reprinted from the Toronto Star
WestJet's $3 flights top $80 after fees, taxes tacked on
Source: Canadian Press Flying from Hamilton to Ottawa or Calgary to Edmonton will cost you a measly $3 on June 30, but be careful to read the fine print. In WestJet's latest promotion entitled: Ridiculous fares, ridiculous fees, the no-frills airline is basically giving away flights for one day on the two heavy-traffic short-haul routes. But throw in the NavCanada fees, insurance, airport improvement charges, new air traveller security surtax and GST, and the return flight actually costs $83.92 for the Alberta route and $81.78 for the Ottawa jaunt. And that doesn't even include an extra fuel surtax. Competitor Air Canada charges customers $15 per flight to help pay for volatile jet fuel costs. "We continue to hear from our guests their frustration over the ridiculous rise in taxes and fees associated with air travel," said Bill Lamberton, WestJet's vice-president of marketing. "By offering this ridiculous $3 one-way fare, we want to clearly show the impact these extra charges have on the wallets of Canadians." Calgary-based WestJet is well known for its promotional larks, including Prime Ministers' Day, when people named John Turner and Mackenzie King could fly for free because they had the same names as past Canadian leaders. Or its Halloween special, when anyone with the last name Black, Jack or Orange got a free trip. But the airline says this one is more serious. Short-haul flights are disproportionately hurt by the various add-on fees and continue to suffer declining traffic. "It is a very serious issue," said spokesperson Siobhan Vinish. "And it's a growing concern to the travel industry as a whole and not just airlines," she said. The Calgary-Edmonton, Ottawa-Hamilton routes were chosen for the promotion because they have the lowest daily fares and are the most deeply affected by add-on fees, Vinish said. "People are making decisions not to travel due to higher taxes and fees, and it impacts car rentals and hotels and tourism in many areas and it is a serious issue that we feel is important to keep in front of Canadians." In April, WestJet blamed the new $12 airport security fee when it cut 13 flights per week between Calgary and Edmonton. WestJet shares rose 19 cents to $20.35
yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Calgary discount airline has a
stock market value of $1.4 billion - nearly three times the $540 million
market value of Air Canada's common shares. |