[AIRLINE] Air Canada Rouge

Air Canada’s low-cost carrier called Rouge is proving to be somewhat of a flop. I am uncertain what Air Canada would like to achieve from this. They are essentially trying to offer a low-cost carrier, but are the prices charged to customers actually going to be reflected?

Does Air Canada really want to try to compete with other low cost carriers in Canada to take their market share?

I hear a lot of complaints about Air Canada, but I also see a lot of profits earned by Air Canada, so something doesn’t add up.

Are the people complaining actually avoiding travel with Air Canada? Maybe the complainers have already avoided Air Canada and are just more vocal about avoiding Air Canada? Are people who actually fly on Air Canada an actual fan of Air Canada? Or do they have no other alternative?

I will say this, so long as Air Canada’s profits continue to go up, we can expect less and less customer friendly service from them, because they have no need to get more market share.

My personal strategy is to cover all my bases by having a rewards program with all the major airline alliances so that when I book my flight, I can pick the airline that suits my travel needs the best, based on the schedule, the price, etc. I rather not be tied down to one airline so that I can take advantage of all the promotions offered by more airlines. I use Aeroplan for Star Alliance, American Airlines and British Airways for Oneworld, as well as Delta Air Lines for SkyTeam.