Being that it was late October, it was still
dark outside and a brisk 3°C when my cab arrived just after 6am EST. I was on my way to Pearson International
Airport for yet another work trip, although this one was scheduled for me at
the last minute as one of my colleagues could not make it. As a child, I have only driven through New
Brunswick on a couple of family trips to Halifax. But I have no recollection of what we saw or
did in New Brunswick aside from the few photos we took along the way. So needless to say, I was pretty stoked to
see what Saint John had to offer even if I only had a short amount of time to
explore it over the next 48 hours.
 |
| Air Canada Flight #8946 |
Highway traffic was minimal allowing us to
arrive at Pearson International Airport within 30 minutes. Check in and security took about 20 minutes in
total as Air Canada had several early morning domestic flights. They even opened the downstairs security location
to make the process go even faster, which I didn’t even realize existed until
now. The more things you learn over time
about your local airport! All-in-all, it
was a relatively smooth and painless process.
With over an hour to spare before boarding, I decided to find my gate
first before grabbing breakfast at Mill Street Brewery Pub.
 |
| Flying past downtown Toronto |
Similar to my flight to Providence, Gate D7 was
located in a relatively small section of Pearson International Flight. Instead of short commuter flights to regional
airports in the United States, this section is commonly used for smaller
domestic locations, such as Sarnia, Thunder Bay, Moncton, and Fredericton. This would be one of those situations where I
would walk out onto the tarmac to board my flight – a de Havilland Dash 8-400
twin-turboprop plane. The only downside
to this flight was the lack of any entertainment system available, so I took a
quick nap for the first half of the two hour flight.
 |
| A Quebec-shaped lake while flying over Quebec! |
The flight itself was pretty uneventful, except
a couple of occasions where we had some turbulence. Highlights of the flight included flying
right past downtown Toronto, seeing the beautiful Quebec farmland landscapes, and
our descent over the Bay of Fundy as we approached Saint John Airport. Saint John presented an interesting dichotomy
between the factories along the Bay of Fundy that were clearly polluting the
air with the beautiful autumn foliage dotting the landscape. We landed around 11:30am Atlantic Standard
Time and pulled up to the tiny Saint John Airport – probably the second
smallest North American airport I have ever been to after Yellowknife. It was a brisk 2°C and cloudy when we landed,
but no signs of inclement weather thankfully.
 |
| Descending into Saint John, New Brunswick |
A few things that really stick out at Saint
John Airport near the Arrivals section is a wall mural discussing the
significance of prop planes in New Brunswick aviation history, a brick wall that
literally says “Welcome to Saint John – Home of Moosehead Brewery,” and the “Saint
John on the Bay of Fundy” sign right above the luggage carousel. For me, I thought that was a bit unnecessary,
but for International visitors, I suppose it was needed to distinguish the
difference between Saint John and St. John’s – the capital of
Newfoundland. After nearly a 10 minute
wait, I grabbed my luggage, called a cab, and made my way to my hotel. I only had about five hours to explore the
city before my colleague was to arrive.
But as I would soon discover, five hours was more than plenty to get the
gist of this beautiful, yet depressed city.
 |
| Aeroport de Saint John/Saint John Airport |
AC 8946 – YYZ to YSJ
Operated by: Air Canada Jazz
Aircraft: de Havilland Dash 8-400
(twin-turboprop); Seat: 18A
Departure: 08:28AM EST – Pearson International Airport
(YYZ) – Terminal 1, Gate D7
Arrival:
11:33am ADT – Saint John Airport (YSJ)
Flight
Time: 2:05; Non Stop Flight – 710 Miles/1143 Kilometers; Date: October 23, 2018
