Quebec quietly scrapped more than 30% of $500 round-trip flights for regional travel

The Quebec government quietly reduced the number of $500-or-less airline tickets available under its regional air fare subsidy program (PAAR) by more than 30 per cent for 2023-2024 back in April.

The program was designed to encourage tourism across all regions of Quebec, with the ultimate goal of improving flight reliability and supply.

But a year after the the PAAR began in 2022, fewer than half of the 98,800 round-trip tickets for $500 were used, according to Radio-Canada. 

The government therefore lowered the number of available round trips to 67,500 between April 2023 and March 2024 in order to adjust to demand.

Nicolas Vigneault, a spokesperson for the government's Transport Ministry, says he does not see this as a failure of the program. 

"It's still too early to measure the effectiveness [of the PAAR]," he said. The 98,800 tickets subsidized by the government last year were "not a target" and therefore did not have to be sold in their entirety.

"The program achieved its objective of making affordable airline tickets available on targeted routes," Vigneault said. 

Revise program's criteria, industry leaders say

According to those in the industry, the solution to increasing the program's popularity lies in revising its criteria. 

"We need to look at all the parameters we can modify to further boost this program," said Yani Gagnon, co-owner and vice-president of Pascan Aviation, one of the airlines participating in the PAAR.

Gagnon says he has already informed the government of a number of possible solutions he considers "promising".

He says the $500 tickets should be extended to inter-regional flights, such as those from Gaspésie to the Magdalen Islands. Currently, the PAAR requires departure or arrival at one of three airports: Montreal, Saint-Hubert or Quebec City.

Gagnon says the PAAR should also be accessible to workers, not just people travelling for personal reasons, which is currently the case. 

A well-kept secret

According to Charles Milliard, president of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ), the main problem with the PAAR is that its existence is not widely known. 

"I think this program is too well-kept a secret in Quebec," he said.

Milliard says the government should focus on promoting the program more instead of reducing the number of flights available. 

"We need to redouble our efforts to make it better known and see what the results are," he said, adding the government doesn't have to wait until the second year of the program is over before adjusting course. 

Milliard is also in favour of adjusting the criteria for the PAAR, saying the tickets should be made available to business travellers.

However, Jacques Demers, president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), is not convinced revising the program's criteria will encourage people to book these flights. 

"There are much greater difficulties than the cost of [airfare]," he said. "The real problem with air transport right now [...] is reliability." 

Delayed and cancelled flights are a big problem these days, he says, noting government-subsidized round-trips will do little to mend those issues and quell these fears associated with flying.