The Air Travel Guide
Canadian Airlines
Will Operating a Regional Airline Hurt WestJet?
056 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Everyone has probably heard about WestJet’s plans to introduce a new low cost regional carrier by now. By doing so, they will give smaller communities more access to larger destinations and reduce the driving time of those who have to travel to larger cities to fly. However, this new addition seems to be going against WestJet’s idea of being a low cost carrier.
WestJet Co-Founder and previous CEO Clide Beddos has been quoted many times as saying that the secret to operating a low cost airline is by using one type of airplane. This way they can avoid paying the extra costs of hiring maintenance workers, purchasing replacement parts, and opening additional facilities.
“The secret to the low cost model is flying one type of airplane. Now, the competitors, Air Canada and CanadaAir at a time flew 13, 14 different types of airplanes. So they were grossly inefficient,” Beddos said during a lecture to a group of university students.
WestJet’s announcement of operating a low cost regional carrier using small turboprop airplanes seems to be going against their philosophy of staying the path. I personally don’t think it’s worth it for WestJet to venture off into other markets when they have done increasingly well servicing larger cities and flying to more sun destinations.
Penticton BC has been quite vocal in their quest for getting WestJet to fly there. In fact, the small town even organized a flash mob in attempt to attract the airline. However, is it really economically viable for WestJet to fly to Penticton when Kelowna is only an hour away? — I don’t think so. Furthermore, I don’t think it would be a great idea for WestJet to compete with Air Canada Jazz in those smaller markets, especially when the population in those locations are extremely small. I could see two competing airlines in smaller cities destroying the regional industry all together.
With all of those doubts I have about WestJet introducing a smaller carrier, it is important to note that WestJet employees voted 91 percent for a regional airline according to one of their press releases in early February.
“The opportunity presented to WestJetters has been very well received and I thank them for their input and consideration in this important matter,” said Gregg Saretsky, WestJet President and CEO. “Clearly, WestJetters have recognized and embraced that the service we have provided for 16 years is in demand in even more communities across Canada. Bringing WestJet to these communities will benefit Canadians while providing increased shareholder value. We now look forward to planning the launch of this new airline as early as 2013.”
With profit margins slim in the Canadian airline industry, WestJet is taking a huge risk by bringing about this regional service. Although the idea seems to be popular at the moment, I just don’t see enough room in smaller markets for competing regional airlines, especially servicing communities with populations between 10 and 50 thousand.
WestJet plans to introduce their regional service in early 2013. What are your thoughts?
The Secret To Getting Cheaper Flights in Canada: There Isn’t One
057 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Is it possible to actually get a good deal from an airline? Well, the answer is it depends. The reasoning is that the airline industry in Canada is so competitive between the two major airlines, WestJet and Air Canada. Sure, there are often seat sales. But if you look closely, you’ll notice that both major airlines always seem to have the same deals going on at the same time.
Now many also point out the fact that air fares in the United States seem to be much cheaper than in Canada. Unfortunately, this has little to do with the airlines and much to do with airports and government. In fact, Canadians are stuck paying a variable rate on the Canadian Airport Improvement Fee, the Harmonized Sales Tax and Government Sales Tax, along with additional surcharges. Americans, on the other hand, simply pay a flat rate on the “Airport Passenger Facility Charge,” and other smaller fees. The big difference between the two is the flat vs. variable rate. Some Canadian airports charge much more than their counterparts, whereas all American airports have to charge below $18.
It’s also important to take a look at the size of the market. The United States population is roughly ten times the size of Canada. This means there is more room for competition, whereas additional competition in Canada could destroy the airline industry all together. Proof of this is JetsGo, a once low cost carrier based in Montreal, who couldn’t withstand its’ $55 million in debt. Furthermore, Air Canada is having a tough time right now with WestJet closing the market share gap.
There is one sale in Canada that seems to be unique to WestJet. It’s their Blue Tag Thursday event, in which they have three hours designated to offering a specific route(s) for a decreased price. The destination depends on a lot of factors including the economic environment — WestJet usually offers discount on flights that aren’t filling up as fast as they’d like. I personally have taken advantage of this sale many times, seeing prices slashed by as much as 40 percent. I have yet to see a similar sale offered by Air Canada, but if you know of one please feel free to link to it in the comments.
Tips on Getting The Best Fare
- Know the economic conditions in Canada – A lot of the deals that Canadian airlines released are based on sales. If the airline is experiencing low ridership, chances are that fares are about to decrease. You won’t find discounts around Christmas, Spring Break, or Easter. In my experience, the best time to travel is January, February, September, October, and November. Now unfortunately these months don’t always produce the best weather, hence the lower ridership in these months.
