Air Inuit offering cheaper travel south for Inuit beneficiaries
To mark airline’s 45th anniversary it’s offering 4 discounted tickets per person
Air Inuit has announced reduced fares for Inuit beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement travelling south as part of its 45th anniversary celebration. (File photo by Jean-Pierre Bonin)
Updated on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023 at 3:50 p.m.
Air Inuit says it will provide all Inuit beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement who are travelling south access to four discounted tickets on its scheduled flights.
The price of the first three tickets is capped at $500 while the fourth ticket can be purchased at a 70 per cent discount, the airline announced in a news release.
The offer is being made available through a partnership between Makivvik Corp. and the Quebec government, according to the Air Inuit website.
The tickets can be used only to travel directly to and from Nunavik and Montreal or Quebec City, but not between communities. The price cap is valid for both Air Inuit and Canadian North flights.
Through the partnership, Air Inuit is also offering a 70 per cent discount on cargo rates for shipment of an all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile or outboard motor. However, this offer is only applicable on a shipment coming from the La Grande hub or another Nunavik community.
Air Inuit said it is offering the tickets as a way to help mark its 45th year of operations.
According to its website, the tickets are not transferable.
Correction: This article has been updated from a previous version to clarify the partnership involving Makivvik Corp., and the Quebec government that led to the discounts being offered.
Can Makivik give me some spending money with that .
Only if requested as a bonus.
Air Inuit should add Iqaluit flights. It wouldn’t be hard to compete with and beat Canadian North, given the insane prices they’re charging these days.
Air inuit is owned by makivvik Corp which owns 50% of Canadian north. Why would they compete against themselves?
To give the illusion of competition to the government and public.
Air Inuit and Canadian North are both subsidiaries of Makivvik Corp. There isn’t an incentive to compete and “beat” Canadian North in Iqaluit since they’re both owned by the same corporation.
To mark a no doubt banner year for profits and greed, Canadian North can afford to fly Makivik beneficiaries at 70% off. This is what happens with a weak Transport Minister lifting restrictions: regular passengers are now subsidizing Makivik Inuit.
And you’re familiar with the financials of Canadian North?
Yes
And why is Canadian north not doing the same?
Just thinking of Calm Air, makes me sick thinking of their total rip off ticket and freight prices, as if there’s obstacles in the air space.
Calm Air is 100% better than Canadian North!! You have unlimited beneficiary seat’s available to purchased and they are confirmed!! Illak fare are give 4 times a year and it’s based on if they have any illak fare available to sell you. Calm Air does not charge you a change fee incase you need to change the dates, its fully refundable as to Canadian North isn’t.
Canadian North isn’t doing this because this is a Quebec government program that everyone forgot about. It was announced in 2022.
“In recent years, ticket prices for regional air routes have been relatively high due to low demand and long distances. Governmental intervention is therefore necessary to reduce the cost of air travel and to make this mode of transportation more accessible for travel to certain regions of Québec.”
“Participating airlines will offer discounted tickets ($500 round trip or $250 one way) for routes between Montréal, Saint-Hubert, and Québec City to targeted remote or isolated areas.”
https://www.transports.gouv.qc.ca/en/transport-aerien/regional-air-access-program/Pages/regional-air-access-program.aspx
Good for them, Nunavut will never ever see any kind of discounts on Canadian North. LOL. CN main objective is to squeeze every single dollar from Nunavummiut.
Good old capitalism.
This isn’t a case of “capitalism bad”. This is a case of a government-supported monopoly.
Everything is a monopoly here. There are barely any businesses in nunavut and everyone just expects the gov will fix this and fix that. Socialism is alive and well.
For the cost of regular fare you could fly halfway around the world out of any major centre/city that is, Remote region air travel is costly.
This article was shared on the Facebook group “Your Voice on Nunavik Issues” in which the Administrator of the group, who is also an employee of Makivik, stated in a comment that EVERY resident of Nunavik is entitled to subsidized airfare in and out of Nunavik for $500.00
I hope this can be fact-checked and information shared to everyone in a future Nunatsiaq News article.
Sure would be nice if it wasn’t race-based discriminatory treatment, but don’t count on it. He probably just doesn’t consider the non-inuit to be “residents”.
Nunatsiaq trying so hard to be an ally it hallucinates its own reality.
“residents of Nunavik” will never include non-beneficiaries, no matter how long they live here. They give up their families, loved ones, and their entire lives to come up here but they’ll never get any form of acceptance.
This is very true, the policy is racist. It should be worded that this will greatly benefit the rich Inuit beneficiaries as the ones living in public housing maybe too broke to take advantage of this.