Lynx Airlines ready to fly Canadian skies

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/06/2022 (1234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With a growing number of low-cost airlines which have entered Canada’s airspace market over the past few years is there room for one more? Swoop, Flair, Canada Jetlines and Porter in eastern Canada, along with Sunwing and Air Canada Rouge have all carved out pieces of the market as they position themselves against our two largest carriers — Air Canada and Westjet.

Lynx Airlines enters the fray.

A few weeks ago, I attended the launch of the newest entrant offering air service out of Winnipeg to a number of destinations — Lynx Airlines. To keep down costs for the consumer, they have made the decision to remove most of the inflight services most of the others offer — such as coffee, peanuts, as well as the purchase of other food items inflight. They encourage clients to bring their own meals and beverages on board with them.

Since their launch, I have taken three flights with the airline — all of them between Winnipeg and Calgary. I was impressed with the newness of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft — and the fact that there were still four flight attendants and a flight director to take care of any passenger needs. They do serve water — the only beverage available inflight.

The flights were on time, and from beginning to end the staff were friendly and attentive. All three flights proved to have been positive experiences.

Flight frequency from Winnipeg at this time is limited to one to two options per week to most places. As a result, during the initial launch period, the main line airlines were matching their low prices on those flights closest to the departure times for Lynx. This has been common practise in the past by the existing airlines as well, to try and prevent new entrants from gaining a foothold.

At the present time, Lynx only flies non-stop to Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto from Winnipeg.

In the past many of the new low-cost airlines have used the Hamilton airport as the entry point for people who wanted to go to Toronto. Lynx will fly into Pearson Airport. Notwithstanding the current passenger processing challenges, this airport has been the preferred in and out option, ahead of the drive to Hamilton.

I wish them the best of luck in stepping over the past litter of failed start-up casualties, as well as the battle against current low-cost carriers who would stand in their way.

Hotel booking caution

On a separate note, many people think the best hotel deals may come from the large online travel agencies, which populate the internet in large numbers.

On one of my recent Calgary trips, as a Wyndham rewards member, I wanted to book directly with the hotel property. The top listed site showed the photos of the hotel an before I even checked closely I clicked onto it.

Without paying attention I went through the entire booking process thinking I was on the hotel website. I accepted all the numbers without questioning why their seemed to be a service fee bundled in with the taxes line. As the questioning in my mind turned into a realization I was not where I wanted to be, I decided to cancel and start all over again. Now, because I got a so-called deal, I could not cancel without losing the entire amount I put on my credit card.

I called the hotel property firstly, to find out how much it would cost me to book with them directly. For the nights I would be there, I could have booked for $50 less — including all taxes. Secondly, the hotel could not help me with the cancellation of the original booking as it was an operating division of one of the large online agencies.

My next goal was to reach the online agency by telephone, for which I was able to find a listing. That proved to be and exercise in frustration and futility, as the press one-press two process kept taking me everywhere except to a real person.

For my second trip I booked directly with the hotel. Then I went back to see if there would have still been a service fee if I had gone through the original agency. As expected, it would have been there again.

There may very well be some distressed product which is less expensive through the mega online agencies —but accommodation properties prefer to work directly with their best clients and keep their loyalty with reward points, which are frequently not available through online agency deals.

Forewarned is forearmed.

pradinukr@shaw.ca