UPDATE: To support guests impacted by cancellations, WestJet has secured an agreement with Canadian North, allowing additional flights throughout the weekend across its network.
Airfares may increase in the aftermath of a hailstorm that damaged aircraft at Calgary airport 05AUG.
According to reports, hailstones as big as golf balls pummelled the airport's tarmac, forcing Westjet to ground 10% of its fleet after 16 aircraft were damaged. One Flair aircraft was affected. Air Canada escaped the worst of the storm.
The issue WestJet faces is those 16 aircraft cannot be repaired overnight.
Aviation consultant Rick Erickson told CP that the ice chunks that fell from the sky during the storm likely "wreaked havoc on the airplanes' less durable parts."
"The various ailerons and rudders and the like are not as robust as the fuselage is because these are moving parts and quite often they need to get changed out," Erickson said. "They would have got damaged.
"If you dimple the fuselage, you really increase the resistance of the aircraft as it's moving through the air and you create a lot more drag," Erickson said.
With fewer flights available during the peak summer months, the basic economic principle of supply and demand could lead to fare hikes, experts say.
In a service update, WestJet said it cancelled over 300 flights between 05AUG and 09AUG and will have to cut trips across its network for the "foreseeable future."
"A significant scale-back will likely boost demand at other airlines and push up ticket prices during the peak summer travel season," Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba's transport institute, told The Canadian Press (CP).
"This is going to have a real impact on a lot of people who are waiting for flights. You can't take 10 per cent out of the supply of the second-largest airline in the country and not have impacts," he said.
Following the hailstorm that impacted Calgary on August 5, @WestJet teams are working diligently to perform necessary inspections and repairs to our fleet. Guests are advised to check the status of their flight prior to leaving for the airport.https://t.co/kW9cZw5eki
— WestJet News (@WestJetNews) August 7, 2024
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, told CP that the hundreds of WestJet flights that were cancelled likely affected more than 10,000 customers.
As the airline rebooks pax on other flights, last-minute tickets mean likely paying a premium.
"The dynamic pricing algorithms that both Air Canada and WestJet use will automatically sense a demand situation showing up." Gradek said.
"If you do find a seat, it's going to be more expensive."
According to CTV News, an Air Canada spokesperson stated that its Calgary operations have returned to normal, and it was able to schedule its largest planes to transport stranded pax.
Pax with cancelled flights due to the storm are entitled to a refund or a free alternate reservation if they can't be rebooked within 48 hours.
