Cdn. North ends flights to Hay River

[W5]

Crossposted with WestJet forum:

Northern airline ends flights to Hay River


By Bill Mah, edmontonjournal.comSeptember 24, 2009 12:02 PM



EDMONTON — Canadian North, an aboriginally owned airline with a mandate to serve the North, announced Thursday it is cutting all flights to Hay River, NWT.

Effective Oct. 25, all scheduled flights to Hay River are cancelled. All flights to Calgary will also be cut, while service between Edmonton and Yellowknife will be reduced.

The Yellowknife-based airline blamed a struggling economy, a glut of seats on routes served by competitors based in the south and underperforming routes.

“These are demanding times and we are taking the steps necessary to address these challenges in line with our mandate to provide essential air services to the people and communities of the North,” said Canadian North president Tracy Medve.

“Having said that, we can no longer justify competing at current levels on routes characterized by an oversupply of seats and a price structure that compromises our commitment in other areas.

“Neither can we continue to provide service to areas that have not met our market expectations.”

Five Canadian North employees based in Hay River will lose their jobs.

The company said customers who had booked now-cancelled flights will be accommodated or receive refunds by calling their travel agent or the airline call centre at 1-800-661-1505.