A Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) review has forced upstart discount airline NewLeaf Travel Co. to postpone what was a planned February 12 launch.
The airline announced January 18 that it will refund tickets that were purchased after the airline announced January 6 that it would launch operations.
It will also stop selling tickets for the foreseeable future.
NewLeaf, which had planned to operate flights between Abbotsford International Airport and Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon, now finds the CTA reviewing whether it should directly hold an operating licence that the CTA has issued.
The Winnipeg-based no-frills carrier had previously understood that it did not need a license because it had a charter agreement with Kelowna-based Flair Airlines Ltd., which already has an operating licence from the CTA.
NewLeaf executives had thought that a licence would not be necessary because all the airline was doing was marketing and selling seats to the public.
“During this uncertain time, we didn’t want to put anyone with existing bookings at risk, and we wanted to give customers time to make other travel arrangements,” explained NewLeaf CEO Jim Young in a release.
The business plan for the airline remains to charge for all bags as well as for services such as priority boarding. It will also avoid travel to Canada’s major centres and instead focus on smaller, underserved airports.
Its flights were scheduled to operate between:
•Abbotsford;
•Halifax;
•Hamilton;
•Kelowna;
•Regina;
•Saskatoon; and
•Winnipeg.
The CTA’s review applies to all ventures that market flights but do not directly fly them, not just NewLeaf’s arrangement.
As part of its review, the CTA is consulting with, and seeking comments from, stakeholders before making any final decision.
Consultations end Jan. 22.
