TORONTO — New alliances are taking shape in Canada’s increasingly competitive airline industry.
Air Transat and Porter Airlines have announced an expansion of their existing codesharing agreement, with the creation of a joint venture, “transforming the current Canadian aviation competitive landscape.”
The alliance expands services between North, Central and South America, Europe, North Africa, Mexico and the Caribbean, integrating what the carriers say are their highly complementary and non-overlapping networks at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Montreal Trudeau (YUL) airports.
The feeder network strategy is designed to facilitate the acceleration of both airlines’ expansion in their respective markets: domestic and transborder short- and medium-haul for Porter, and international medium- and long-haul for Air Transat.
It will also foster stronger network optimization through collaboration on scheduling and route planning.
The carriers say their alliance will be gradually implemented throughout 2024.
“This historic agreement constitutes a significant step forward in executing Transat’s strategic plan and an important milestone in developing a more sustainable competitive network,” said Annick Guérard, President and CEO of Transat. “We are delighted to further extend our collaboration with Porter, a partner that shares our customer-centric approach and values. Through this Alliance, we will accelerate the expansion of our transatlantic footprint by allowing us to leverage the domestic market served by Porter, while allowing for a more efficient use of our fleet.”
“Porter is in the midst of disrupting the North American market through a significant continental expansion that will only be amplified by this Alliance,” said Michael Deluce, President and CEO of Porter. “The flow of passengers on both carriers means that Porter will be able to develop a more robust network by increasing flight frequency on key domestic and transborder routes, and entering into new markets with less point-to-point traffic. As we continue receiving deliveries of up to 100 new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, our options for deploying this fleet are even greater based on this collaboration with Air Transat.”
Air Transat and Porter first announced their codeshare agreement in March 2022, with their first codeshare flights taking off in October 2022.
The off-the-charts demand for travel post-pandemic has benefitted new entrants into Canada’s airline industry, like Canada Jetlines and Lynx, as well as legacy players restoring (and then some) their pre-pandemic networks.
While industry watchers forecast strong demand continuing for winter 2023-24, bookings levels have started to normalize and airfares have dropped in recent months, putting pressure on airlines’ bottom line.
Porter is currently ramping up with its own massive expansion, first announced back in July 2021 with plans for up to 80 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft flying out of gateways like YYZ, into western Canada, more U.S. destinations and eventually Mexico and / or the Caribbean.
Meanwhile WestJet Group’s acquisition of Sunwing means, according to CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech, that this year “one out of every two trips from Canada to the Latin Caribbean market will be on a WestJet Group aircraft. And equally on the tour operator side, one in two vacation packages sold in Canada will be sold through the various brands that make up Sunwing Vacations Group.”
