NewLeaf Travel Company Inc. is resuming sales with ultra-low fares and an expanded route map.
Customers will be able to book flights on the NewLeaf web site from 12 Canadian cities: Halifax, Moncton, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kelowna, Kamloops, Fort St. John, Abbotsford and Victoria.
The first flights can now be booked for July 25, 2016.
I wanted to share some pros and cons of this new airline:
Pros of New Leaf
Getting WestJet and Air Canada to lower prices
It will be interesting to see if when WestJet and Air Canada start to match prices on these routes.
I did a sample search between Victoria and the furthest East on a direct flight I could go is Winnipeg:
This is a great price compared to a comparison on Google Flights.
They have really brought down the prices by a huge amount!
Flying Boeing 737-400 passenger jets
It is impressive that they are using more modern jets and in my experience some of the US-based are still using the older jets (like Allegiant).
Cons of New Leaf
No flights available everyday
One of the positives of the major airlines that I have experienced is that they will help you find an alternative way to get to your destination. I am not sure about New Leaf – time will tell.
If the plane is not working when would the next flight take place?
- NewLeaf and the carrier will make all reasonable efforts to transport the passenger and his/her baggage at the times indicated in timetables.
- NewLeaf will not guarantee and will not be held liable for cancellations or changes to flight times that appear on passengers’ tickets due to force majeure.
Large difference in fees for baggage
The maximum allowable size of a carry-on bag is 23 x 40 x 55 cm (9 x 15.5 x 21.5 inches) including handles and wheels. If the bag exceeds these dimensions or cannot be safely stowed on a particular flight, it will be checked for a $80 fee.
Yikes! That is a large fee that is almost as much as the flight!
Large List of Airlines that are now defunct
The fact that there is a page on Wikipedia does not bode well for this airline! History is not on there side as these 2 major players can match prices for a while to put them out of business.
What do you think about New Leaf?
