Canada’s two major airlines continue to cut schedules and demand Ottawa roll back COVID-19 travel restrictions to stem their financial woes — as experts see glimmers of hope on the horizon.
WestJet Airlines said on Monday it had canceled 20% of its scheduled March flights, extending the February cuts amid uncertainty continuing to drain demand.
The airline’s acting chief executive, Harry Taylor, stressed that travel advisories and drug testing requirements were meant to be temporary, but after two years the industry crisis had reached a fever pitch. “It is disappointing that Canada is treading water in its approach and continuing to make travel inaccessible and punitive for Canadians and incoming tourists,” he said in a statement Monday.
Echoing demands from Air Canada and Toronto Pearson last month, WestJet would like random testing to be imposed on arrival only, replacing mandatory molecular testing before takeoff and after landing for fully vaccinated international passengers. The Calgary company is also calling for an end to quarantines for travelers awaiting results when they return from overseas.
Canada remains the only G7 country to require molecular testing before departure and upon arrival, Taylor noted, asking the federal government to set a timetable for the resumption of travel and tourism.
Since the beginning of November, WestJet and its low-cost subsidiary Swoop have canceled 11,285 flights that were due to take place in the month of March, or 48% of their planned trips. Air Canada has canceled 16,617, or 41%, since mid-October, according to flight data company Cirium.
Further reductions could be announced by airlines, in the context of travelers waiting longer before buying their tickets, as close as possible to their departure date, to ensure that the pandemic measures do not spoil their plans. . If bookings eventually materialize, the flight schedule could remain stable, but if not, even fewer planes will leave the tarmac than currently expected.
Changing habits
“A lot more people these days are even making their leisure travel decisions at the last minute, because the world is a very fluid place right now and people are having a hard time planning months in advance with restrictions and changing rules,” said David Huttner, an aviation expert based in London. “Maybe I would prefer to drive alone in my own car — travel habits have also changed, especially for shorter flights.”
Richard Vanderlubbe, president of Hamilton-based Tripcentral.ca, has had to lay off nearly 60% of its 160 employees and closed all 26 offices in Ontario and Atlantic Canada since the start of 2020. But the agency’s founder Voyages, which offers bookings primarily to Caribbean destinations, remains optimistic.
“I see a lot of hope,” he said. “Consumer confidence is climbing, even though the travel advisory is still in place (…). Things are coming back. We’ve seen a big uptick.”
Winter and early spring bookings are on the rise as Family Day – a statutory holiday in six provinces including Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia – and Spring Break approaching, underlined Mr. Vanderlubbe.
“For the summer, we will have to wait a little longer before seeing.”
Even with a return to holiday bookings, business remains at 40% of its 2019 level, Vanderlubbe pointed out.
Travel agencies have also had to adapt their approach to marketing and promotions. “We used to sell resorts and everything related to them,” he noted. “Now people are just sorting through all the restrictions and the rules have become kind of new marketing for travel, which is very strange.”