Air Canada cuts flights to Calgary from Saskatchewan
Starting in mid-January Air Canada will no longer be offering direct flights to and from Calgary for the province's two biggest airports.
Travelers at the Saskatoon Airport were not happy with the announcement.
“I want them to continue. There are many people in Saskatoon that go to Calgary,” said Josephine Regan.
“Who wants to go to Vancouver and then fly back again,” said Anne McDonald.
Air Canada passengers will now have to catch a connecting flight through Vancouver, more than tripling the time it takes to reach Calgary with a direct flight.
“It was a surprise, we were not aware that this decision was going to be made,” said Vice-President of Business Development for Skyxe Airport CJ Dushinski.
“It's obviously disappointing anytime a carrier decides to cease service from a market, especially when we're talking about a market like Calgary which is one of our largest markets out of Saskatoon."
Saskatoon and Regina both see approximately two in-bound and out-bound flights to Calgary daily.
“We know loyal Air Canada customers will be disappointed. It provides a few less options for connections through a variety of places,” said Manager of Customer Experience for Regina Airport Authority Justin Reves.
In a statement to CTV News the airline provider said “Air Canada has made some changes to its flights to/from Calgary. We are continuing to rebuild our business in a prudent and disciplined way and that means looking at every aspect of our network and deploying our resources where they will be most productive. After careful review, we've decided that we must continue to strategically focus on rebuilding our main hubs of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to suspend a number of regional routes from Calgary effective Jan. 2023.”
Sandy Levinton who operates Marlin Travel Agency says the direct flight suspensions will force her company to switch up some flights for customers.
“We have to find alternate routes for them,” she said. “The airlines have to streamline their operations whenever they can. They're seeing that flights are not filling up and they're just going start pulling those or suspending them.”
In the wake of the suspension Levinton says WestJet Airlines has already added more direct flights to Calgary.
Air Canada says it does “review opportunities to add services,” which could have the company add the flights back to the province's two major airports, however it provided no timetable for when that could happen.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Canada Disability Benefit needs to be safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Testifying in hush money trial, adult film actor Stormy Daniels describes first meeting Trump
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential election 10 years later.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
Katy Perry's mom was fooled by AI images of the singer at the Met Gala
Katy Perry did not attend the Met Gala on Monday, but some of the singer’s fans – and even her mom – thought she did.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.