A rapacious duopoly: First Air and Canadian North

I have just returned from my very first trip to Iqaluit and Resolute Bay, and one thing is very clear: if Nunavut is ever going to receive more than a handful of tourists, your jet air service from the South must receive more and much lower fare competition.

Iqaluit is 1,302 miles, or 2,095 kilometres from Ottawa. A comparable distance is Boston to Fort Lauderdale, which is 1,239 miles or 1,994 kilometers. The lowest “seat-sale” fare being advertised by First Air is $798 round-trip; by Canadian North, $995. With both there are high Canadian taxes.

In sharp contrast, Delta Express flies the Boston-to-Fort Lauderdale route with similarly aged Boeing 737-200 aircraft for as little as US$158, or $236 round-trip, plus much lower U.S. taxes. And they make a profit on the route.

Iqaluit itself certainly has enough first-class hotel rooms to accommodate an all-passenger aircraft from either Tango by Air Canada or Westjet, at fares which should properly be at least 50 per cent lower than present seat-sale fares.

And, if the room infrastructure is inadequate, the rest of the seats would instantly be filled by the visiting friends and relatives market, many of whom are locked out of the travel market to and from Nunavut because of the present, rapacious duopoly formed by First Air and Canadian North.

First Air is flying obsolete 727-100 Combi aircraft, which exist solely to serve gravel runways in places like Resolute Bay, and Nanisivik. Both will probably be dropped as jet destinations as their respective mines close. Canadian North flies old 737-200 Combi aircraft.

Farther south, such aircraft would be sitting in the desert awaiting scrapping. In brief, these carriers’ investment in jet equipment is as minimal as it can get.

While the cost of flying in and out of Iqaluit is maybe a bit more than flying in the Canadian South, mostly due to higher fuel costs and a few weather delays, there is absolutely no justification for the fares that are currently being charged by both carriers.

It is up to Nunavut Tourism to make an all-out effort to attract Westjet or Tango to Iqaluit, with the hope that a lower-cost alternative can be found to serve the remaining jet-served Nunavut communities as well.

Indeed, one can travel completely around the world for the price of the cheapest excursion fare ticket from Ottawa to Resolute Bay and return.

Donald L. Pevsner
President
Concorde Spirit Tours
Merritt Island, Fla.