The Cadre, Sept 24, ]974, pg. 6
This is a reprinting of a brief presented to Eastern Provincial Air- lines by Fred von Dreger last year. The only chan-_ ges are that all of the prices have been increa; sed.
ED.
It is the contention of this brief that air transportation services to and from the Province of Prince Edward Island grossly discriminate ag— ainst Canadians who wish to travel to and from this province and, in fact, make Island resid- ents Second-Class Citi- Zens in Canada.
Since the province is, an island and does not have the same alternatives in surface transportation which other provinces in Canada enjoy, the air links in and out of P.E. I. are even more import— ant in this province than elsewhere. Consequently the lack of such services and the unavailability
.of a whole range of spec— ial fare prices, which a£g_available in all a other Canadian provinces, places a particularly unequal and unfair burden on travellers to and from the Island.
The source of the diff— erence is due to the fact
that P.E.I. is not ser-
viced by Air Canada which I
provides special prices and fares in all the localities in which.it operates. Since Air Can— ada is a Crown Corporat— ion owned (and paid for!) by all canadians, which presumably includes P.E. Islanders —— it would seem reasonable that whatever services, spe- cial prices and fares
for air travel are avail— able to other Canadians‘ should, at the very lea- st, also be available in P.E.I. Indeed, since this province is an island, and thus more reliant on air travel than other localities, it would seem fair to argue that, if
anything, more, better
and proportionately less expensive services should be provided in and out of this proVince. Furthermore it is a sad, though not unusual, comm— entary that those hardest hit by the lack of spe— cial services and lower air fares are the aged, the young, the students, the individuals and fam— ilies on low and middle incomes who seek to save money in making a visit out-of-province, in tak- ing a study—trip, in fly- ing out on a holiday. "Air Canada's Explore' Canada Fares“ can save you a bundle! BUT NOT FROM P.E.I.!! The local air—carrier, Eastern Provincial Airlines, provides almost none of
these specially-reduced fares and services avail— able not only on Air Can—
‘ada but also on most
other North American air- lines.‘ ‘ There are no Senior
7 Citizens' (Club 65) Fares
on EPA. There are no youth or student stand- by fares shich save the traveller 40% of the regular economy air fare. An example will demonst- rate the difference in air fare prices and ser— vices available from Charlottetown to Toronto vis a vis Halifax to ‘ Toronto, which are both
'approximately the same'
air mileage.
Charlottetown - Toronto Regular Economy
Air Fare O-W RET (via Montreal) $87. $174. 8 - 30 Day Excursion VNot Available Senior Citizen (Club 65) Not Available
Youth Standby Not
-Available
Halifax — Toronto Regular Economy
Air Fare O-W RET (via Montreal) $69. $138. 8 — 30 Day
Excursion $97. Senior Citizen
(Club 65) $62. $124.
Youth Standby $55. $110. As one can readily see, a Senior Citizenvcan fly to Toronto from Halifax for $62. A student can
fly there for $55. on a
W
Second, Class Citizens ; .
standby basis, Any ind- ividual traveller can 1 take advantage of the 8 to 30 Day Excursion.Fare and make the return trip, Halifax—Toronto—Halifax, for $97. For a traveller from P.E.I., the only way pf taking advantage of these savings is to make the connecting flight from Charlottetown to Halifax via EPA for $38. and on that flight, of course, no Senior Citizen, Youth Standby of Excurs- ion Fares apply! It seems very close to.a penalty of $38. for travellers from Prince Edward Island to "hook-up" to the ad- vantages enjoyed by all other residents of- Canada.
The extent of the dis— crepancy-is even more startling when you real- ize that it remains still less expensive to pay the $38. "penalty" and fly the longer way from Charlottetown to Toronto via Halifax (with the Air Canada discount rates) than it is to fly the shorter, more direct r0ute through Montreal with EPA. The Excursion Rate from Halifax to Tor- onto is $97., add the $38. penalty for a total cost of $138. return.
The Regular Economy Fare with EPA through Mont— real is $l74. returnll
There is another way of "hooking-upW with the reduced fares available through Air Canada --' to fly to Moncton, New
'Brunswick. There are two