Flying club in airline talks

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This article was published 20/04/2013 (4924 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While the city is unabashedly flirting with WestJet to come to the Wheat City, the Brandon Flying Club has quietly been in talks with Air Canada Jazz to bring a charter service to the city, the Sun has learned.

The club is looking west, with the potential for regularly scheduled flights to Edmonton, Calgary and maybe even Vancouver.

In the last two months, a representative from Jazz, Air Canada’s regional brand, approached the flying club with a unique proposal: the flying club would offer regular service through a bilateral leasing agreement, meaning the airline would provide the aircraft and the club would provide the maintenence service, manpower, booking, de-icing and concierge service.

Kevin Choy, the five-year president of the club told the Sun on Friday these early-stage talks have a good chance of becoming a reality — but the club has to act fast.

“What I can say is Air Canada Jazz approached us in our discussions to possibly build up a leasing program with them,” Choy said. “We are talking with Air Canada to do a possible leasing program … It’s early right now, it’s a proposal, but I think it’s quite viable.”

If the stars are aligned, Choy said it’s possible to see such a charter service out of Brandon in the next two to three years, with or without Air Canada.

Government approval and an economic assessment are the major hurdles which lie ahead of the club. While Brandon continues to swoon over the romantic idea of air service in Brandon, Choy seems to think there are clear economic benefits too good to pass up.

“It’s possible, I really think it is,” he said. “The whole idea is that this area is booming. If oil continues … it can really, really happen.”

Air Canada denied it was in talks with the flying club when contacted by the Sun.

Many Brandonites are happy with driving two hours and spending the day in Winnipeg before hopping on a plane, which is why this agreement is looking west, to cater to the oil increasing number of people of Alberta who do business near the Bakken oil formation in the southwest portion of the province.

“Retail and agriculture has also grown in the area, so it makes it quite viable to do this,” Choy added.

Included in the proposal are two Air Canada Jazz-branded planes, a turboprop 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900 and a Bombardier CRJ, which can have between 40 and 80 seats.

A charter program like this allows the country’s largest airline to test the market with fewer consequences, with a facility already in place for plane maintenance and pilots to fly the planes, Choy said.

“This is a good way for (Air Canada) to initiate their business, the airline business is one of the most tumultuous, dynamic businesses ever,” he said. “You really have to have a lot of guts.”

Choy said the club has been largely ignored in the city’s efforts to woo WestJet onto its landing strip, which he attributes to the popular notion that the flying club is simply a place for wealthy people to fly personal planes.

But Choy is taking the opportunity to show the club’s wingspan while it tries to make Brandon’s sky dreams come true.

“The club serves not only its own members, but it also serves the military, the carrier services, the agricultural spray plane operations, private aircraft owners, corporate and it also serves as a base for air search and rescue.

“What people have forgotten is that the club is so wide in scope, that we can cover just about all aspects of the show for a charter service,” he said. “We’re going to come up against the traditional proposals that the people in politics are talking about,” referring to efforts by Brandon Economic Development and city council.

These grand plans are a big piece in a renaissance for the club, which now has almost 200 flying members.

At their most recent general meeting, members voted unanimously to change the non-profit club’s governance, mission statement and added ethical guidelines, marking the first major overhaul in the way it does business since 1944.

“Times have changed since back then,” Choy said. “The club is moving towards more transparency and more accountability to the public.”

Meanwhile, Toronto-based Porter Airlines, Inc. recently announced a massive 30-plane purchase and plans to expand its service to a slew of new destinations, possibly including Winnipeg, in a bid to carve out its own share of the Canadian airline market.

And Brandon still holds its bated breath in hopes WestJet will include the Wheat City in its next destination expansion announcement for its new brand Encore.

WestJet spokesperson Brie Ogle said Air Canada’s plans have no bearing on those of WestJet.

“Though we welcome competition, the factors we use to determine the appropriate destinations for WestJet are more complex,” Ogle said via email. “Our focus remains on determining the best fit for our unique approach to the airline industry.”

» gbruce@brandonsun.com