Photo: Quintin Soloviev CC
The aircraft operated by Pascan are smaller in size than those of Air Canada, said Mr. Gagnon.
Twenty-four hours after the official announcement of Air Canada with respect to the indefinite suspension of service on a number of routes in the province, actors in the regional transportation are working behind the scenes to catch a glimpse of the suite of things, one of the carriers saying they are already ready to meet the needs of ” off the cuff “.
“It’s been 20 years that we have done exactly that, flights in the region. It connects areas with major centres, and the areas between them “, said on Wednesday the co-owner of Pascan Aviation, Yani Gagnon. According to him, the face of the regional transportation was obviously to change, but the plan provided by Air Canada on Tuesday ” was really scared to the various stakeholders “.
“Tomorrow morning, if they ask me if it is able to fill the void of Air Canada, the answer is yes. First, it was already present in most of these places, and in places where it was not, as Gaspé, it is very easy for us to connect in our current network. […] It has the physical capacity, that is to say, aircraft, trained personnel, knowledge of the terrain, the operational expertise. […] If we are asked to come into an area because the needs are there, we can do it off the cuff, ” said Mr. Gagnon.
The aircraft operated by Pascan are smaller in size than those of Air Canada, said Mr. Gagnon. According to the website, the company has 28 aircraft, half of which are of the Jetstream 32 which can accommodate up to 18 passengers. However, in order to modernize its fleet, the company has acquired a first Saab 340, which can accommodate 33 passengers, but the weight is lower.
Time for reflection
Other regional carriers give themselves time to analyze the situation. The specialist charter flights Propair, for example, is expected to discuss Thursday morning with the airline Air Creebec, which owns 50 %. The two companies were open to interviews Thursday. The cooperative Air du Lac-Saint-Jean, a project that works the Corporation of innovation and development in Alma–Lac-Saint-Jean-est (CIDAL) to facilitate travel between the region and major centres, it was preferred also to wait for a few days due to emergency work undertaken by the Union of municipalities (UMQ) on the issue of regional transport.
After that, Air Canada has relied on financial reasons Tuesday to indefinitely suspend eight links in Quebec, plus the closures of the ports of call of Baie-Comeau, Mont-Joli, Gaspé and Val-d’or, the UMQ has referred to a “isolation part” of the regions. The mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté, chairman of the committee on air transport, has stated that, ” to reach Gaspé to Montreal or Quebec city, the only possibility is to take the road for over 10 hours. The withdrawal of Air Canada is an opportunity to review our ways of doing things in terms of regional air transport “.
“If there are opportunities to fly in regions with smaller carriers, it is certain that at the network level we are able to help it. Because at the present time, it does not respond to the request, ” said Marilyn Désy, general manager of the association of incoming Agencies and forfaitistes of Quebec. If it was possible to “extend” the tourist season, ” it would be ideal as it would allow you to limit some of the losses “, she said. In the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, according to her, the ferry is full until the end of August, and Pascan is complete up to that time also. However, according to Radio-Canada, Air Canada will send two flights per day to the Islands until September 7, at which time the service will be suspended indefinitely.
The withdrawal of Air Canada is an opportunity to review our ways of doing things in terms of regional air transport
— Daniel Côté
To see the video
