WestJet removes its flights to Florida from Quebec

Photo courtesy

Pierre-Paul Biron

Friday, 4th August 2017 00:00

UPDATE
Friday, 4th August 2017 00:00

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After Delta Airlines, which has chosen to remove its direct flights from Quebec to New York city from the next fall, The Journal has learned that WestJet abandons its direct connection to Florida.

• ON THE SAME TOPIC: Delta Airlines will leave Quebec this fall

Popular with snowbirds from quebec, the link Quebec-Fort Lauderdale will no longer be part of the offer of the canadian company for the winter season 2017-2018. WestJet has explained its decision by ” insufficient demand “.

“We are revising our offering and our network on a regular basis to ensure we meet the requirements of our clients in addition to maintain a certain profitability. Unfortunately, we do not observe the demand necessary to maintain this link “, commented the spokesperson of the company, Lauren Stewart, in an email exchange.

Quebec travellers wishing to still join the Florida on WestJet so will have to do this by adding a stopover in Toronto on their itinerary. Air Transat and Sunwing will continue to offer a direct flight to Fort Lauderdale, which will be sufficient to maintain prices according to the direction of the airport.

“The prices are always more advantageous for the passengers when there are at least two carriers on the same route. As it is a destination on which the competition is strong, we believe that rates will remain also, ” said the spokesperson of the airport, Laurianne Lapierre.

The least effective in North America

In addition to the two companies to remove flights to the United States in less than a week, the Airport in Quebec, you must also manage a study that paints an unflattering picture of the situation to Jean-Lesage. According to a report comparing the annual performance of 82 north american airports, Quebec would have work to do in terms of efficiency.

“Quebec ranks at the last place of our list “, drops the responsible of the study for the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS), Chunyan Yu, stating that the Quebec Airport sticks in the shallows of the ranking the past four years.

According to the data of the study, the average costs per passenger and the cost of labor to be particularly high in Quebec city. “In addition, the airport seems inclined to want to perform more tasks by himself instead of delegating it to companies who would do it for less,” says Ms. Yu.

The direction of the airport refutes, however, the data contained in the analysis of the ATRS, calling them ” biased “.

“We have repeatedly asked what the Airport of Quebec is no longer part of this study. We have never been challenged by the researchers involved in the record and we never validated the figures found there, and which are of concern to us, ” says Laurianne Lapierre.

Quebec airport is the least effective in North America

• Ranked 82nd on the 82 airports included in the ATRS

Average costs per passenger (2015):

• Quebec : 13,13 US $
• Average north american : 8,11 US $

Cost of labour per passenger (2015):

• Quebec : 6.81 era US $
• Average north american : 3,38 US $

Number of passengers per employee (in 2015)

• Quebec : About 10 000
• Average north american : Approximately 39 000

Source : Chunyan Yu, 2017 ATRS Global Airport Performance Benchmarking