[AIRLINE] Air Canada Considering Raising Fares and Fees

The Canadian dollar has been on a downward trend. That might be a good thing for some people, but it could be a bad thing for airline passengers.

Air Canada announced that they are considering raising its fares and fees to make up for a weak Canadian dollar. A lower Canadian dollar raises the price of jet fuel and new planes for Canadian airlines.

I personally feel that Air Canada has a decent product and if their prices were more competitive against the international market, then they have an opportunity to really take over a larger portion of the market share.

If you feel that Air Canada is being unfair about possible fare and fee increases, then speak up! The reason they are pre-announcing a possible increase is to see how consumers will react. If everyone stays silent, Air Canada will just assume that everyone is fine with the price increases. If enough people speak up, they may reconsider their move.

Or maybe the opposite approach is going to be taken. If the fares do increase, instead of speaking up, will all the consumers shift their business elsewhere?

Message to Air Canada: To me, this is business 101 and probably a sentiment shared by many other consumers. Regardless of the reason for raising prices, if something becomes too expensive, consumers will shift their business elsewhere.

Message to other airlines: The question to other airlines is, are you going to follow Air Canada’s move and raise the prices across the board and be on a level playing field? Or are you going to take advantage of the situation and take some market share away from Air Canada?