In June 2022, the government of Quebec announced a program to provide all travellers with $500 airfare in Quebec. This was valid for passengers flying to and from remote areas. There were restrictions on the point of departure or destination and the eligible regions.
As of February 3, 2025, a new version of the Regional Air Access Program (RAAP) has been created by the government of Quebec to keep you flying in Quebec at the best possible price.
Now, all regions and airports of Quebec are eligible, except between the cities of Quebec and Montreal, as well as Nunavik. Even flights within a region are now possible!
This price is available to all Quebecers as well as travellers from outside the province, and the program ends on March 31, 2027. This applies to travel for personal purposes only.
The discount is applied directly by the airline when the ticket is purchased. The maximum purchase is three round-trip tickets or six one-way tickets per year, starting on April 1 and ending on March 31 of the following year.
However, this limit does not apply to:
Airlines are entitled to financial assistance from the provincial government to pay the difference in air fares.
Here are the eligible airlines:
Here is the list of discounts for each airport:
If the flight is between two of the above airports, the higher discount percentage will be applied. For example, this would be 60% for a flight from Saguenay-Bagotville (50%) to the Magdalen Islands (60%).
Pascan is one of the airlines offering discounted airfare to the Magdalen Islands, departing from Montreal.
When searching on their Pascan site, the PAAR option will be automatically applied. Otherwise, enter the promotional code PAAR60 in the search tool.
In this example, a round-trip ticket will cost around $524, which is slightly more than when the program subsidized a $500 airfare.
On the Air Canada website, click on the blue banner at the top of the search results, on Consult eligibility criteria.
Then, in the window that opens, click on the Apply reduction button.
When reviewing the flights, it will be possible to see that the discount has been given.
For example, a round-trip flight from Saguenay to Montreal with the PAAR program costs around $507. That’s $7 more than before, when airfare was $500.
One of the eligible trips with a high discount is Blanc-Sablon to Montreal – Saint-Hubert. The one-way fare is $267. That’s a big difference from the regular fare of $1,583.
The search on the Air Liaison website is similar to the one on Pascan. Search for the option or enter the promotion code PAAR85 in the search tool.
One trick we really like is to reimburse the cost of a plane ticket with points.
Simply charge the cost of the flight to a credit card offering rewards points and then apply the points to the purchase. A credit is then applied to the card account.
For example, redeeming 55,000 NBC Rewards points for a $524 plane ticket with Pascan to the Magdalen Islands could reduce your bill by $500. In total, your flight would cost you $24!
These NBC Rewards points can be earned with the following credit card:
It’s the same principle with flexible points like those in the Scene+, Aventura, TD Rewards and BMO programs:
Here are some credit card issuers that have programs with travel points:
To find out more, please see our article on how to save on plane tickets.
This program no longer exists, and has been replaced by rebates ranging from 50% to 85%, until March 2027.
Please refer to the article above for destination discounts.
Please see the article above for the list, as the discount is 60% for a flight to the Magdalen Islands.
Savings are here: