IQALUIT
What was originally intended to create convenience for travellers flying between Iqaluit and Ottawa may now be causing headaches. Two airlines have temporarily suspended their north-south agreement to sell and market seats and cargo space on the same flight after one month in operation.

First Air's new codeshare agreement with Canadian North on flights between Ottawa and Iqaluit was suspended by Canadian North until further notice due to a subcontracting deal between First Air and another Canadian charter company. - photo courtesy of First Air

First Air and Canadian North had entered into a codeshare agreement on flights between Ottawa and Iqaluit that came into effect on Aug. 1, with the airlines adjusting their schedules to eliminate simultaneous flights between the two cities.

Under the arrangement, First Air had flights departing Ottawa at 9:15 a.m. and Iqaluit at 1:45 p.m. while Canadian North had flights departing Ottawa at 12:45 p.m. and Iqaluit at 5 p.m. Effectively, under the codeshare both companies could offer two different Northbound and southbound options instead of just one.

However, that changed when First Air sub-contracted another airline to take over its Ottawa-Iqaluit route.

"As of Sept. 1, Flair Air has been contracted by First Air to run the Ottawa to Iqaluit route on behalf of First Air," First Air spokesperson Anubha Momin told News/North in an e-mail.

Flair Air is a charter airline based in Kelowna, B.C.

The decision to subcontract the services of another airline was made so that First Air could convert its Boeing 737-400 from an all-passenger aircraft to a combi, which has the capability to carry both passengers and cargo.

"This will bring the aircraft in line with the two other Boeing 737-400 combi planes that First Air operates," said Momin.

This change prompted Canadian North to suspend its codeshare flights on the Ottawa-Iqaluit route, and return to its original daily schedule, departing Ottawa at 9:05 a.m. and departing Iqaluit at 12:15 p.m.

According to a Canadian North news release, the decision was made "in an effort to offer (customers) the best possible schedule," noting that the morning schedule is a busier traveling period than the afternoon.

"This particular subcontract arrangement between First Air and Flair has added additional seats onto that route, and since one of the purposes of the codeshare agreement was to remove excess capacity from our network ... we chose to cease the codeshare flights on that particular route," said Canadian North spokesperson Kelly Lewis.

"While this schedule change affects this particular codeshare route, our overall codeshare agreement with First Air has enabled us to operate more efficiently and to better serve our customers, so it will continue in the rest of our flight network as previously announced," he also said in an e-mail.

Lewis was referring to additional flights between such Northern destination as Iqaluit and Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq, among others.

Neither company stated how long the codeshare would remain suspended on the Iqaluit-Ottawa route or if there would be a new schedule drawn up after First Air's aircraft conversion is complete.

Lewis confirmed that when First Air's aircraft returns from maintenance, the codeshare agreement will be restored.

The agreement was first announced in May among First Air, Canadian North and a third airline, Calm Air, with company executives anticipating "increased flexibility" for customers.

During the codeshare's initial announcement, Peter McCart, Canadian North's senior vice-president of scheduled flights, praised the impact more options would have for people travelling the Nunavut and Canadian capitals.

"You can have a same-day business trip," he said at the time.

Canadian North has indicated that it will not be making changes to the Pivut fare product, which offers a substantial discount on certain seats to beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.

- with files from Karen K. Ho

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.