Another one of Canada's low-cost airlines is facing major changes and according to an expert, flight prices from Canadian airports could be about to get more expensive for passengers.
Less than a month after WestJet announced it would be integrating low-cost airline Swoop's airplanes and staff into its main operations by October 2023, the Calgary-based airline announced Sunwing would also be integrated, starting in 2024.
In a news release, WestJet's CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the move would help the airline offer "more affordable fares and vacation opportunities" for its customers.
Flying in Canada could end up being more pricey
However, John Gradek, faculty lecturer of aviation management at McGill University, told Narcity that he thinks the integration of the low-cost airlines will actually have the opposite effect.
"There's no doubt in my mind prices will go up. I think that whenever you take a competitor out, in this case, Swoop is being taken out as an ultra-low-cost carrier," he said. “There's less competition for Flair and Lynx by Swoop disappearing.”
Despite WestJet's promise of fares continuing to be affordable under the new structure, Gradek thinks that realistically it will be a "difficult product to manage."
"You cannot really compete in the ultra-low-cost market and offer the same type of product on an airplane with mixed configurations and mixed service levels. A Swoop passenger gets no meal, but a WestJet passenger gets a choice of meal.
"They're sitting on the same airplane. So how are you going to differentiate on the airplane who is a WestJet passenger that doesn't get a meal and who is a passenger that gets a meal? It's very confusing," he added.
As a result, Gradek said he believes either WestJet passengers could receive a lower level of service to maintain lower prices or prices will have to go up in order to keep service at the same level on WestJet flights.
"They're two different markets that you're trying to serve. The difference in price between a Swoop passenger and a WestJet passenger is significant. The Swoop passenger isn't expecting a lot of service, whereas the WestJet passenger is expecting a lot of service," he added.
The move could also mean fewer flight options
Under the new plan, WestJet also announced that tour operators Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations would continue to operate under their own independent brands, offering customers "affordable vacation packages from communities in Canada on a year-round basis."
However, Gradek thinks it is likely that there will be service reductions, especially on popular vacation routes from airports in Toronto to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, where previously there would be three separate WestJet, Swoop and Sunwing flights taking the same route.
"People will see less flights on the tour side of it for packages," he said. "Three airplanes going to Puerto Vallarta on Saturday morning out of Toronto — that's not going to happen. At least one of those airplanes, if not two, will get cancelled," he said.
More changes could also be on the horizon
Gradek doesn't think the end of Swoop and Sunwing flights is likely to be the end of big changes in Canada's airline industry either.
"We're not done yet," he asserted. "You've just seen the demise of an ultra-low-cost carrier in Swoop. There's probably going to be one more that's going to disappear, whether it's going to be Flair or Lynx. But there's no room for those two. There wasn't room for three, and there's not room for more than one."
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
