Low-cost airline «Canada Jetlines»

Canada Jetlines, Ltd. or simply Jetlines, is a Canadian ultra low cost airline based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Jetlines aims to meet market demand in Canada for low cost air travel.

Jetlines seeks to navigate routes unserved or underserved by other airlines, such as Vancouver to Prince Rupert. Jetlines plans to partially follow the model of European low-cost carriers Ryanair and EasyJet by operating at smaller airports, such as Abbotsford International Airport, where possible.

At the end of 2014, Jetlines is preparing to go public by launching a public offering to raise $50 million in start-up capital.

The airline expects to receive its Air Operator’s Certificate around May 2015, five months after being fully funded. It plans to operate Boeing 737 aircraft. It plans to buy or lease up to sixteen Boeing 737s, in addition to the five Boeing 737 MAX 7s (plus 16 options) ordered in December 2014.

The company plans to establish its base in Vancouver, then establish a base in southern Ontario and a secondary base in Winnipeg.

In June 2016, the airline announced that it had asked the Canadian government for an exemption from the legal obligation for Canadian airlines to limit foreign investment voting rights to 25%. Canada Jetlines wants to be able to receive foreign investment up to 49%. On November 3, 2016, Transport Minister Marc Garneau approved Jetlines’ request for exemption from foreign ownership rules, making the company more attractive to foreign investors and facilitating access to the capital needed to start operations. Canada Jetlines announces that it plans to launch operations on strong primary and secondary routes by operating point-to-point scheduled air service. Jetlines plans to operate flights across Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, starting with six Boeing 737 aircraft in the first year of operation and expanding to 40 aircraft over the next few years. first eight years of operation.

On November 8, 2018, Jetlines announced that it wanted to establish air transport activities at Saint-Hubert airport in Longueuil, with commissioning from 2020, benefiting from the expansion of this platform.

On February 7, 2019, the «future» ultra low-cost airline Canada Jetlines announced that it had finally decided to base itself at Vancouver airport rather than Abbotsford. The choice of this major airport is motivated by its advantageous rates, its ease of access, and the tourist potential of the city. According to Anne Murray of the Vancouver Airport Authority, «It’s great to hear that this Canadian airline is making positive progress towards launching flight operations.». By this change of strategy, the company takes an advantage on these two local competitors of the very low cost transport Flair Airlines and Swoop of WestJet.

In June 2019, Jetlines announced that it had been granted slots at Vancouver International Airport, for its first scheduled flights from December 2019.