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Canadian North announces upcoming changes to pricing structure, including launch of new, lower-priced economy fare & updated beneficiary fare program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, December 12, 2019 – Canadian North is pleased to announce upcoming changes to its passenger and cargo fare structure, for travel and shipping that will occur after Wednesday, January 1, 2020. These changes will be implemented in conjunction with the start of Canadian North’s new Medical and Duty Travel contract with the Government of Nunavut. Canadian North is now in the process of filing its new pricing, which will be completed gradually over the coming days.

PUBLISHED PASSENGER FARES

Canadian North will now offer a new ‘Economy’ fare class that will be publicly available for travel to, from and within Nunavut and priced lower than its current lowest available fares. While Economy fares will be available for advance purchase on all Nunavut routes year-round, they will not be available on every flight or date. Instead, more seats for Economy fares will typically be available on less busy flights and travel dates.

Economy fares will be offered in conjunction with Canadian North’s existing ‘everyday’ Saver, Flex and Super-Flex fare classes, which will provide additional features such as enhanced checked baggage allowances, reduced or complimentary change fees, refundability and the ability to earn additional Aurora Rewards points and Aeroplan Miles. These fares will be restructured to provide an overall average lower price.

Canadian North will also continue to offer periodic seat sales, provide specialized fares for tourism operators and groups and lend its support to important events and initiatives throughout its network.

BENEFICIARY FARES

Beginning Wednesday, January 1, 2020, Canadian North will expand its popular Ilak Fares program to include enrolled Beneficiaries of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA). As a result, IFA Beneficiaries will now enjoy access to the same lower-priced fares that Beneficiaries of other Inuit Land Claims Agreements currently enjoy. Because Ilak Fares are priced lower than Canadian North’s existing Pivut Fares program, it will discontinue the Pivut program in favour of the newly expanded Ilak program, retaining the Pivut name for the Western Arctic.

• For IFA Beneficiaries, it will be known as the Pivut program (with identical attributes to the Ilak program).

• For Beneficiaries of other Inuit Land Claims Agreements, it will continue to be known as Ilak program.

At the same time, we will significantly increase the number of Ilak/Pivut seats on our Montréal-Kuujjuaq and Mackenzie Valley flights for Beneficiaries travelling on those routes, with seats also available on all other flights within our network.

CORPORATE PASSENGER AGREEMENTS

Canadian North’s corporate clients will also have access to the new Economy passenger fares, subject to the same rules and restrictions. At the same time that Canadian North is implementing this new structure, it will also implement an inflationary increase to its high-end pricing that is typically offered for last-seat availability and last-minute bookings. The base portion of these fares will be increased by 5% for the Iqaluit-Ottawa market and by 2% for all other Nunavut markets. Canadian North’s legacy corporate fares which are structured as a discount off these fares or are in the same category will also receive this inflationary increase.

During the first half of 2020, Canadian North will introduce a corporate discount structure that provides a new discount off of its new publicly-available pricing. Discounts provided will be based on travel volumes and will be reviewed regularly.

PUBLISHED CARGO RATES

As part of the Government of Nunavut contract, Canadian North will update its publicly-available General and Envelope rates for all Nunavut markets. It will also update its Priority Cargo rate, which will be priced 30% above its new General rate.

CORPORATE CARGO AGREEMENTS

Legacy corporate cargo agreements will continue to apply for the time being; however, Canadian North does expect to implement an inflationary rate increase in early 2020, similar to the increase implemented for corporate passenger fares. Later in 2020, it expects to transition to a new volume-based corporate cargo program.

VARIABLE FUEL SURCHARGE APPLICABLE TO PASSENGER AND CARGO PRODUCTS

As part of the above changes, the applicable fuel surcharge will be bundled into the overall price rather than shown separately. Canadian North will review fuel surcharges quarterly and adjust them as required.

“The launch of our new, lower-priced Economy fares within Nunavut and updates to our popular Ilak and Pivut fares programs on Nunavik and Mackenzie Valley routes represent important steps within our ongoing integration journey,” said Chris Avery, President and CEO of Canadian North. “We will continue to listen closely to feedback from our customers and stakeholders to ensure that we are offering the right product mix to meet the essential needs of everyone we serve.”

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About Canadian North

Canadian North is a 100% Inuit-owned airline that connects people and delivers essential goods throughout Canada’s North – safely, reliably and always with friendly and helpful customer service. It operates to 24 destinations within the Northwest Territories, Nunavik and Nunavut, from its southern gateways of Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton, with a versatile fleet of Boeing 737, ATR 42 and Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. Canadian North is also the premier charter services provider for large resource sector clients requiring dependable, efficient and economical fly-in/fly-out air service and it operates flights across North America and beyond for sports teams, cruise lines, tour operators and other large groups. Canadian North is wholly-owned by Makivik Corporation and Inuvialuit Development Corporation.

For more information please contact:

Dan Valin
Manager, Marketing and Communications | Canadian North
Tel: 613.254.6294
dvalin@canadiannorth.com

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