Comments about Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

This is a high-quality FBO (a bit nicer than the Esso Avitat next door), but also pricey, with lots of fees and expensive gas. If you're meeting customs, you have to make at least a short stop at the Esso or Shell (your choice), but otherwise, if you don't need the shiny FBO, the Ottawa Flying Club on the north field is a less expensive option for fuel and parking.

The Esso and Shell on the south field are fairly expensive for fuel and have high parking and ramp fees. Esso used to waive the ramp fee when you were meeting customs there, but I don't know if they still do that. If you don't need the full FBO red carpet service (and aren't arriving late in the evening), the Ottawa Flying Club on the north field is a cheaper option for fuel and parking.

OAS is the rival flight school to the Ottawa Flying Club across the ramp. OAS is privately-owned, and uses Katanas instead of Cessnas for training. They offer parking, but I think are not allowed to sell fuel to visitors.

I learned to fly here, and parked my plane here for a few years before moving to Ottawa/Rockcliffe. It's gotten busier recently, now that the club runs the professional pilot program for Algonquin College.

There's also a small Tim's in the main (new) terminal building, for airline passengers and others at the south field.

Coffee, sandwiches, doughnuts, etc. Tim Horton's is sort-of like Dunkin Donuts in the U.S., but much, much more popular.

The airport authority is collecting the landing fee, while Nav Canada is/will be collecting the usage fee.

If you're paying a fee for landing, isn't it pretty much a given that you're also going to take off? So why don't they just increase the landing fee rather than imposing a takeoff fee as well?

To add to Tony's comment, there's also a Tim Horton's (like Dunkin Donuts in the U.S.) about a 5-minute walk from the Ottawa Flying Club, so it's easy to walk over and grab a coffee or a bagel.

Runway 04 - 22 at the North end of the Ottawa Airport is for General Aviation - the flying clubs and local avionics shop are there. The Ottawa Flying Club has a restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. The same landing fees apply at the North Field.

There is an Esso Avitat and a Shell FBO just East of the main International terminal, just beside Runway 07-25 for business travellers and charters.

The OCTranspo 97 bus is a fast bus to downtown, and then on to the Bayshore Shopping Centre in the west end, mostly on a dedicated express Transitway (about a 25 minute ride). The schedule varies from every 9 minutes or so at peak times to every 30 minutes in the wee hours of the morning, and the adult fare is $3.00 cash or $1.90 if you buy tickets. You can transfer to the 95 for the train station.

For private single-engine light aircraft, CAD $15/landing or a flat fee of CAD $30/month. Nav Canada will also introduce a fee for each takeoff, starting in 2008.

The new terminal has lots of electrical outlets for laptops, etc. in the waiting areas -- they're on the pillars at the ends of some rows.