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
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.