Canadian North cuts flights, re-focuses on northern service

A Canadian North jet waits on the tarmac at Edmonton International Airport. Canadian North’s Yellowknife-Edmonton route has traditionally been one of the airline’s major money-makers, providing up to 30 per cent of its revenues. PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Canadian North has decided to cut back its flights in and out of Yellowknife due to increasing competition on north-south routes and a struggling economy.

All air service via Canadian North to Calgary will stop on Oct. 10 and to Hay River on Oct. 25, said Tracey Medve, the airline’s president, on Sept. 24

Flights to Edmonton from Yellowknife will also be cut back, effective Oct. 25.

Customers with bookings may have their tickets refunded or be rebooked on other Canadian North flights or with another airline, Medve said.

People in Nunavut won’t notice any changes to their northern service, said Medve, who called the design to trim capacity a “difficult business decision.”

“Canadian North has a mandate to serve the North and return profit to the North,” Medve said.

Canadian North is a member of the NorTerra group of companies, owned by the Inuit of Nunavut through Nunasi Corp. and the Inuvialuit of the Northwest Territories through the Inuvialuit Development Corp.

The airline’s cutbacks follow WestJet’s entrance into the market between Yellowknife and Alberta.

The Yellowknife-Edmonton route has long been a moneymaker for Canadian North, providing up to 30 per cent of its revenues, according to information from company managers.

But Air Canada first cut into the Yellowknife-Edmonton market three years ago, flying small 50-seat aircraft on the route.

And earlier this year WestJet decided to start flying in a larger aircraft, with a capacity of more than 100 passengers, boosting the total number of seats available on the Yellowknife-Edmonton run to about 4,900.

These were impossible to fill, Medve said.

WestJet also offered bargain basement-priced tickets on the route, with one-way ticket on WestJet from Yellowknife to Edmonton starting at $99, not including taxes and surcharges.

All airlines which fly from Yellowknife to Edmonton — including Canadian North, Air Canada Jazz, and First Air — scrambled to match this price or beat it, but the route became a money-looser.

Canadian North had operated direct flights to Calgary since 2001. But business to this hub was struck hard by last year’s economic downturn.

The cutbacks to Canadian North service will also affect its staff in Yellowknife, Hay River, Edmonton and Calgary, says a Sept. 24 news release from the airline.