Sask. Chamber CEO reacts to Air Canada’s removal of direct flights to Calgary

Concern continues over the recent decision by Air Canada to stop flying from Saskatchewan cities to Calgary.

As of Jan. 16, the airline will be eliminating service from Saskatoon and Regina to Calgary to focus on its larger hubs like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Prabha Ramaswamy said eliminating the flights will impact the province’s competitiveness.

“Calgary is such an important hub for our businesses,” she said.

Ramaswamy also said now, the focus has to be on coming up with solutions on how the province can get its competitive advantage back.

“That might mean working with existing carriers or having new carriers come in to provide the service,” she said.

Flair Airlines announced Thursday it will be providing a new daily service from Saskatoon to Calgary starting in May, with one-way fares including taxes and fees starting at $49. Flair doesn’t fly out of Regina.

Ramaswamy said she’s happy about the announcement about Flair’s Saskatoon-to-Calgary flight.

She also said this is one solution that happened fairly quickly.

“I think those are the kind of things that we need to see happen and the goal would be to restore services to the level it was at and even better,” Ramaswamy said.

“Calgary is an important place for us. It’s an important place for Saskatchewan folk to do business.”

Ramaswamy added the airline’s announcement about eliminating direct flights from Saskatchewan cities to Calgary came as a shock to her.

“I think it’s important that the key stakeholders in our province collaborate to find a co-ordinated solution to this challenge,” she said.

Ramaswamy added the change is not just affecting cities in Saskatchewan but some in the United States as well.

Passengers and organizations like Economic Development Regina and the Saskatchewan government also have raised their concerns about Air Canada’s decision.