Air Canada Cancels N.B. Flights As Airports Try To Ride Out Reduced Traffic
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s airports are experiencing cutbacks as airlines face immense financial pressure from travel restrictions and cancellations during the coronavirus pandemic.
And there’s concern among industry leaders that the downfall in aviation business could lead to long term consequences for routes and flights.
At the Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport, CEO Bernard LeBlanc said passengers are returning home from destinations but outbound travel is declining. WestJet stopped operating one of three daily flights to Toronto this week.
Air Canada announced Thursday it’s suspending flights from Moncton to Ottawa, from March 23 until April 30. It has also suspended flights to and from Saint John and Toronto, Montreal and Bathurst, and Fredericton and Toronto for the same period.
The airline said, “it intends to continue serving all provinces and territories of Canada after that date, albeit with a significantly reduced network.”
LeBlanc said the financial hardship will increase as time goes on.
“I think the biggest risk to the aviation and airline sector is really how long this lasts and if the airlines and airports will be able to support it financially,” said LeBlanc.
Increased cutbacks to service are expected across the country over the coming days as airlines suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Porter announced plans on Wednesday to temporarily suspend all flights until June 1, beginning on Friday. The airline offers daily service to Ottawa from Fredericton and Moncton.
WestJet, which offers flights into Moncton and Fredericton, is suspending international ticket sales on Wednesday and plans to reduce its domestic schedule by 50 per cent.
A spokesperson said in a statement provided to Huddle that the situation is “extremely fluid,” and passengers should check the status of their flights before leaving for the airport.
Sunwing has cancelled all operations, including routes south from New Brunswick’s three major airports, until April 9.
‘A situation that nobody has seen before’
Jacques Fournier, the commercial director at the Saint John Airport, said Tuesday that Air Canada has reduced service to the city through cancellations.
“We have been informed by Air Canada that there would be cancellations and their schedule would be revised based on demand, and we are currently seeing less capacity into Montreal and Toronto,” he said.
Saint John has seen about one to two flights cancelled per day but that number is expected to climb as travel restrictions increase and the airline rolls out cost-cutting measures.
Fournier said he expects regular flights to the airport will continue after the outbreak.
“A lot of our travel, I would say between 65 and 70 per cent of our travel is business-related and it gets a good yield out of every seat that they sell,” he said. “So I do not foresee any loss of capacity that we had prior to the coronavirus.”
Fredericton International Airport has seen some cancellations over the past few days, but would not provide specific numbers.
Communications Officer Kate O’Rourke said airlines have not communicated any service cuts to the city, other than Sunwing.
“I wouldn’t necessarily be able to say cancellations are related to the reduced loads,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that but I don’t have that information.”
The terminal is seeing a decrease in passengers, but all services are continuing to operate. The airport has added cleaning staff to increase sanitization, additional hand sanitizer stations and signage throughout the building to share government prevention measures for COVID-19.
O’Rourke said the airport appreciates staff members coming to work and keeping operations going during the pandemic.
“We’re in a situation that nobody has seen before, so it’s really difficult to see how this is going to roll out,” she said. “We’re staying in contact with all of our airlines and providing them with as much support as we are able to.”
LeBlanc, the CEO of Moncton’s airport, told Huddle Wednesday that Porter has yet to communicate any service changes. He expects some cancellations based on empty seats.
“What we’re seeing is more and more people coming back but less going so there’s definitely a slowdown,” he said.
The terminal’s Tim Hortons only offers to-go orders now, and Bistro Altitude has removed tables to allow for social distancing. Airlines are asking passengers additional questions and checking for symptoms before boarding.
The major dip in passenger traffic follows two record-setting months at the Moncton Airport.
LeBlanc said he expects the situation to keep changing daily and the long-term impact on aviation will be dependent on how long the coronavirus pandemic lasts.
“If we can buffer that curve it should become business as usual, he said.
Airline call centres could face layoffs
Air Canada and WestJet both have New Brunswick-based call centres, which could experience layoffs as the airlines cut costs in response to the financial pressure of the outbreak.
WestJet would not say if it plans to let employees go at its Moncton operation, which employs around 400 people. Air Canada did not respond to questions from Huddle.
Mark Porter, WestJet’s Executive Vice-President of People and Culture, said in a statement that the airline has “no alternative” but to reduce its number of employees.
“Our first and most preferred option is to ask WestJetters to consider voluntary leaves, unpaid vacation, reduced work time among other voluntary measures,” Porter said.
“We continue to communicate openly and frequently with WestJetters, our labour groups, federal and provincial governments around the severity of the situation and appreciate the seriousness with which it is being taken.”
Air Canada announced Monday it will have to save more than $500 million in response to a severe revenue drop. The company expects layoffs but has not elaborated on how many employees might be affected.
The airline has more than 200 employees based out of Saint John.