Regina airport working hard to bring U.S. flights to Queen City

Anyone looking to fly to La Belle Province or to the Okanagan Valley from the Land of Living Skies will soon be able to do so.

Direct flights from Regina to Montreal will be coming back in June and people will also be able to fly directly to Kelowna starting May 21.

Even though WestJet announced new flights from Saskatoon to Minneapolis starting on June 19, there are still no flights from Regina to the U.S.

The Regina Airport Authority’s Justin Reves told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday the authority’s main goal is to offers daily non-stop service to the U.S.

“All airports in the world are talking lots with airlines and we’re no exception, so we spend a lot of time talking with WestJet, Air Canada, Delta, United and American, just to name a few,” Reves said. “We saw with the Saskatoon announcement the provincial government was kicking in some big dollars to help make that route a go … We’re working really hard too.”

Reves says airport traffic was really strong until the Sunwing fiasco over the holidays, adding there aren’t quite as many people travelling as before.

“As we look to the future and even this week, it feels nice and busy around the airport … It hit a bit of a lull in January, but we’ve got so many flights … Just the amount of flights we’re going to have to places like Toronto and Vancouver and Calgary, they’re all cranking up,” Reves said. “The more flights we have, the better the prices.”

Reves says Sunwing has gone to more destinations than other airlines, adding it’s still flying once a week to Puerto Vallarta.

“There are people still flying on those flights … (Sunwing has) done themselves a bit of a disservice when it comes to their brand and their reputation,” he added. “We want to have Sunwing here. All of Saskatchewan wants a healthy, operating Sunwing.”

Reves noted that prior to the pandemic, the airline flew to at least 13 destinations. Many people took those flights, adding the Sunwing situation put a damper on the holidays.

“All those people (who) would’ve been on those flights were all scrambling to get on some of the other hot-destination flights and that can drive prices up when there’s not the same availability, he added. “People (may also be) forced to go through (Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary) depending (on where they’re heading).”

Reves says prices are usually higher during holidays in general due to the law of supply and demand.

“We’re getting a lot more supply heading into the summer with so many more flights from Air Canada and WestJet,” said Reves, who noted that should lower prices.