Air Canada picking favourites with its N.B. service, Saint John chamber says

Saint John is getting"the short end of the stick" when Air Canada makes decisions about flights into New Brunswick, says David Duplisea, CEO of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce.

Saint John will havetwo per day, whileFredericton's has six daily flights and Moncton five,Duplisea said.

"Air Canada should not be picking winners [and] losers in New Brunswick with regards to local economies and airports," he wrote in a letterthis week to Air Canada president Michael Rousseau. "It is unfair to our region and our province."

Air Canada said in a statement to CBCNewsthat the reduced service is not permanent, and the airline pointed to its planto increase flights between Saint John and Toronto from one per day to two in November.

In an interview with CBC News, Duplisea suggested that providing a lesser service to Saint John thanto the other citiesis like picking favourites.

Cites potentialharm

Duplisea noted that service reduction comes after the Saint John Airport spent almost $25 million modernizing its airfield to bettermanage fog-relatedissues.

Meanwhile, Air Canada has made changes that hurt the city's corporate and personal travellers as well as the airport's financial stability.

He said since the early morning flight from Saint John to Toronto has been cut, some business professionals have had to look to other options. Some travellers have been forced to fly out of Moncton or Halifax and some are going to the U.S.to catch flights there.

And this could hurt Air Canada as well, Dupliseasaid.

"What we're also hearing now is that many of our corporate travellers are looking at Bangor and Portland as options to travel to get to those connecting points, and that will hit Air Canada's bottom line," he said.

In his letter to Air Canada, Duplisea asked what data drove the decision to cut so much of the service in and out of Saint John.

Hesaid hopes his letter results in a face-to-face meeting or video call withAir Canada management.

Air Canada has yet to respond to the letter but did provide a written statement to CBCNews.

Cuts just temporary, airline says

The statement said Canada's growth at the Saint John Airport contributed to the region's economy over the years and capacity and schedule adjustments reflectcurrent market conditions.

It said the current capacity reduction is temporary sincemarket demand has yet to reachpre-COVID levels.

"We are still providing one flight per day to each of our main hub airports of Montreal and Toronto which provide connections to our domestic, transborder and international network for residents and the business community," read the statement.

"No other airline offers this access and capacity at the Saint John Airport, a clear sign of our continued commitment to this market."