- Monitor all Canadian airlines – I have yet to see a significant sale where both major carriers don’t offer the same deal. This meaning that if one airline is having a “big sale” expect its competitor to do so also. In my experience, there has been some instances in which one airline is surprised by the other and is someone delayed in offering the sale, but I have never seen a time when they’ve completely ignored them.
- Book early – Airlines price their tickets based on demand. For example; a certain portion of seats will be allocated to one price. Then once those are sold out another set of seats will be sold at an even higher price. This means that it’s extremely beneficial to book tickets as early as possible, that way you can avoid paying the next level up. This is especially important when booking tickets around Christmas holidays, as prices for these tickets will begin increasing early the following year.
Unfortunately, the Canadian airline industry is extremely unpredictable, with many sales depending on market conditions. This is mainly because profit margins are so slim, offering little wiggle room for the airlines. Additionally, the fact that the industry can’t support much more competition is a huge factor in why prices rarely drop.
image source: ANDREW VAUGHAN / The Canadian Press
WestJet and Air Canada Stock Take Sudden Tumble
0231 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Both WestJet and Air Canada stocks took a steep drop at close today, with both airlines decreasing by over five percent. WestJet stock dropped .67 of a point to finish the day at 12.26 per share, while Air Canada dropped .16 to close at 1.32.
This all comes after WestJet had begun crowd sourcing their employees to promote ways of reducing costs. And according to this report, there was an overwhelming response. Furthermore, the airline was able to gather new product ideas by using this method.
It isn’t clear yet what exactly caused the slide today, however, both stocks had been maintaining their worth for the past week. Below is the graph of how today’s stock for both WestJet and Air Canada played out.
WestJet
Air Canada
Randstad Ranks Air Canada as One of The Most Attractive Employers In Canada
0233 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Air Canada is boasting it’s newest achievement as one of the premier airlines in Canada. A survey conducted by Randstad Canada and ICMA International has ranked Air Canada as one of the top five most attractive companies to be employed by. The international airline employs over 26, 000 people world wide, with an average of 70 applicants per job posting.
This is a surprising statistic, especially with Air Canada facing heavy criticism by customers regarding their customer service. You wouldn’t expect large amounts of people applying to a company that has consumers whining about them. Furthermore, I’ve found many reviews by employees on the web criticizing Air Canada’s management and their uncaring attitude.
However, it’s also important to consider the fact that Air Canada offers their employees excellent benefits, along with a stable union that can represent them at the bargaining table. Some of the more prominent benefits include personal insurance programs, health benefits, dental benefits, life insurance, pension plan, and vacation benefits.Furthermore, the travel benefits are more extensive than Air Canada’s rival WestJet, with many more international destinations available. It’s also important to note that there were very few travel related companies listed among the top employers, meaning that competition was minimal regarding the airline industry.
Other companies among the top five include Research In Motion, IBM Canada, McGill University, and Bombardier. In order to be listed as a top company, the employer must have at least 1000 people working for them. Furthermore, they must also be one of the one hundred and fifty largest employers in Canada.
All in all, it’s important to remember that the survey conducted reflects on the attractiveness of working for Air Canada, not the opinion of employees already working for the airline. I’m concerned that results may have showed differently if the survey included people already working for them. On the other hand, there are very few companies who offer benefits that are on par with Air Canada.
image: DiscoveryFinance
WestJet Announces Hamilton To Las Vegas Route
0301 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
WestJet has announced in a press release today that they’ll be providing service to Las Vegas from Hamilton beginning in the fall. The twice-weekly trip will initially start out as a trial run for 11 weeks, and then will be re-evaluated afterwards.
The flight will commence on Mondays and Fridays, with the flight originating in Las Vegas. It will depart the entertainment capital at 9:45 AM, arriving in Hamilton just after 5 PM. It will then depart Hamilton at 6 PM and arrive in Vegas at 7:39PM.
“This is definitely new for us,” commented John MacLeod, WestJet Vice-President, Network Management and Alliances. “As we prepare for the annual fall transition of our fleet we had a window of additional flying time over an 11-week period. The people of the greater Hamilton area have always supported WestJet and we wanted to thank them by testing the feasibility of service to Las Vegas. Based on the demand during the 11-week trial, we will determine if this route is a viable option to consider as our fleet grows.”
