'Hell of a deal' in store for airline passengers on some fares as competition ramps up

financialpost.com:

MONTREAL — Passengers aren’t the only ones feeling cramped these days.

Though Canadian flights have long been dominated by Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd., the emergence of newer carriers including Flair Airlines and Lynx Air has shaken up the sector, injecting fresh competition to a once-complacent market.

Most airlines are setting plans in motion to ramp up growth over the next year, adding more planes to an already crowded field — and cheaper fares on the busiest routes.

“Whenever you’ve got players trying to establish themselves in these markets, it is a boon for consumers,” said former Air Canada chief operating officer Duncan Dee.

Key domestic arteries such as Toronto-Vancouver, Vancouver-Calgary and Montreal-Toronto host more airlines than ever — up to six now versus as few as two several years ago — with fares dragged down by a pair of budget carriers.

The cost of a domestic round-trip plane ticket fell to $289 on average this fall, a drop of 24 per cent from 2019 levels and 11 per cent from a year ago, according to travel booking app Hopper Inc.

The hub-to-hub rivalries within Canada come ahead of a battle over routes running from big cities to sun destinations this winter.

More than three-quarters of the trips by ultra-low-cost Flair this winter will be to the U.S. Sun Belt, Mexico and the Caribbean compared with 40 per cent last winter, chief executive Stephen Jones said last month. It plans to grow its fleet by nearly a quarter to 26 planes next year.

Lynx, a no-frills airline that launched its maiden voyage in April 2022, aims to expand to 17 aircraft from nine at the moment. Its newest route flies between Toronto and Los Angeles for as low as $129 one way, tax included. The cheapest Air Canada ticket