Summary
- Air Canada provided extra flights and bigger aircraft to help with the evacuation efforts in Yellowknife on account of raging wildfires.
- The airline addressed pricing concerns, stating that the high prices listed on third-party web sites didn’t align with their capped fares.
- Air Canada will proceed to observe the situation and make essential schedule adjustments while allowing passengers to alter or cancel their flights.
Following the declaration concerning a state of emergency on August fifteenth on account of uncontrollable raging wildfires, those residing within the capital city of Yellowknife were ordered to evacuate by noon on August 18th. In keeping with the Northwest Territories government, only residents who didn’t have the choice to go away the vicinity by road could register for evacuation flights.
The Royal Canadian Air Force and a number of other Canadian carriers, including Air Canada, would assist in providing these evacuation flights. Given the sudden changes to the airline’s flight schedule and the continued confusion, the flag carrier has provided an update on its Yellowknife evacuation efforts.
Regarding the evacuation flights, Air Canada added two extra flights on August seventeenth and doubled the regular frequencies to 4. The airline also substituted a bigger Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft for certainly one of the extra flights, versus the regular Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by its regional partner Jazz Air.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
Then on August 18th, Air Canada also added an additional Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight along with the same old two flight services. As as to whether or no more flight services can be added, the flag carrier notes that further adjustments can be based on evaluated opportunities – significantly since other Canadian carriers are also offering extra evacuation flights.
And as of present, the airline is not going to be providing any non-stop flights to or from Yellowknife on August nineteenth on account of the federal government’s evacuation order. But once the situation permits, Air Canada reaffirms it’s able to flexibly adjust and operate its schedules every time and wherever possible.
Capped airfares to proceed
The Star Alliance member also addressed the pricing issue – which was brought on by many social media users after they were disenchanted to seek out out that one-way flight services departing from Yellowknife on Thursday were listed for hundreds of dollars versus what the airline emphasized were capped prices that were proactively placed on the earliest possible time.
Some even shared that their flight itinerary was listed for over $4,660. And as more users began sharing similar experiences on their bookings for evacuation-related non-stop flights, accusations arose that Air Canada was purposefully and significantly jacking the airfare prices as a strategic advantage in comparison with the costs of the flight services offered by WestJet.
Although this was something many users were experiencing, Air Canada explained that these examples were aggregated airfare prices by third-party web sites that weren’t in step with what the airline was offering and that it was working concurrently on correcting the costs on these web sites.
Besides further re-emphasizing the capped airfare prices which are still in place, Air Canada also highlights that any purchase of non-stop flight services needs to be made directly from its website or from a travel agent to avoid the multi-leg routings and jacked-up prices.
Like many airlines, Air Canada has needed to depend on government loans and funding over the pandemic. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
Air Canada
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AC/ACA
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Calgary International Airport, Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport
- Yr Founded:
- 1967
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- CEO:
- Michael Rousseau
- Country:
- Canada