By Sarah Grandy | March 30, 2016 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 51 seconds.
NextJet passengers will fly on the nine-seat Beechcraft King Air 100. NextJet Photos
NextJetCanada has partnered with Propair, one of Quebec’s top charter flight operators since 1954, to use one of its 11 turboprop aircraft to launch charter flights to Peterborough, Ont., and Gatineau and Montreal, Que., from the Region of Waterloo International Airport.
Propair will supply a nine-seat Beechcraft King Air 100, and if demand calls for more seating, NextJet and Propair are prepared to add the 19-seat Beech 1900.
“I think it’s great that another airplane is going to be based at our airport,” said Chris Wood, general manager, Region of Waterloo International Airport. “It’s great for the employees that are doing the ground handling and the fueling; and it creates activity at the airport, which we really encourage.”
According to NextJet’s director and president, Tan Ahmed, there is demand for the service.
“You have to look at the areas and see where the need is,” he told Skies. “These are the areas that we are perfectly confident are needing this service. We have a lot of people asking for this.”
NextJet will be operating out of a fixed-based operation (FBO), which is a private terminal located next to the airport’s main terminal. The FBO doesn’t require security clearance, but will have NextJet agents waiting to greet passengers.
“The other airlines [operating at Region of Waterloo International Airport] operate to and from secure facilities, so they operate from our terminal [and] the passengers are screened and leave from a secure area,” said Wood. “This is perfectly acceptable what they [NextJet] want to do; Transport Canada allows it.”
The FBO doesn’t require security clearance, but will have NextJet agents waiting to greet passengers.
NextJet will start Waterloo service with morning and evening flights running Monday through Friday, beginning on May 2. “If we have a demand for service seven days a week, then we will go to seven days,” said Ahmed.
Passengers were able to book flights on the NextJet website as of March 17. Ticket prices remain the same whether a flight is booked months in advance or hours before takeoff.
“If you don’t want to book your flight [in advance], the price will never change. As long as seats are available you can walk in 15 minutes before the flight, purchase your ticket at the FBO, and be on your way,” said Ahmed.
One-way flights from Waterloo to Peterborough; Gatineau to Montreal — and vice versa — are just $100.
“Right now, if you leave Kitchener [Waterloo] you have two stops to go to Montreal, but we are working on starting a direct flight out of Kitchener departing around 7-7:30 a.m. to Montreal,” said Ahmed. “We have to start from somewhere and then everything else is dictated by the demand. If the demand is there and the customer wants it, we will bring it in.”
With two flights per day to start, departures will begin from Waterloo at 8:55 a.m., with the second flight at 6:55 p.m. “We know that this is not convenient enough, but this is a start,” said Ahmed. “Eventually this would be our auxiliary schedule, and our main schedule will be out this July. That’s what we are aiming for from Kitchener.”
Passengers flying from Montreal and Gatineau will receive free parking, and Ahmed says the company is working on having this service available at Waterloo airport as well. “That’s an extra $10 to $15 [in] savings,” Ahmed concluded.
Editor’s Note: NextJet Canada is not to be confused with the Sweden-based company, Nextjet.
