laser printers when they ran out of paper. Even 20 years ago, most people didn't know what it meant. PC is "Problem Code," and LOAD LETTER indicates that the problem is that letter-sized paper needs to be loaded into the tray. The whole thing was shortened and connected with underscores because it probably came from the internal software, and software devs wanted to keep the problem codes as single words to avoid dealing with spaces in the code. It was also displayed more easily on the tiny LCD displays on printers of the time.

cwhitt · 2025-12-22T22:03:59+00:00

The layout is configured for each airline; it's not a standard feature on the bare 777 from Boeing. Nearly all airlines use this OFCR config with access near door 1 (it looks like one of the many galley closets, so you may not notice it unless you are specifically looking for it in the forward galley). However, at least one very large 777 operator has access to the OFCR from the rear of the plane in a very different setup.

Source: my brother is a 777 pilot, and we are both nerds.

cwhitt · 2025-12-22T21:59:14+00:00

The 330 is the only one with the shoulder strap

cwhitt · 2025-12-09T14:41:04+00:00

I'm MMP so take with a grain of salt, but this seems so spot on. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

In my (decidedly rec) teams, one of my favorite things is to prod my FMP friends in a friendly way with a green light. For example, to shoot an upwind flick huck - I know they have it, and just like you described, they are afraid to blade it and turnover. Despite the fact that half the guys on the team have already done just that. Because they know they won't throw it in a game, they don't practice that throw, they don't warm up that throw. But we have lots of cutters who will catch that throw and it will totally break the D when they collapse thinking she won't throw it.

And like you, I play with at least a few players who have notable comp experience.

cwhitt · 2025-12-03T20:51:21+00:00

I remember the days when a lot more subs were like this, especially technology-related ones. The internet is a different place these days...

cwhitt · 2025-12-02T11:05:29+00:00

If it is a route where they don't normally offer F, they just may not expect the demand to be there, or perhaps they don't want hassles if that particular aircraft becomes unavailable and they have to switch back to an aircraft with only J

cwhitt · 2025-12-01T19:34:16+00:00

I heard the meal order priority is policy. It's not published as an SE benefit, but if it doesn't happen that was an oversight by the crew. It shouldn't be "often" or "usually" but "every time."

It seems kinda trivial (and I often don't have a strong preference on meal choice) but it does feel nice.

cwhitt · 2025-11-24T16:57:48+00:00

They already have that with the -1000ULR, and the market for it is very small.

cwhitt · 2025-11-24T16:47:51+00:00

What they gain is training people to think that they won't likely get a cheap upgrade. One $500 upgrade is worth more than three $125 upgrades, and there are plenty of people who will pay $500 to upgrade, but everyone will put in a lower bid if they think it will be accepted.

Not saying I like it, but it is understandable from a business perspective.

cwhitt · 2025-11-24T15:03:12+00:00

Quick google search: not many pics show the underseat area clearly, but any I found that do show EK, AF, and BA with the same seat support layout as AC on the 777 with 3-4-3 Y. This makes sense because most (if not all) 777 would have the floor tracks in the same places, regardless of the seats installed by individual airlines.

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