Varcoe: Aptitude Airways opens new Calgary base as 'ferocious' summer time journey season approaches

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Edmonton-based Aptitude Airways has opened a brand new entrance for the corporate in Calgary, marking the subsequent step within the battle for budget-conscious travellers as air journey bounces again strongly heading into the summer time.

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It got here a day after WestJet formally opened its personal base in Edmonton and accomplished the takeover of Sunwing Holidays and Sunwing Airways, Canada’s largest trip tour operator.

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It additionally arrives as demand for boarding a airplane continues to take off in Canada, with a powerful summer time anticipated for airways in 2023.

For Calgary, this all means extra jobs — and extra flights arriving and departing within the metropolis — in an increasing sector.

“The brand new base is a major funding in sources and personnel in Calgary,” Aptitude Airways CEO Stephen Jones informed reporters on Tuesday.

“Our plans in Calgary are huge.”

Aptitude presently flies to 11 cities out of Calgary and plans so as to add 4 extra within the coming months, together with London, Ont., in July, adopted by Phoenix, Las Vegas and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, later within the 12 months.

The corporate’s base on the Calgary Worldwide Airport, together with a upkeep facility and hangar, will see Aptitude function three planes out of town.

About 40 pilots and 60 flight attendants are actually working for Aptitude in Calgary, and it’ll add 40 upkeep staff. Throughout the nation, Aptitude has greater than 1,200 staff and is presently flying 19 planes.

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Aptitude made headlines in March when 4 leased Boeing 737 planes have been seized by the leasing firm, resulting from claims that it was in arrears; the airline, in flip, filed a lawsuit towards the agency over the dispute.

Jones mentioned its authorized motion continues and pressured Aptitude has backfilled the state of affairs with plane it had prepared for the summer time. In April, 90 per cent of its seats have been bought. He expects excessive load components to proceed all through the summer time.

That is the seventh base for the corporate in Canada.

“For customers, it should imply extra community choices, extra schedule choices, due to this fact, extra entry to decrease fares,” he mentioned.

The transfer provides to the extraordinary competitors now underway in Alberta — and throughout Canada — between ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs), together with WestJet’s Swoop and Calgary-based Lynx Air, which just lately marked its first 12 months of flying.

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Lynx Air anticipates rising its fleet measurement to 10 Boeing 737 plane this 12 months, and it’ll function greater than 250 flights per week this summer time in North America.

It welcomed a brand new airplane — the seventh out of Calgary — earlier this week.

“We predict a really robust summer time and it’s constructing properly proper now . . . I believe final 12 months was pent-up demand. I believe it’s now turning into rather more sustainable development,” mentioned Lynx CEO Merren McArthur.

“We’re right here to stimulate extra individuals to fly, which is rising the market, fairly than simply making an attempt to steal market share or doing battle with the opposite airways.”

Throughout the first three months of the 12 months, Calgary Worldwide Airport recorded 3.8 million passengers, up 65 per cent from the identical interval final 12 months.

The airport may break its pre-pandemic document of 18 million passengers going by way of the doorways this 12 months.

“Now we have by no means seen these sorts of load components, the proportion of seats bought . . . It’s service after service, whether or not they’re legacy carriers or low-cost carriers,” mentioned Calgary Airport Authority CEO Bob Sartor.

“These numbers are startling. So, within the close to future, I don’t see any main disruptions. Long run, all the pieces settles down. After which we are going to see who’re going to be the winners.”

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For WestJet, the completion of the Sunwing deal marks the primary main acquisition for the Calgary-based service because it was based in 1996.

Introduced in March 2022, the deal brings collectively the nation’s largest tour operator with Canada’s second-largest air service, and it required approval from the federal authorities.

It provides 18 Boeing 737 planes and about 2,000 staff to WestJet, which is privately owned by Onex Corp.

“We’re very excited that this lastly closed. It’s been 14 months of ready,” WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech mentioned in an interview.

“It creates a fair bigger and extra . . . various tour operator that covers extra segments, extra geography and might provide extra journey alternatives to Canadians.”

Sunwing CEO Stephen Hunter has turn out to be the chief government of WestJet Group’s trip enterprise.

WestJet has been rising its flights to leisure and solar locations, whereas its new company recreation plan has been centred on the West.

Heading right into a busy journey season, WestJet’s CEO sees rising demand from Canadians. Leisure journey is rebounding, however the business has additionally seen enterprise journey choose up — it’s now about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic ranges, mentioned von Hoensbroech.

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“In fact, the aggressive panorama has modified. So there are a few new entrants which might be all serving the identical market,” he added.

“We imagine that extra competitors is simply going to make us stronger and ship finally higher provides to customers.”

Airline analyst Rick Erickson mentioned it’s vital that Aptitude is including routes between Calgary and markets equivalent to Las Vegas and Phoenix which might be served by bigger gamers.

He additionally sees a sturdy journey season forward within the coming months as competitors between air carriers heats up throughout a number of fronts.

“It’s going to be a gangbuster summer time,” Erickson mentioned. “I believe it’s going to be ferocious.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

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