No frills Airline NewLeaf Travel Co. announced that it will launch operations July 25 with flights between 12 Canadian airports, including five in B.C.
Originally, the discount carrier had planned to operate flights in only seven cities.
The B.C. cities where the airline plans to fly are Abbotsford, Kelowna, Kamloops, Fort St. John and Victoria.
Other Canadian cities that will have NewLeaf flights are:
•Halifax;
•Moncton;
•Hamilton;
•Winnipeg;
•Regina;
•Saskatoon; and
•Edmonton.
NewLeaf had originally planned to launch in February but was forced to stop selling tickets on January 18, when the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) said it would review NewLeaf’s licensing requirements.
NewLeaf then clarified that it is really merely a ticket reseller and that its flights will really be operated by the Kelowna-based charter service Flair Airlines.
The CTA then, on March 29, gave NewLeaf the official OK to launch.
NewLeaf is one of two discount air carriers that are readying to launch flights. The other is Vancouver-based Canada Jetlines, which is in the process of arranging financing.
Jetlines is seeking an exemption from federal rules that require foreign investors to have a maximum 25% voting interest in Canadian airlines. Jetlines has an investor in mind and it wants that foreign investor to be able to have up to a 49% stake in the airline.
Jetlines then intends to go public via a reverse takeover with former uranium miner and serendipitously named Jet Metal Corp. (TSX-V:JET). Jetlines has no plans to change that ticker symbol if that reverse takeover closes.
