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Canadian airline industry (general discussion)

Maybe this thread should be renamed Canadian Airline Industry or something along those lines? Since it's not just Air Canada / Air Transat anymore
 
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Flair is next to go is my bet. Then there is still Canada Jet Lines. They are very small so may hold on a bit more. We just have to come to reality that flying in Canada will never be affordable. It’s the high price you pay to live here.
 
Thought the closure of Lynx would have helped Flair.
If it weren't for the financial position Flair is in, yes it would have helped. Need deep pockets to run an airline in Canada.

Even in Europe, several companies have gone under that were small as well National ones. Same in the US.
 
I feel this report will state the obvious - Canada is too big a country and not enough secondary airports in close proximity to key markets to allow for low cost airlines to run efficiently. There are some key routes that can thrive but most cannot. I think we are stuck with 3 airlines (I’m hoping Porter continues to grow and eat AC/WJ lunch at least in the NA market). I’m hoping Flair can survive but I think they are in a downward spiral with their financing…
 
I feel this report will state the obvious - Canada is too big a country and not enough secondary airports in close proximity to key markets to allow for low cost airlines to run efficiently. There are some key routes that can thrive but most cannot. I think we are stuck with 3 airlines (I’m hoping Porter continues to grow and eat AC/WJ lunch at least in the NA market). I’m hoping Flair can survive but I think they are in a downward spiral with their financing…

Canadian taxes is why tickets are sky high.


“Ottawa prefers to treat our airports as cash cows, rather than the essential transportation infrastructure that they are,” said Gabriel Giguère, the author of the new study. “These taxes have a direct effect on the high cost of domestic travel in this country.”
 
This "Canadian airports are a cash cow" thing is an urban legend used by airlines to pass the buck.

Wikipedia puts the annual traffic at Canada's busiest airports at roughly 125 million passengers.

To be conservative, assume that every passenger is domestic (which is far from the case), that amounts to 62.5 million tickets sold.

The rent paid to Ottawa by Canadian airports is about $400M annually.

Simple math says that the increment to Canadian air ticket prices attributable to Ottawa charging rent to airports is about $6 per ticket.

That's not "sky high" ticket pricing impact.

- Paul

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That leaves Flair.
I flew on Flair to Newark, NJ in 2023 and it was okay, but their flights are always late or canceled. I won’t fly them again.

Porter’s doing okay. The difference over other startups is they focus on service over low price. With the high airport fees and cost of doing business in Canada there’s just not a viable role for Ryan Air wannabes.
 
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Flair is the only one left and has lasted the longest. I hope they can stay alive but I know they are also in dire straits and loaded with debt to their eyeballs.

I am hoping Canada can keep one low cost carrier. We already have 3 mainline carriers, the two big boys and Porter who has done tremendously well and continues to eat into domestic and cross border market share.
 
I flew on Flair to Newark, NJ in 2023 and it was okay, but their flights are always late or canceled. I won’t fly them again.

Porter’s doing okay. The difference over other startups is they focus on service over low price. With the high airport fees and cost of doing business in Canada there’s just not a viable role for Ryan Air wannabes.

No different than Air Canada or WestJet. Their flights are always delayed. My next flights will be booked out of Buffalo or international flights, i wiill pay the extra cash and get a non Canadian owned airline.
 

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