Without much fanfare, the Quebec government has reduced by about 30% the number of $500 airline tickets available under the Regional Air Access Program (PAAR) for the year 2023-2024. However, from an industry perspective, the solution to increase the program’s popularity is to revise its criteria.
“We need to see all the parameters that we can change to further advance this program,” believes Yani Gagnon, co-owner of Pascan Aviation, one of the aviation companies participating in the PAAR.
Mr Gagnon, who also sits on the Standing Committee on Regional Aviation, says he has already briefed the Government on some possible solutions which he believes are “promising”. We have made our statements, he assures us.
According to him, the $500 tickets should be extended to interregional flights, such as flights from Gaspésie to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Currently, the PAIR requires that the departure or arrival must be at one of the following three airports: Montreal, Saint-Hubert or Quebec.
Mr Gagnon also believes that the PAIR should be accessible to workers and not just those traveling for personal reasons.
But it can also be non-profit organizations, very small SMEs or self-employed people who travel for business reasons but need an efficient means of travel.
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Yani Gagnon, co-owner of Pascan Aviation
Photo: Radio-Canada / François Gagnon
Mixed results
In the first 12 months of PAIR’s existence, in 2022-2023, fewer than half of the 98,800 $500 round-trip flights found takers for regional flights in Quebec.
A result seen by many as mixed, especially since the program was aimed, among other things, at increasing demand for regional air transport, with the ultimate goal of improving the supply and reliability of flights.
From April 2023 to March 2024, the government has therefore reduced the number of available return flights to 67,500 to adapt to demand. The spokesman for the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Nicolas Vigneault, does not see this as an admission of failure.
It is still too early to measure effectiveness [du PAAR], he said. The 98,800 state-funded tickets last year were not a target and therefore did not have to be sold in full.
The program’s goal of making air tickets available on targeted routes at an affordable price has been achieved.
A secret kept too well
However, according to Charles Milliard, president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec (FCCQ), the main problem with PAIR is that it is still little known. I think this program in Quebec is too well kept a secret.
According to him, the government should focus on increasing promotion of the program that people are not aware of.
This is not a sufficient reason to eliminate or reduce it. On the contrary, we must redouble our efforts to make it better known and see what results it produces.
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Charles Milliard, President of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce.
Photo: Quebec Association of Chambers of Commerce
Like the owner of Pascan Aviation, Mr. Milliard believes $500 tickets could be available to business people, but points out that clear guidelines should be set.
“In agile mode”
Mr Milliard, who also sits on the Standing Committee on Regional Aviation, believes the government does not need to wait until the second year of the program is over before adjusting its course.
In my opinion, the committee is able to work with agility and make changes throughout its term, says Mr. Milliard, an opportunity that the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility does not ignore.
However, the president of the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM), Jacques Demers, is not convinced of the advisability of revising the PAAR criteria. There are much bigger difficulties than the cost (of plane tickets).
The real problem at the moment is air traffic […] That’s the problem of reliability, says Mr. Demers. Delayed and canceled flights are the annoyances he hears about most often, which he believes have not really been alleviated by the introduction of government-subsidized return flights.