Come fly the crowded skies

Air Canada is making an inroad into the Eastern Arctic, starting March 28, 2010. The 75-seat CRJ 705, the jet Air Canada Jazz plans to fly on its Montreal-Ottawa-Iqaluit route, is seen in an undated handout image provided by manufacturer Bombardier. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

Nov. 19 — Note to readers: After the publication of this story Nov. 10, First Air and Canadian North each dropped their Ottawa-Iqaluit fares to match fares offered by Air Canada Jazz. As of this week, each airline now offers a one-way price of $599 on that route. With taxes and other add-ons, that produces a return fare of just under $1200. Readers should also be aware that all airlines serving this route may make adjustments to their advertised fares at any time. The fares quoted in the bottom paragraph of this story are those offered Nov. 10, the day the story was researched and written.

For months, the rumour mill was adamant that one of Canada’s national airlines was about to start flying planes to Nunavut.

It turns out the rumours are true. Air Canada announced Monday it will begin flying between Montreal, Ottawa and Nunavut March 28, 2010.

The daily flight on Air Canada Jazz will originate in Montreal, stop in Ottawa and arrive in Iqaluit just before 1 p.m. Fares start at $599 each way, plus taxes and fees.

“We expect our new service to be popular with both government and business travellers, as well as leisure travellers looking to experience the striking and remarkable landscape of Canada’s arctic,” Marcel Forget, Air Canada’s vice president of network planning, in a news release.

Iqaluit mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik said she welcomes airline competition, but is concerned about the impact Air Canada will have on the Inuit-owned airlines.

“My worry is that they [Air Canada] will disrupt totally our own airlines,” she said. “Is Air Canada going to set up infrastructure in every community or are they only going to go into the hubs?”

Air Canada’s Northern rivals lashed out at the planned flights, questioning the national carrier’s commitment to the North.

“It’s not fair,” complained Charlie Lyall, a board member with Norterra, the Inuit-owned company that runs Canadian North. “They don’t return anything to the communities. How many hockey teams are they going to take to Ottawa? Not too many. How many people are they going to give passes to so they can go to funerals?”

Lyall also criticized the decision by Air Canada to jump into Nunavut’s most lucrative route, and leaving other communities unserved.

“People will fly on Air Canada and still expect services from Canadian North. It makes a tough business tougher.”

Chris Ferris, First Air’s vice president of marketing and sales, said Air Canada’s fares seemed designed to be low enough to just undercut his airline’s fares.

“Obviously they recognize it’s a high cost environment to do business in, even when you don’t have the millions of dollars of investment in infrastructure and employees that we have in Iqaluit,” he said.

Angela Mah, an Air Canada spokesperson, said the new route will focus on passengers, not cargo. She said the route would also make it easier for Iqaluit passengers to connect with national and international flights.

What’s not clear is what kind of presence Air Canada Jazz will have in Iqaluit. The airline presumably will need counter space, ticket agents, mechanics and baggage handlers. Mah referred questions about local staffing to an Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman, who said she could not provide any information about that.

And Iqaluit’s airport is already over capacity, both inside the terminal and on the apron. A planned new terminal building is on the Government of Nunavut’s radar, but still years away.

Ferris said he’s concerned Air Canada’s arrival in the Nunavut market will lead to crowding at the Iqaluit airport.

“Having three jet flights going out of there around the same time of the day, plus all the connecting turboprop flights in and out of the communities, it’s a very congested environment,” he said.

The flights will be operated by Air Canada Jazz, which will use 75-seat Bombardier CRJ 705 regional aircraft. Bombardier’s website claims these planes are quieter and more fuel-efficient, with a cost per seat 14 per cent less than similar planes.

Planes that are cheaper to fly than the Boeing 737s commonly used on the Ottawa-Iqaluit run, will allow Air Canada to go after market share on price. Their opening fare from Ottawa to Iqaluit comes in under $1,200, plus tax and fees, for a return flight. As of Nov. 9, the same flight on Canadian North cost about $1,318, and on First Air about $1,790.

With files from Jane George.