36 replies to this topic

[jcornell12]

Just seen one of the westjst buses wityh a kinda of browness wrap on it. It did say westjet on the side but i was to far way to see anything eles. Ill keep my eye out for it.

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

Recently heard somewhere that the service West Jet is operating with these two D40LFR's may end soon due to the Calgary Airport Expansion construction. So I wonder what may happen to these two buses along with the spare unit, a Thomas SLF-235.

I really wish they would give their D40LFR's a bath! CB0004 is looking rather rough as it seems it has been involved in an incident at some point. Images taken June 6, 2010.

[LRT]

From what a employee of west jet understands, the buses are leased from NFI.

[jcornell12]

LRT, on Jul 11 2010, 12:30 PM, said:

From what a employee of west jet understands, the buses are leased from NFI.

The 2 D40LFR are gone. My guess returned to NFI. They have gone back to there Orion SLF. They have cut back there employee shuttle as they have start giving green passes to there pilots and FA's.

[BusRider]

Would there even be the slightest chance that these units could be going to Brandon? A picture in the Brandon Sun showed a D40LFR with Top Open Windows in BT colours, but the buses I saw at New Flyer had sliding windows (Including a D40LFR). So would the be any truth to this, or might it be to far fetched?

Nevermind.

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

jcornell12, on Sep 15 2010, 10:17 PM, said:

The 2 D40LFR are gone. My guess returned to NFI. They have gone back to there Orion SLF. They have cut back there employee shuttle as they have start giving green passes to there pilots and FA's.

That might explain why one of them recently lost it's ad wrap that it carried for a few years. I photographed it as shown in the attached image just this past September 5, 2010.

Before they got the two LFR's, they had a couple of cutaway shuttle sized buses that were used with the SLF. I also noticed that it was the only bus running at the time. Didn't see any others operating.

[jcornell12]

jcornell12, on Sep 15 2010, 09:17 PM, said:

The 2 D40LFR are gone. My guess returned to NFI. They have gone back to there Orion SLF. They have cut back there employee shuttle as they have start giving green passes to there pilots and FA's.

Turns out i have been lie to. I seen CB0004 today with westjet still on it. But still no sing of CB0005 and they are still using there Orion SLF.

[WestDriver]

Been a bus lover for years and was fascinated to find these pics online. I drove the WestJet crew buses for a couple of years and was one of the first to drive the new low floor Flyers when WJ purchased them in 07.

Just to add a few things to what Ive read here:

- The buses were often dirty because they were on the road almost constantly. They ran on overlapping two day cycles where they were only off duty for 4 hours from 1 am to 5 am, so there weren't very many times they could be washed. And when they did get washed WJ didn't have the luxury of an autowash - they were taken in the main hangar and washed by hand using the same system used for washing the 737 planes - by hand. Didn't happen often enough and running the circuit they dirtied up pretty quickly again.

- The 'brown wrap' ad was supposed to look like a suitcase with a handle on the side, and travel stickers on it. It was hard to see it unless you were looking from a distance. Even the flight crews didn't 'get it' though and in general it didn't work well, with some crew jokingly saying that they got to ride the "poop" bus.

- After the buses were in constant service a few months (we put on 10,000 km a MONTH just driving the 5 km to the airport and back to the WJ hangar) maintenance became quite an issue as WJ did not have a dedicated bus mechanic. The head of Transportation tried to do it himself for awhile, then one of the drivers with mechanic experience assisted, then it was farmed out to a bus company in Airdrie for awhile. One bus had a transmission replaced under warranty when it started whining within a few months of operation and in general maintenance was always a struggle. WJ budgeted the capital for purchasing the buses but it didn't seem to have the same forethought for maintenance and always running on a shoestring caused regular maintenance issues.

- There were many times that the old low floor Thomas was brought back into service to cover for one of the NFI buses so sometimes the NFI's would be gone for an extended time for maintenance or occasionally, other employee transportation assignments. The Thomas had great acceleration and felt like a sports car in comparison because of its shorter wheelbase, but it didn't heat worth a darn and always seemed to need brake work, so no one liked to drive it in winter.

- It was generally understood that these employee shuttles would not last forever. They were brought in to save a lot of money on parking because it meant all staff did not have to get a green pass to park at the airport, which cost WJ a small fortune. The eventual plan was to actually have an overhead link to the airport so that employees could walk or take an overhead shuttle from the hangar to the airport but in the meantime this was a reasonable, affordable solution.

- The NFI were, in general, very easy and fun to drive. Loved the smoothness of the driveline. Maneuverability wasn't any worse than any other long wheelbase bus, but the designated route involved several tight turns into and out of a parking lot. Combine that with fatigue from drivers who had to run through the night and the mind numbing routine of driving the exact same route every 15 minutes every day, and thus the damage on the side of the bus noted above and the missing bumper piece. Still, it was good driving for them mainly because the benefits of flying cheap were great!

[LRT]

Very cool info!! I saw a WJ D40lfr the other day in white, so there still in service.

[A. Wong]

Cool, thanks for that info and welcome aboard! Hope you find other areas of the board interesting as well!

[Greyhound101]

LRT, on May 26 2007, 08:01 PM, said:

OK!! I would Imagine it was on the East side, near the Bottle Depot, not Cardinal Coach lines but....I just can't remember now....oh well

Traxx Coachlines services thease buses in Airdrie

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

Greyhound101, on 17 January 2011 - 03:59 PM, said:

Traxx Coachlines services thease buses in Airdrie

That would explain why I saw the SLF there yesterday afternoon.

Also, I see they have picked up a couple small buses. Kevlo86 and myself got photos of a Sprinter numbered CB0007. Is there another one as well that is numbered CB0006 by chance?

Attached Files

•  311211-2549westjetcb0007.jpg   121.59K   81 downloads

[A. Wong]

Wow, looks like the back took a beating already!!

[saskmatt7]

there must be a place where they back up and damage the rear ends, i dont know though, the bus wrap on the flyers looks roughly done around the edges, bus wrapper vern from saskatoon could have done it better!

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

saskmatt7, on 06 January 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

the bus wrap on the flyers looks roughly done around the edges, bus wrapper vern from saskatoon could have done it better!

I think they were just not taken care of after being applied to the bus. But you could very well be correct.

[Cimon8000]

BCT-3122-D800-10240, on 06 January 2012 - 01:59 PM, said:

I think they were just not taken care of after being applied to the bus. But you could very well be correct.

anyone can update the status of these 3 buses? Somehow I saw the D40LFR were listed on sale on a website sometime before.....anyone know where have they been ended up?

[LRT]

I heard from an operator at work that the D40LFRs have indeed been sold. Sorry not sure where though...