Swoop says it can't offer flights from Region of Waterloo airport due to deal with Flair
Two low-cost airlines are butting heads over an agreement at the Region of Waterloo International Airport (YFK).
Swoop, which is owned by WestJet, wanted to set up shop at the airport and offer flights to Halifax and Edmonton.
They were turned down due to the airport's exclusivity deal with rival Flair Airlines.
"We’re disappointed that we’re not able to offer service to people in the region," said Swoop President Bob Cummings.
Flair Airlines began operating in the region in early 2021 after agreeing to an exclusivity deal.
The airport’s director, Chris Wood, said he offered the same deal to all Canadian carriers and Swoop did not respond.
"I know Swoop has said that they didn’t bid because they didn’t believe in exclusivity but they could’ve asked us to run the routes non-exclusively and we would have been thrilled with that," he said.
Swoop claims that deals preventing competition is hurting local customers.
"What competition does is it creates the optimal service for a region," said Cummings. "It gives people a choice, and the market ends up deciding who the operator is and what the appropriate level of service is."
Flair said it was willing take the risk in partnering with YFK and said it has paid off.
In an e-mailed statement Flair said, in part: "This is exactly the kind of behaviour that YKF wanted to prevent by providing a time-limited exclusivity on specific markets. It allows an entrepreneurial carrier time to establish a market without WestJet or its puppet, Swoop, dumping capacity and copying the innovator, and then disappearing again when their dirty work is done."
Wood said he's happy with the partnership they have with Flair and admits that the airport's growth and expansion is all thanks to Flair.
"We wanted to give them the opportunity, for a time limited period, in order to really test the market and make sure that it’s viable for them."
MORE: Waterloo Region says arrival of Flair Airlines has boosted local air traffic
An air passenger rights advocate said while exclusivity deals aren't necessarily common, they are allowed.
"I do see this as an attempt to perhaps bully Flair, and more importantly, those decision makers from the airport authorities," said Gábor Lukács.
"This is a big market, so to come in and say that they were bullying people out, I don’t think that’s a fair statement," Cummings said.
Next week, Flair Airlines will find out if its licences will be suspended following a review by the Canadian Transportation Agency due to questions about Flair being Canadian-controlled.
MORE: Federal review threatans Flair Airlines licence
Swoop said they've asked the federal government to void the exclusivity arrangement with the region's airport.
The Region of Waterloo International Airport said they've had several different exclusivity deals with other carriers for the last five years.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.