Flair Airlines launched an Edmonton-to-Quebec City flight Friday, heralding it as the first-ever direct flight between the two cities.
The direct flight will run twice weekly — on Mondays and Fridays — and the airline said one-way fares start at $59.
The low-cost airline offers cheaper flights at 35 cities across Canada, U.S. and Mexico with few to no frills.
“We look forward to offering Edmontonians more choice and affordable travel options as well as continuing our relationship with the Edmonton International Airport,” Flair spokesperson Garth Lund said.
Cargo travels inside passenger planes, so the benefits of the flight will be multi-facted, said Sarah Tiet, with Edmonton Global, an economic investment attraction organization representing 14 area communities.
“Bringing people here will bring businesses and investors here and then products can also travel around the world through our region. With our free-trade zone in our region, we really have everything it takes to be the gateway of Canada,” she said.
“Our municipalities put together a fund three years ago called the regional opportunity air services fund,” said . “That’s 14 municipalities pitching in … to help incentivize and bring these opportunities to the region. So, it’s proactively, our municipalities and business community, getting together to make things happen.”
Tiet said that when people think of Canada, they usually think of Vancouver and Toronto.
“Alberta has been known for the oil and gas industry and we’ve been overlooked for many other industries,” she said. “The majority of the work we do is just bringing awareness to the region. There’s always been a demand, we just have to build up the awareness of it.”
Edmonton International Airport CEO Myron Keehn said the new flight will boost tourism and businesses opportunities between Edmonton and Quebec City.
“Quebec City is a vibrant Canadian destination and we believe this new non-stop route from YEG (Edmonton airport’s station code) will open doors for increased tourism and business connections between the two regions,” he said.
“Flair serves 15 non-stop destinations from YEG, and we look forward to continuing to see this number grow and welcome more visitors, businesses and opportunities to the Edmonton Metro Region.”