Even if it subsidizes plane tickets with millions, the Legault government still has no “fair portrait” of the reliability of regional service, La Presse has learned. Quebec is also in the dark as to the reasons for the multiple cancellations.
“No public data [is] available to establish an accurate portrait of Quebec,” reveals a document presented Tuesday to the Standing Committee on Regional Air Transport, which met for the first time since its creation last February.
This government presentation, which La Presse was able to consult, recognizes that flight delays and cancellations are strongly criticized by regional actors. This document is essentially a “status report”. In particular, it provides an update on the number of subsidized tickets purchased since the implementation of the Regional Action Support Program (PAAR).
The scarcity of manpower, parts shortages, regulatory changes and weather conditions are cited to explain the lack of reliability. It is also a “global phenomenon” in the context of a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is written.
A La Presse file published on Thursday revealed how frequent air contingencies are in the region and how these hazards generate uncertainty, discontent and anger. The Legault government nevertheless qualifies its measure of $500 tickets as a “success” when one-third of the packages offered have found takers.
Why so much turbulence in Quebec? The Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) has confirmed that it does not know “the precise causes” of these disturbances. For the moment, it is at the mercy of airlines and public sites to assess the reliability of the service and hopes to remedy it.
“The committee has asked the carriers to clarify the data to paint a more accurate picture of the situation,” spokesperson Louis-André Bertrand said in an email Thursday.
It was not possible to find out more. Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault stormed past journalists upon her arrival at the Salon Bleu on Thursday. “Excuse me, I’m late. I’ll get back to you later,” she told La Presse after the question period. His firm then declined our interview request.
“It does not surprise me, I am in air transport every week to come here [to Quebec City]”, argued the Minister of Employment and MP for Duplessis, Kateri Champagne Jourdain, who lives in Sept-Îles.
“I fly, I see the shortcomings, I see the reliability issues, especially in the postponement of flights, I also suffer these consequences,” she added, saying she trusts the work of the committee.
Quebec City’s inability to obtain data astounds aviation expert and McGill University lecturer John Gradek. According to this former senior Air Canada executive, the Legault government is entitled to be firm, given the sums committed to subsidize plane tickets.
“There needs to be cooperation between the airlines and the program sponsor to share the data,” says Gradek. Carriers must put their cards on the table. Here is what was planned, here is what happened and here is the level of attendance. It is thanks to this government subsidy that connections still exist. »
In his opinion, the communication of statistics concerning the punctuality and reliability of connections is “necessary” for the continuation of the Government’s Program.
Airlines very rarely disclose data that allows the reliability of their service to be assessed. Specialized firms like Cirium are able to compile data from, for example, automated reservation systems to paint a picture.
However, the exercise is more complex when it comes to small carriers and regional airports.
The PQ MP for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Joël Arseneau, criticized Thursday the presence of air carriers in the standing committee on regional air transport.
“I don’t see what they are going to bring as a solution to their own turpitude in the delivery of air transport services,” he lamented. We wonder how we will find solutions outside the box if it is the carriers who justify their service. I don’t think we can be judge and party in this case. That the carriers are part of the solution, but that we can take an objective, neutral and independent look, that is what matters, then that we do it quickly. »
Mr. Arseneau, who also experiences the effects of the vagaries of air transport when traveling from the Magdalen Islands to Quebec, affirms that air service “has never been so catastrophic in all the regions of the Quebec”.
He deplores the slowness of the Legault government to act since the first conclusions of the standing committee are expected on April 1, 2024. “The regions cannot wait all this time,” he said.
