Newest ultra-low-cost carrier could save you money but book with caution

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You’ve got a new choice for your summer travel plans starting today. WestJet’s ultra-low-cost carrier Swoop has officially launched.

The airline comes with the promise of saving money on tickets, however, there are some cautionary tales in the history books.

“It’s a scary industry. We’ve seen lots of airlines come and go, including airlines that are major carriers that have tried to introduce a low-cost secondary carrier. Air Canada introduced Zip, United Airlines introduced Ted, Delta Airlines introduced Song,” says Claire Newell with Travel Best Bets.

She adds having a major airline like WestJet behind the carrier makes it more of a sure thing.

“I think the exciting things is that WestJet has an existing infrastructure. They’ve got experienced executives and a modern fleet of Boeing 737’s. So, Swoop will be able to save costs and avoid that trial-and-error learning period that other start-up airlines face.”

But even so, Newell, who has 20 years in the industry, says nothing is certain. She says there are precautions you can take.

“Just the fact that we have seen some airlines not succeed. Even with strong parent companies, you want to make sure you are paying with a credit card just because you will be able to be covered for any services not rendered just in case the airline has a hiccup. What we’ve seen with carriers like this coming to the marketplace is that they can change their dates, times and routes, especially in the beginning. If they’re not doing well on a route, they will chop and change.”

Karl Moore, an aviation analyst with McGill University’s Faculty of Management agrees and says the ultra-low-cost model should work here.

“It’s not designed to cannibalize WestJet, Porter or Air Canada’s existing business, but to really try to draw in travellers that would have taken the bus or driven or not travelled at all.”

Swoop flies between secondary airports, cutting down on gate fees and passing on the savings.

Moore also says the growing popularity of these types of carriers means travellers are more accustomed how they work.

“What Swoop is doing is using second-tier airports like Hamilton and Abbotsford. It’s also getting more seats, squeezing people in. It’s also a lot of revenue from selling you what seat you’re sitting in to ‘Oh you wanted luggage, oh you wanted a meal, and oh you wanted water.’ All that sort of thing. We’ve learned a lot with the airline industry about how to run ultra-low-cost carriers because there are so many of them around the world right now. That knowledge has been brought to bear. So I think the chances of Swoop being successful are quite high and much more than those that have failed in the past.”

When it folded in 2001, Canada 3000 famously left many of its passengers stranded and Moore says it’s those kind of failures that WestJet has paid close attention to.

“Jetsgo, Tango, Canada 3000, Roots Air, they are all ones that come to mind. There’s a hall in WestJet in Calgary where they have plaques showing the airlines that had failed. And I think they did that to serve as a reminder that this is not the easiest game in the world.”

The company’s inaugural flight was an overnight journey from Hamilton to Abbotsford.