There is no guarantee that all Quebecers will be able to get their hands on plane tickets to the regions at a maximum price of $500, admitted yesterday the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel.
• Read also: Regional air transport: $500 return flights
“It’s first come, first served,” he said on 98.5 FM, while mentioning the possibility that each Quebecer is entitled to at least “three tickets per year”.
Mr. Bonnardel explained that he wanted to prevent mining companies and travel agencies from monopolizing the subsidized tickets, which would run the risk of exhausting the sums that the Ministry of Transport has allocated for this purpose.
The minister also suggested that foreign students living in Quebec could get tickets for $500 or less, but not Canadians from outside Quebec.
How many $500 or less tickets will there be? The government does not know yet, since it has not yet concluded negotiations with the airlines on the compensation to be paid to them. These payments will be based on the “annual average price” of a ticket for a given route.
Northern regions excluded
However, Nunavik and a large part of Eeyou Istchee Baie-James were excluded from the measure. These northern regions already qualify for airline subsidy programs, but these are not open to non-residents.
Joined by The newspaper, Pascan Aviation flight attendant union president Jesse Vigneault lamented that the $500 or less ticket program has a five-year limited lifespan.
Paid about $36,000 a year, or about $16 an hour, Pascan’s flight attendants had high hopes for government assistance to improve their working conditions.