Laszlo Buhasz
TRAVEL WRITER Published on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002 12:00AM EST Last updated on Saturday, Mar. 21, 2009 1:53AM EDT
One of the best ski resorts east of the Rockies will become easily accessible for Southern Ontario skiers and snowboarders with the Dec. 19 inaugural flight of a twice-weekly air service between Toronto and the newly opened Mont-Tremblant International Airport (MTI).
Voyageur Airways will offer Thursday and Sunday service between Pearson Airport's executive jet terminal and MTI using a 44-passenger Dash 7 aircraft specially modified to handle a cargo of ski equipment. The flight between Toronto and Tremblant will take about 80 minutes.
The Tremblant airport is located on the site of a former Canadian Air Force base near the village of La Macaza, about 25 minutes by coach from the slopes of the popular resort.
The 1,830-metre landing strip -- long enough to accommodate private jets, commercial flights and charters -- has been resurfaced and the control tower refitted with state-of-the-art avionics equipment.
The newly completed terminal building has been constructed in the style of a traditional Quebec log cabin, complete with a fireplace.
Until March 27, Ultimate Ski Vacations is offering three- and four-night air and ski packages aimed specifically at the Toronto-area market.
Paul Marner, Ultimate's director of ski operations, says his company's packages are not only competitive in price with those offered by resorts in Central Ontario, but the new air service could have skiers on the Tremblant slopes in less time than it takes to drive to resorts such as Blue Mountain or Horseshoe Valley.
"In addition to flights, accommodations and lifts, the package includes a lot of nice extras, from free airport parking [at Pearson] to valet baggage service and dedicated airport transfers to Tremblant," Marner said.
Three-day packages are priced from $557 plus tax a person and from $627 a person for four days.
Accommodations in Ultimate packages are in slope-side Les Suites Tremblant properties: Johannsen, Deslauriers, La Chouette and Lodge de la Montagne. All are close to the resort's European-style pedestrian village.
Air-only flights for those who want to book their own accommodations will start at $375 plus tax. The resort has more than 1,900 rental units.
For more information or to book a ski package, call (800) 465-3034 or (888) 666-8008, or visit http://www.tremblant.com. Air-only flights can be booked through the Tremblant Web site.
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