Canada Jetlines: New Low-Cost Airline Soon to Take Flight

Canadian aviation aficionados were struck with a bit of bad news this week, when it was revealed that the maiden voyage for Canada Jetlines, a new ultra low-cost carrier, is delayed from August 15 to August 29, 2022.

While this is disappointing, I’m not surprised. Canadian regulators have had their hands more than full this summer with delays and chaos at airports, including Canada Jetlines’s new home base of Toronto Pearson.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into this news, as well as the potential ambitions of another erstwhile disruptor in the Canadian airline landscape.

Maiden Flight of Canada Jetlines

The first flight of Canada Jetlines will now take place on August 29, 2022, pending the provision of their Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

While the airline’s promotional materials had previously stated an intended inaugural mid-August departure, this has been deemed to no longer be possible.

At present, the carrier only operates a single Airbus A320-200, which has previously been flown by Avianca and Pegasus Airlines. The lone aircraft was delivered in February of this year, following extensive refitting and refurbishment in the aviation hub of Shannon, Ireland.

While Jetlines had completed their necessary applications to the government to fly by July 8, the processing time has clearly taken longer than expected – which makes sense given the state of the airline industry at the moment.

As a customer, it’s important that any business responsible for taking me into the sky is properly vetted. Hopefully, all will go according to plan, and flights will actually be able to proceed as of August 29.

The initial routes will be launched from Jetlines’s home base of Toronto Pearson, servicing the mid-sized, but not always consistently-flown, Moncton and Winnipeg markets.

The carrier’s website also proposes a destination of Niagara Falls, which is exciting for would-be vacationers, but this is not yet a bookable location. As of now, there appears to be no set date for when Niagara Falls will be loaded into the schedule.

A Familiar Business Model

When it comes to operations, the structure of Jetlines’s business is one that many of us have become accustomed to in the wake of soaring fuel prices: an ultra low-cost carrier with no frills.

Onboard dining is sure to be from…