Air Canada Announces Additional Caribbean Destinations Out Of Toronto
0317 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Air Canada continues to feed Canada’s craving for hot winter destinations. Canada’s largest airline announced that there will be three additional routes to the Caribbean this coming winter. Here’s the schedule:
• Toronto-Curaçao (CUR) on Saturdays beginning December 24 on a weekly flight using a 120-seat Airbus A319 aircraft
• Toronto-St. Kitts (SKB) on Fridays beginning December 23 on a weekly flight using a 120-seat Airbus A319 aircraft
• Toronto-St. Thomas (STT) on Saturdays beginning December 24 on a weekly flight usinf a 120-seat Airbus A319 aircraftsource: TravelTST
The airline is also saying that they have eight hotels available through Air Canada vacations near St. Thomas. They also have three hotels in St. Croix and one in St. John that they are affiliated with. Unfortunately, as the schedule states, the direct flights are only available out of Toronto. However, there are plenty of connections available through Pearson International airport.
Passport Canada To Force New Requirements on Travelling Children
0353 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
If you have children under sixteen years of age, be ready to comply with some new requirements issued by Passport Canada. The government agency has announced that on December 1, 2011, additional documents must be submitted with the standard passport application. Below is a list of requirements according to Passport Canada’s website.
- A detailed birth certificate indicating the name of the parent(s) issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial vital statistics agency if the child was born in Canada. This document will serve as both proof of parentage and proof of citizenship;
- A certified copy of birth registration (original only) is also accepted for a child born in Ontario; and
- A Copy of an act of birth (original only) issued after January 1, 1994, by the Directeur de l’état civil of Quebec is also accepted for a child born in Quebec;
- An order of adoption indicating the name of the adoptive parent(s); or
- A foreign birth certificate indicating the name of the parent(s) (documents in a language other than English or French must be translated to either English or French) if the child was born outside of Canada.
Passport Canada has also stated in a press release that all documents regarding the custody of the child must be provided to them. This includes separation agreements between divorced parents and divorce judgement orders.
These new requirements are expected to be a significant improvement when it comes to protecting children from abduction.
image source: Canadianpassportadvice.com
Air Canada Jazz Goes Green With New Paint Scheme
0362 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Air Canada Jazz has repainted two of their regional aircraft green to reflect the growing popularity of environmental friendliness. This, however, isn’t just a simple repaint, it actually does a lot more. According to the airline, this new paint will significantly decrease the impact Jazz has on the environment.
“Jazz jumped on the opportunity to be the first commercial operator in Canada to have aircraft painted with the newest green coatings technology,” Nakamura said. “One aspect of going green is the chromate-free pretreatment and primer formulations of our coatings system, which require no special handling or waste disposal. A second aspect is that the PPG green coatings system reduces the weight of painted aircraft by more than 30 pounds, resulting in fuel savings and lower emissions. Third, because Desothane HD/CA 9000 basecoat/clearcoat features high durability, we expect the repaint cycle to be extended by several years, leading to additional cost savings and green benefits.”
This new paint has only been installed on two regional jets so far, but the airline expects that they’ll be adding it to many more of their aircraft in the coming years.
Review On The Air Canada Jazz DH3
1463 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Last week I wrote about the first of my two flights with Air Canada Jazz. During the round trip flight I was able to fly on both a Canadaair CRJ-200 and on a De Havilland Dash 8-300. Both aircraft were exciting to fly on, but surprisingly, I enjoyed my flight on the DH3 the most. Flying on a DH3 aircraft provides a thrill that you don’t get on other commercial aircraft.
It started at 6:00 AM at Vancouver International Airport. We boarded the plane after the captain performed his walk-around. I took my seat on one of the more prefered seats on the DH3, A1, which was located in the front row. Sitting here gave me ample leg room, along with a great window view and moderate distance from the engines.
The flight attendant wasn’t very cheery, but that’s to be expected considering how early it was. It must be nice somedays when you can wake up for an early flight and have all of the passengers sleeping. No whining, no begging, or crying babies to get you all riled up. With that said, I’ve come to expect Air Canada employees taking a more mellow approach to their job.
After everyone was in their seats, engine one started up. It was quite a rush to have the propeller shaking the whole aircraft — you usually don’t feel such a shake when flying on commercial jets. The same vibration occurred when engine two started up as well. The only downside to these propeller engines was that they were much louder than other aircraft I’ve travelled on. For a frequent flyer, I can see how the sounds could get annoying, especially at six o’clock in the morning.
Touch down was very smooth. In fact, I didn’t even realize we had hit the ground until we had turned onto the taxiway. OK, maybe being asleep had something to do with it. In the end, I was woken up by the flight attendant doing her post-touchdown flight announcement.
Overall, I was quite impressed with the DH3 as a regional airplane. With that said, if the plane was capable of making longer journeys, I don’t think it would be my first choice. The DH3 provides a unique “Old School” experience for guests making relatively short journeys.
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