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TORONTO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- NewLeaf Travel, the Winnipeg-based discount travel company that launched in January and then abruptly put its operations on hold, said it will start flying on July 25.
NewLeaf President and CEO Jim Young said the company saw an opportunity to give service to those smaller Canadian destinations, especially for frequent business travellers.
The airline will offer rock-bottom tickets for as low as 79 Canadian dollars (61 U.S. dollars) one-way including all fees and taxes. There will be extra fees for things like checked bags and in-flight purchases of food and entertainment.
Young said it's like a build your own experience airline. "Kind of a seat and a seatbelt, and then you can enhance your product with bags or seat assignments, or additional on board amenities as you see fit. We use that very low fare to give customers the opportunity to fly at a lower price."
Shortly after its January launch, the company cancelled its scheduled flights and refunded tickets, amid a Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) review of the operating licences for indirect air service carriers such as NewLeaf.
NewLeaf's original business plan was to be a ticket reseller, offering seats on charter flights operated by Kelowna-based Flair Air and its subcontractor Enerjet, which owns the planes and operates the actual flights.
That got NewLeaf around CTA rules that would require the company to hold its own operating licence as an airline. The CTA signed off on NewLeaf's business model in March, and now the company said it is ready for takeoff.
NewLeaf is now selling tickets for flights starting July 25 between 12 Canadian cities: Halifax, Moncton, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kelowna, Kamloops, Fort St. John, Abbotsford, Victoria. Enditem
