First impressions matter. So there had to be a few butterflies in the stomachs of Canada Jetlines senior executives, as travel advisors and trade media gathered at the gate at YYZ for a familiarization test run to Calgary, a week before the nascent carrier's first revenue flight.
When you're a new airline, with a fresh-off-the-press air operator certificate, things can go wrong. When your fledgling fleet has just one plane, there's even more chance of things going awry.
But despite a last-minute regulatory hiccup, the show went on, and the freshly-renovated, 174-passenger Canada Jetlines A320 jetted west, with travel advisors comfortably ensconced in new slimline Recaro 3530 seats outfitted with power and personal electronics support.
"We're not a ULCC, we're not an LCC," Jetlines CEO Eddy Doyle told agents at an afternoon event held at the impressive Marriott In-Terminal Hotel Calgary Airport. "We will provide value at an attractive price. With an emphasis on sun in winter and Canada in summer, we're very aware we're not going to be doing 30-minute flights, so comfort and service are key."
Canada Jetlines is the first Canadian airline start-up in 15 years that didn't begin with an existing air operator certificate. Recent new entrants Flair and Lynx already had AOCs from previous incarnations. In a little more than a year, the leadership team at Canada Jetlines managed to navigate the regulatory regime and get off the ground.
A second A320 is scheduled to arrive at the end of November and begin service in December, followed by another in early 2023. Plans are to add four aircraft to the fleet per year, for a total of 15 by 2025.
Taking dozens of travel agents on a first flight illustrates where the travel trade fits into Jetlines plans.
"One of the first things we discussed was the importance of travel agents," Doyle told the group. That's been a focus from the beginning. We will always be travel agent-friendly."
That drew a warm response from trip participants, who also expressed pleasure with the comfort of the Jetlines A320 interior.
Another focus is on inflight service. Canada Jetlines wants to be known as "Canada's Friendliest Airline."
"We are in the service industry," Doyle said. "There's nobody more important than our operating crew and flight attendants. I think you've seen the results today."
Anup Anand, the airline's Director of Customer Experience and Inflight Services, reinforced the service mantra.
"Customer service is number one for us. Inflight service is key, but we're focused on the entire journey from start to end."
Chief Operating Officer Brad Warren said he had lots of questions from within the industry about the wisdom of launching a new airline in the midst of a global pandemic that hobbled aviation.
"I got a lot of 'Who does that?' questions," Warren said. "But we took our experience from other airlines to build the best airline we could. We started from the ground up, asking ourselves 'What does the customer actually want?'"
Well-known Canadian aviation executive Duncan Bureau is the Chief Commercial Officer for Canada Jetlines. Doyle said Bureau was the first person he called as he recruited for the airline's leadership. He added that Bureau was insistent on the importance of travel agents to future success.
One result of that is the Jet League specialist program, designed to reward agents for sales.
There were plenty of prizes on the Calgary fam trip, with draws made for 10 pairs of free tickets. The rest of the fam group can earn a free pair of tickets for selling just two seats by the end of October.
And 174 Canadian agents - the same number as there are seats on Canada Jetlines A320s -- will win "free flights for life," in a contest wrapping up December 22. To qualify for the draw, agents need to sell at least 10 tickets by that date.
Canada Jetlines is currently going through the FAA and DOT certification process in order to access the U.S. market. Executives expect approval sometime this fall.
September 22 will mark Jetlines' first revenue flight on the YYZ-YYC route. Introductory fares start at $99 one-way.
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