Plan for regional air transport: the PQ and QS criticize, the UMQ applauds


As of Wednesday, it will be possible to obtain plane tickets at a maximum cost of $250 for a one-way trip, with a limit of six one-way trips per person per year.

For Daniel Côté, president of theUMQ and mayor of Gaspé, the clarifications provided Tuesday by the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, on the Program of air access to the regions (PAAR) are positive.

It will give a great chance to revive regional air transport, to stimulate traffic. And the more traffic there is on board regional air transport planes, the more it will stimulate supply and improve service, and ultimately, it will allow us to have even more affordable fares, we hopehe says.

We’ll see where it takes us, but we’re leaving with confidence. »

A quote from Daniel Côté, President of the UMQ

The mayor of Gaspé is also delighted with the abandonment of the annual cap of $3,000 to which residents of remote and isolated regions were subject to obtain a reimbursement of between 30% and 60% of the cost of their plane ticket.

François Bonnardel looks at Sylvain Dicaire, on his left

The Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, presented Tuesday the terms of the Air Access Program to the regions.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Sylvain Roy Roussel

For his part, the mayor of Baie-Comeau, Yves Montigny, and member of the working committee on the regional airports ofUMQsays he is very satisfied with the details of the plan unveiled by the Quebec government.

He believes that this program will make it possible to make the cost of the ticket more reasonable on the existing routes.

This allows all Quebecers from all regions of Quebec to benefit from it. It’s very positive, it makes it possible to bring competition, to fill more of the planes that travelhe believes.

Fill the planes

The co-owner of Pascan Aviation, Yani Gagnon, is also satisfied. However, he hopes that these discounts on the price of the ticket will lead to an increase in volume throughout the year, and not just during the summer period.

Passenger volume needs to be boosted, but it needs to be boosted 12 months a yearhe says.

A man in a suit stands in front of planes in a hangar.

The vice-president of Pascan Aviation, Yani Gagnon. The company carries about 3,000 passengers per month.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Francois Gagnon

The businessman, however, would have liked to see in the program compensation for air carriers to help them cope with an explosion in the cost of fuel, which would have tripled in one year.

Will the increase in volume improve the fill rate so much that it will compensate for the cost increases? We’ll seelaunches Yani Gagnon.

A program for city dwellers?

For his part, the spokesman for the third opposition group on transport, Joël Arseneau, is disappointed with the new program of the Quebec government.

For the member for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, this is a program that aims above all to help residents of major centers who wish to visit the regions.

He notes that to have access to the discount, the traveler must have an air connection with Montreal, Quebec or Saint-Hubert. It is not possible, for example, to take advantage of the discount on the Gaspé–Sept-Îles route, an aberrationaccording to the deputy madelinot.

This is not a program that supports regional air transport and the people who live in the regionshe argues.

However, it is rare for air carriers to offer such interregional connections without going through Quebec, Montreal or Saint-Hubert.

For Joël Arseneau, the Quebec program does not meet the demands of remote communities. We imagined that meant more frequency, more reliable service, competition, more seats and affordable fares. There, we are told that, for the regions, the airfare reduction program that existed before remains.

It’s the status quo. »

A quote from Joël Arseneau, MP for Îles-de-la-Madeleine
A plane from the air carrier Pascan is on the tarmac at the Îles-de-la-Madeleine airport.

A plane from the air carrier Pascan Aviation is on the tarmac at the Îles-de-la-Madeleine airport.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Isabelle Larose

The member for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine believes that a complete reform of the regional air transport model is necessary.

Bruno Paradis, chairman of the board of directors of the Mont-Joli regional airport intermunicipal board, hopes that the PAAR will be able to increase traffic, but is sorry that access to the discount goes through links with Montreal, Quebec. or Saint-Hubert.

People from the regions will have to go sightseeing and visits to Quebec, Montreal and Saint-Hubert. Quebec will have to visit the major centers, and the major centers will be able to visit Quebeche observes.

Mr. Paradis also regrets that the Quebec plan does not ensure long-term cohesion of air transport in the region. There, we come to subsidize the ticket. Will it give the expected results? We wishhe says.

We are still far from the objectives we had set ourselves. »

A quote from Bruno Paradis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Intermunicipal Board of Mont-Joli Regional Airport

For its part, Québec solidaire criticizes the restrictions around the number of round trips covered by the program. According to MNA Émilise Lessard-Therrien, responsible for regional development, offering only three round trips at $500 is not enough.

A few months before the provincial elections, she denounces theelectoralism of the measure.

With information from Jean-François Deschênes and Laurence Vachon



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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