Canada’s skies are suddenly crowded with competing airlines

If you didn’t think that travel is back in Canada, then look no further than the recent flurry of activity from the country’s newest airlines.

First out of the gate is Lynx Air. Its inaugural flight took off from its home base of Calgary to Vancouver Thursday. Other cities across the country that it will serve with its fleet of three Boeing 737 jets include Toronto, Victoria, Halifax, St. John’s, Winnipeg and Edmonton.

According to a Postmedia report, Lynx CEO Merren McArthur said they will start with just one flight a day, but will add more throughout the summer until they have 148 flights a week.

“We’re done with planning to be an airline, we’re ready to be an airline,” McArthur told Postmedia.
Meanwhile, leisure-carrier Canada Jetlines has announced that it will begin operations out of Toronto Pearson International Airport this summer.

The airline will operate out of Pearson with a fleet of Airbus family aircraft, starting with the A320. Canada Jetlines will fly to international destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and domestic cities across Canada.

“This is an exciting day for Canada Jetlines as we name Toronto Pearson as our primary travel hub, in preparation for summer service,” stated Eddy Doyle, CEO of Canada Jetlines in a statement.

Things are a little less rosy for Flair Airlines, which bills itself as Canada’s only independently-owned ultra-low-cost carrier, as the Canadian Transport Agency has begun to investigate whether it has breached strict federal laws that limit foreign ownership of Canadian-domiciled carriers.

And don’t forget the Air Canada and WestJet subsidiaries, Rouge and Swoop, that were set up to fend off would-be competitors. Air Canada seems to be still trying to figure out what to do with Rouge while Swoop is pumping out seat sales with incredible prices.

Competition is good so let’s hope that none of these new entrants go the way of Jetsgo, or any of the multitude of other Canadian airline failures before them.

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