Layers of complex regulations combined with a lack of infrastructure funding are hampering progress in the province's air travel sector.
That was the message from a panel of experts at the Airport Management Council of Ontario (AMCO) conference in Sudbury last week.
The organization, which represents the interests of airports from across the province, held its 40th annual conference at the city's Holiday Inn Oct. 5-8, drawing airport managers together to discuss challenges and solutions in their changing industry.
Giovanna Verrilli, CEO of the Greater Sudbury Airport, led a panel discussion on the future of aviation, with participants representing airlines ranging in size and scope.
Rising operational costs, in combination with new regulations, are making it difficult to stay competitive, said Joey Petrisor, the president and CEO of Perimeter Aviation, which operates Bearskin Airlines.
In the last few years, Transport Canada has introduced a flurry of updated regulations, including new fatigue rules outlining how long pilots can fly before needing a break, and new Airport Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), which are designed to protect passenger rights in the case of delayed or cancelled flights.
In theory, Petrisor said, these are good updates. But the regulations "pile on,” he said, adding new costs that drive up ticket prices.
To compensate, the airlines are asking for more government money on the airport infrastructure side.
Having up-to-date, on-site services helps airlines offer a more efficient and pleasant travel experience, which in turn gets more people using the service, making it viable over the long term, Petrisor said.
But the federal government's Airports Capital Assistance Program (ACAP), which funds eligible rehabilitation projects for local and regional airports and aerodromes, sits at just $36 million — not enough to meet the needs of the country's hundreds of airports, Petrisor said.
“We need you folks to be loud,” he said. “We need to lobby the federal government, the provincial government for funding.”
Brock Henderson is the chief operating officer at Pivot Airlines. In its “previous life,” the small, Mississauga-based carrier operated 27 aircraft offering 160 flights a day under the Air Canada Express banner before COVID and other factors whittled that business down to a single aircraft, Henderson said.
The airline is starting to grow, and quickly, but it's had to be creative in finding ways to stay afloat, Henderson said.
“Because of our size, when we go out to do something, we actually can't lose money doing it, so we're constantly forced to look for revenue streams,” he said.
In addition to offering regional scheduled flights, Pivot also provides charters, ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) service, essential aviation services, and aircraft management services, Henderson said.
Establishing working relationships with other carriers has helped the bottom line, and it's something Henderson believes will be integral to the industry's future.
In Manitoba, for example, Pivot has conducted fire evacuation with maintenance and ground services support from Perimeter.
He believes that model can be replicated in other regions with other airlines.
“I think part of the takeaway from the industry is how effective collaboration can be,” Henderson said. “I think that is a big part of what has to happen.”
Ranbir Singh, Air Canada's director of regional airlines and markets, said the company is looking to expand its international market, which will help its regional market grow.
The company is planning to deploy 60 planes globally in the next five years, but “all of that international growth requires feed traffic to make it a success,” Singh said.
So, the company is adding new flights from regional airports, which can connect to international flights, including a third daily flight between Sudbury and Toronto starting in February 2026.
They’re also looking at innovative ways to offer more regional services, like bussing.
Over the last two years, they've partnered with The Landline Company to introduce bussing between Pearson International Airport in Toronto and the Hamilton and Waterloo airports. In the latter city, Singh said, they've doubled their capacity in the last few weeks, running 10 busses daily in each direction.
Air Canada added the service to Kingston in late September.
“It's a market we served up until the pandemic, and we're looking for ways to make it viable,” Singh said. “This is the first step to get there. It helps us connect markets that we can't otherwise with all the resources constraints that we've talked about.”
Eventually, the carrier wants to establish curb-to-curb and airside-to-airside service, and is in talks with various airports to create a "true multimodal experience,” Singh said.
The panellists agreed that airports looking to attract new carriers must have a basic level of service in place in order for airlines to consider flying there. But requirements depend on the airline.
For Air Canada, having the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) on site is a must; flying to airports without it is “not part of our current business model,” Singh said. Perimeter, meanwhile, needs fuelling abilities, a ground power unit, someone to turn the aircraft and someone to de-ice the aircraft, as well as coolers and freezers for cargo, Petrisor said.
At Pivot, the very basic necessity is de-icing equipment, and if an airport can't offer that, it's going to “knock you down to the next level of service,” Henderson said.
Also, “we have to have some kind of reasonable expectation that there'll be a baseline number of passengers,” Henderson said. “That's really what we need.”
Although they vary in size and service model, the airlines are all dealing with similar challenges, the panellists agreed, and a collective approach on their part, and that of the airports, is needed to effect change.
Yet despite the challenges, the panellists were optimistic about the future of air travel in Canada.
Singh, in particular, left the crowd with some words of encouragement.
“Don't assume that the challenges today are going to be persistent forever, and don't assume that the marketplace here won't change,” he said.
“Don't think it's not worth trying and not worth continuing to prospect, to look for those future opportunities.”