Canadian North works with Air Canada on joint Iqaluit services

The Canadian North airline will provide baggage-handling and ticket-counter services to Air Canada when the national airline launches its Iqaluit-Ottawa service March 28, Canadian North said March 5.

At the same time, Canadian North will change its schedule to help its passengers make better connections with Air Canada flights in the South, the northern airline said.

“Working in cooperation with Air Canada, Canadian North will make schedule adjustments to our flights in and out of our Iqaluit hub, providing greater travel options for our customers, as well as alleviating congestion on the already busy Iqaluit facility,” Lorraine Bonner, Canadian North’s vice-president of scheduled services, said in a news release.

Canadian North’s Boeing 737 jet will depart Iqaluit for Ottawa 35 minutes earlier than now, at 1:15 p.m., with a 4:20 p.m. arrival time in Ottawa.

The two airlines will also continue talks aimed at a commercial agreement that would create “enhanced benefits” for the customers of each airline.

Lisa Hicks, Canadian North’s marketing manager, said the two companies have actually been talking to each other since 2003.

She said one benefit under discussion is gaining access to Air Canada’s Maple Leaf lounge for passenger who hold frequent flyer status under Canadian North’s Concierge program

But she said that right now, she is “not at liberty to discuss” other issues under discussion.

Air Canada’s new service will operate through the airline’s Jazz affiliate, using fuel-efficient, 75-seat Bombardier CRJ 705 aircraft.

The Air Canada Jazz service will depart Iqaluit at 1:40 p.m ., seven days a week. The service is scheduled to arrive in Ottawa at 5:07 pm., then depart Ottawa for Montreal at 5:55 p.m., with an arrival time in Montreal of 6:13 p.m.

Less than a week after Air Canada made that announcement this past Nov. 9, Canadian North and First Air each dropped their prices to match Air Canada’s $599 one-way Iqaluit-Ottawa fare.