Airport urges Edmonton to stop Calgary airport habit

Edmonton International Airport has launched an energetic campaign to try to get people in Edmonton to stop driving to Calgary to catch a flight.

The campaign, dubbed "Stop the Calgary Habit," was launched downtown by actors and airport employees holding signs and chanting: "Fly Edmonton first."

"We really had to come to terms with the fact that we had to be direct with Edmontonians," said Tracy Bednard, who speaks for the airport.

"When you have 750,000 of us that are still travelling through Calgary, that's a huge number. That's almost the population of Edmonton, and when you translate that into airline seats that's about 14 737s a day we're giving to Calgary so that they can count it towards their air service, and sell to their airlines."

That can dissuade airlines from offering flights from Edmonton, Bednard said, one reason why about 10 million people flew out of Calgary's airport in 2009, comparedwith six million from Edmonton.

Airport officials are offering tools and tips and even offer a T-shirt on their website to try to get the message across. You can also download a coupon that discounts the cost for a week of parking to $39.95.

A spokeswoman for the Calgary airport said they have no worries about the campaign.

"We don't feel that as an airport it's our place to tell people our passengers where they should be flying from," said Jody Moseley. But she said the campaign is "definitely a different way to go."