Airlines see busy summer ahead if airports can keep up

Canada’s airlines say they’ll be much better prepared for an expected travel surge this summer after enduring a summer of woe in 2022.

“I think airports and airlines will be better prepared,” said Flair Airlines President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Jones during a conference call with reporters to announce the airline’s summer plans.

“Summer’s always a test for the airline system. When you’ve got 95, 100 per cent full aircraft, everyone’s moving, it’s a really busy time and things can unfold.”

The summer of 2022 was marked by delays and cancellations, as Canada’s airline system struggled to keep up with a post-pandemic surge in demand.

“It was the most humiliating, degrading and nightmarish airport/airline treatment,” said Carla Leinweber after she was stranded for five days at Toronto’s Pearson airport while travelling in June from Kelowna to Newfoundland.

“I was basically in a lockdown/hostage position with Air Canada. You’re basically living at the airport.”

In response to the chaos, Pearson airport implemented limits on the number of flights during peak periods. Airlines have spent months recruiting and training new staff and pilots.

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“I think that we took a lot of learnings out of last summer,” Jones said.

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“I think that the level of experience that’s inherent in the workforce has increased. Because if you think about last summer being the first one out of COVID, there were still a lot of new people in the airline ecosystem who didn’t have that level of experience.”

Flair is an ultra low-cost carrier, meaning its business model is to charge a low fare, then charge passengers for each additional service, such as checked bags or even a printed boarding pass.

The airline plans to add new routes and frequencies, adding 58 per cent more capacity compared to 2022, including flights from Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford, Kelowna, and Kamloops to points across Canada.

That growth sets the stage for a pitched summer battle with WestJet, the country’s second-largest airline. The Calgary-based carrier announced summer plans aimed at “budget-conscious” travellers in western Canada.

“Providing our guests with even more opportunity to travel across our network this summer comes as a result of a thoughtfully designed schedule that balances the high demand for travel alongside a reliable and resilient operation,” said John Weatherill, WestJet group executive vice-president and chief commercial officer in a statement.

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WestJet plans to massively increase service in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, with smaller increases planned for Kelowna and Vancouver.

Air Canada announced in December that this summer, the airline will fly 90 per cent of the seat-miles it flew in 2019 before the pandemic decimated air travel.

That adds up to 600 daily flights around the world to 51 destinations, including increased frequencies to Asia from its Vancouver hub.

But the airline warned airport constraints could affect summer travel plans.

“We remain dependent on investments to airport infrastructure,” said Air Canada chief operations officer Craig Landry, during a Feb. 17 conference call with analysts. Air Canada adjusted its schedule into its main hub in Toronto in response to capacity limits imposed by the airport.