3/10/2010 10:18:00 AM Airfares drop as competition heats up
* MCT photo. Bargains: Fares between Bermuda and Toronto for the months of May and June are as low as $84 each way.
Air Canada has slashed its airfares between Bermuda and Toronto for the months of May and June. Fares are as low as $84 each way, according to Bermuda-based travel agency Meyer-Franklin Travel.
Customers must travel between May 3rd and June 23rd of this year.
The Air Canada move has all the markings of a hotly contested airfare war. Westjet is due to hit the Bermuda market for the first time on May 3 - the exact same date Air Canada's new sale begins.
Westjet's introduction into the Bermuda market breaks Air Canada's 60-year monopoly on the Toronto route. Tourism and transport officials in Bermuda hope Westjet's new service will drive down airline ticket prices while driving up the number of visitors from Canada.
Meyer-Franklin Travel says the hot offer from Air Canada is good only until March 10.
Last week Westjet promoted a very similar airfare sale to Bermuda which has now expired.
Premier and Minister of Tourism Dr. Ewart Brown said: "This is exactly the impact we were hoping for. We call it the 'Jet Blue effect'. It happens when a low-cost carrier enters a new market.
"I am confident that we will see growth in the visitor numbers from Canada at a time when we most need them."
Posted: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Comment by:
Andy Graham
The jetBlue effect? Did you know that WestJet is 4 years older than jetBlue, and three of the founders of Westjet are founding shareholders of jetBlue?
