Cheap flights take off in Saskatoon Wednesday

A new discount air service will make its first flights in and out of Saskatoon Wednesday.

NewLeaf passengers arrive from Kelowna, B.C. at 10:36 a.m. July 27, followed by a flight from Hamilton, Ont. landing three minutes later.

The first departures to both cities take off from Saskatoon at 11:40 a.m. the same day.

“We are delighted to host a new ‘low-cost’ service that strives to stimulate air travel and complements our community’s connectivity within Canada,” said Stephen Maybury, president and CEO of Saskatoon Airport Authority, in a news release Monday.

NewLeaf offers tickets between $89-$150, depending on where and when people are travelling.

Flights in and out of Saskatoon are available Wednesday and Saturday.

The travel company provides seats on planes operated by Flair Air, a licenced Canadian airline.

NewLeaf put its initial launch date in February on hold while the Canadian Transportation Agency reviewed airline licencing policies; the company was never implicated.  

“It has taken a bit of time to get off the ground, but we are excited to now bring to Canada the ultra-low-cost business model that has proven successful around the world,” said Jim Young, president and CEO of NewLeaf, in a news release Monday.

Saskatoon and Regina are two of the 12 Canadian destinations serviced by NewLeaf: Halifax, Moncton, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Kelowna, Kamloops, Fort St. John, Abbotsford and Victoria.