Citing Alberta’s business-friendly environment and huge corporate support, a new airline formed by a trio of former Canada 3000 pilots has chosen Edmonton as a base to launch flights to Europe and sun destinations starting late this fall.
Canada West Airlines will offer full service on two Boeing 757 aircraft from Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, marketing through its subsidiary, Canada West Holidays.
Former Canada 3000 Holidays vice-president Richard Carlin, will manage the distribution and marketing side, while ex-Canada 3000 staff and pilots will also be on board.
“We’re very confident this is going to come together,” said Canada West Airlines CEO Gordon Andrews, a former Canada 3000 pilot, in an interview from Vancouver.
Along with partners and former pilots Leagh Farrell and John Scott, the team has retained Octagon Capital Corporation to raise $22 million through private placement for the start-up.
Farrell was a former certification test pilot with Transport Canada before joining Canada 3000 and Scott was an accident investigator with the Transportation Safety Board in Ottawa and national flight safety committee chairman of the Airline Pilots Association of Canada.
“Being based in the West in an important component of this – this market has continued to be underserved since the demise of Canada 3000,” Andrews said.
“The lack of competition in the industry has been a bone of contention among consumers for quite some time, and we believe there will be solid support for this. We have a solid business plan and believe that this will be a success.”
The airline’s operation, maintenance and head office will be based in Edmonton, with a call centre and support facility in Vancouver. A total of 185 jobs will be created, including 125 flight crew and 60 in support and management positions. Crew bases will be in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, and Canada West Holidays will employ up to 25 staff in Vancouver.
The airline will offer charter service featuring premium leg room to niche-market sun destinations in winter, and to Europe primarily in the summer months.
Andrews says the farthest east the carrier intends to operate domestically is Winnipeg.
The company is currently negotiating a lease arrangement for two 757 narrow-bodied aircraft stored in the U.S. In its first year of operation, the carrier estimates it will bring more than 166,000 seats into the Western market, and says additional aircraft will be added to meet market opportunities.
While Andrews says specific destinations and flight schedules aren’t being revealed at this time for competitive purposes, “anybody can open up an old Canada 3000 brochure and those are the destinations we’ll be serving, bringing back that service to the West.” These are expected to include Mexico, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany and Hawaii.
Community support from the Edmonton area “has been phenomenal”, Andrews added, including support from Edmonton Airports, and the City of Edmonton’s Economic Development Edmonton team.
Andrews noted that Edmonton’s forecasted GDP growth of 3.5% in 2002, plus its catchment area of 1.8 million people and the fact it was the only major airport in Canada to enjoy positive passenger growth (2.5%) in 2001, were all powerful incentives to base the business in Edmonton.
“Canada West will enjoy a receptive home base here in Edmonton and strong support from our community for Canada West services,” said Edmonton Airports president and CEO Scott Clements.
