Three new entrants see an opportunity in Air Canada's takeover of Canadian Airlines, adding to a rash of start-ups in Canada.
"We're going to be an Alberta alternative to Air Canada," claims Dave McPherson, president of Capital City Air. His Jetstream 31 fleet will be the first of the newcomers, with a launch planned on 1 July from its Edmonton base. Capital City will operate an Edmonton-Calgary shuttle, plus flights throughout booming Alberta and northwest Canada.
CanJet will be the first new jet operator. It aims to start in late summer with a route network focused on eastern Canada. Halifax-based, it planned an earlier launch from Hamilton, but retreated after Air Canada and WestJet both unveiled Hamilton plans. Now it hopes to use slots that Air Canada was required to relinquish at Toronto.
CanJet will start with six Boeing 737-200s, but plans to replace them with Boeing 717s. It will operate low-fare, short-haul, high frequency flights, with Halifax and Toronto as bases but with no real hubs. Flying no farther west than Winnipeg suggests that CanJet may find a similar eastern Canada niche as WestJet developed in western Canada.
The last of the three start-ups is also the one that plans to compete most directly with Air Canada. RootsAir, which aims to launch in November, plans a nationwide and trans-border, full-service network. It is linked to Skyservice, which operates charters.
Roots Canada, a popular Canadian retail chain, has bought 20% of RootsAir's C$50 million ($35 million) launch equity, and will help in marketing and sales. "People want a choice," insists Russell Payson, Skyservice chairman. He says RootsAir will interline with foreign carriers that do not want to rely on Air Canada.
WestJet, meanwhile, has launched its eastern Canada expansion. Canada 3000 plans an initial public offering of C$25 million in late June to help fund its growth. It expects to refill part of the estimated 11% fall in domestic capacity after the Air Canada-Canadian merger.
Source: Airline Business
