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In the new year, passengers hoping to fly to Calgary from Saskatchewan won’t be able to catch an Air Canada flight.
In an emailed statement, Air Canada said it has made changes to its flights to and from Calgary and is working on rebuilding “our business in a prudent and disciplined way that means looking at every aspect of our network and deploying our resources where they will be the most productive.”
The statement said Air Canada has decided to “strategically focus” on its main hubs — Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to suspend a number of regional routes from Calgary airport.” The change is to take effect in mid-January.
Flights out of Regina and Saskatoon will be affected by the stoppage.
The air carrier clarified that it will “continue to fly in every community it currently operates in.” For Saskatoon and Regina, that means Air Canada flights to and from Vancouver and Toronto will continue.
Justin Reves, manager of customer experience for the Regina Airport Authority, called the decision by the country’s largest airline “disappointing news.”
Air Canada is responsible for about one to two flights each day out of Regina’s airport, Reves said.
“We still have good capacity to Calgary but now it’s going to be with one airline,” he explained.
WestJet operates about three to five flights direct to Calgary each day, a total that is to increase to five or six per day come March.
The disruption to flights will still impact future seat capacity, however, as well as loyal Air Canada customers who prefer that airline or people travelling to or through Calgary for the purpose of reaching another destination.
Those who use the airline for business-travel purposes — to places like the middle United States — may also have more difficulties in the future, like longer flights and reduced capacity.
“I’m sure there are going to be people who have already planned out their trips who perhaps aren’t going to be happy that they’re getting rerouted through a destination,” Reves noted.
He said Air Canada is in the process of rebuilding its network, determining what does and does not work for its business model since COVID-19 while handling a labour shortage.
“I think they’re looking at what makes the most sense for their business as they rebuild,” Reves said, adding he hopes the flight suspension will be a temporary move by the airline. “But it certainly (makes) for a challenging spring.”
There is no official word as of yet that another airline will be stepping up to account for those lost flights, but Reves is hopeful the move by Air Canada could open the door for some low-cost air carriers like Swoop, Flair or Lynx to make their way to the Regina airport.
Environments with less competition have historically been appealing to those airlines, Reves noted.
“I’m sure there’ll be disappointed customers who are presented with (fewer) options now,” he said.
The Saskatoon airport’s vice-president of business development, CJ Dushinski, also expressed disappointment with Air Canada’s decision.
She said network carriers need to make the best decisions they can while recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the move will be impactful for Saskatoon.
“It is a big loss for us,” she said.
Like in Regina, only WestJet will now be available for flights between Saskatoon and Calgary. Those approximately six flights each day will still serve the airport and its customers well, but it does have limitations.
“There’s really just not that variety of options in carriers,” Dushinski said.
The Saskatoon airport also will see a financial impact with the loss of revenue associated with the number of seats on those twice-daily Air Canada flights between Saskatoon and Calgary.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been amended to reflect a clarification from Air Canada as to when the decision is to take effect.