Tausi Insider

Canada imposes user fees on passengers and airlines that are higher than anywhere else, according to WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech. Photo illustration by the Globe and Mail /iStockPhoto / Getty Images Alexis von Hoensbroech’s airline career has spanned the globe and beyond. The new WestJet Airlines Ltd. chief executive has worked in the business in Asia and Europe, moving people and cargo in the world’s most dense and competitive markets. Before that, he obtained a doctorate at a German school that focuses on astrophysics, the galaxy and the skies above. But it was in Canada, where Mr. Hoensbroech, 52, took the helm at Calgary-based WestJet in February, that he made a surprising discovery: A vast country highly dependent on air travel imposes user fees on passengers and airlines that are out of this world. “I don’t know a single country in the world that’s as expensive as Canada. Landing fees, gate fees – this is far, far, far more expensive than any other country,” he said. Ale...

A Flair Airlines plane takes off from Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Oct. 28, 2022. Bayne Stanley/The Canadian Press With their promise of cheaper fares and no unnecessary frills, a flurry of so-called discount airlines has burst onto the Canadian scene in the last few years. But experts say the low-cost airline model is exacerbating an already existing pilot shortage that could become an even bigger problem for this country’s aviation industry in the years to come. Start-up discount airlines – such as Edmonton-based Flair Airlines, Calgary-based Lynx, and WestJet subsidiary Swoop – have been rapidly expanding across Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic, gambling that there’s enough pent-up demand from budget-conscious travellers to support additional capacity. While each operates slightly differently, the basic premise of a low-cost airline is that travellers receive stripped-down service in exchange for low basic fares. Things like carry-on and checked bags, s...