Calm Air has opened a public questionnaire about its flights and services to and from Flin Flon.
The survey, which was shared online via the airlines’ official website and social media pages, comes as the airline evaluates its schedules for flights to northern communities.
“Calm Air is currently evaluating our Flin Flon and The Pas flight schedules. We are seeking your feedback to help us understand your preferences regarding our flight schedules connecting Winnipeg,” reads an announcement made by the company on official social media channels.
The questionnaire itself, hosted by free online polling website SurveyMonkey, consists of 10 questions. Respondents are asked how recently they have flown Calm Air to and from Flin Flon, what reasons why people have taken the flights, what services people would like to see to and from the airport and when they would want flights to take place, among other questions.
Calm Air is currently the only airline offering regularly scheduled services out of Flin Flon Airport, flying to and from Winnipeg once a day six days a week with a scheduled stop in The Pas. Including the stop in The Pas, the flight takes about two and a half hours to get from Flin Flon to Winnipeg.
Prices of the airline’s flights to and from Flin Flon have often been seen as cost-prohibitive for Flin Flonners. For instance, a single adult one-way ticket from Flin Flon to Winnipeg on a Calm Air flight scheduled for July 17, one week after the release of this week’s issue of The Reminder, costs $869.26 according to the airline's website. A round-trip ticket from Winnipeg Richardson Airport to Honolulu on Air Canada, also flying out July 17 with a connection through Vancouver, costs $670 - almost $200 less, despite almost 15 total hours of flight time over two flights, using a larger plane.
The company does offer discounts, including through the airline’s family plan, bus warrant program and its Manitoba Thrifty Flyer program. Calm Air is also offering up to 65 per cent off certain flights to and from Flin Flon travelling from August 7-13, connected to the upcoming Blueberry Jam Music Gathering, which takes place that weekend. Using the code “24BLUEBERRY” for flights that weekend can reduce rates by up to 65 per cent.
Calm Air is owned by Winnipeg-based Exchange Income Corporation, which also owns several other airlines that offer flights to and from northern Manitoba, Ontario and Nunavut, including Perimeter Aviation and subsidiary Bearskin Airlines, Kivalliq Air and Carson Air.
