In May 2022, the Government of Quebec announced a plan to ensure that all travelers can benefit from affordable and frequent air travel in the province.
Effective June 1, 2022, the maximum round-trip fare is $500 for passengers flying to and from remote regions. Then, the excess cost of the airfare will be paid by the Quebec government.
To obtain a cheap airfaire ticket, the flight must have as departure point or final destination the airport of Montreal, Quebec or Saint-Hubert, regardless of the number of stopovers if any.
The regions eligible for the Regional Air Access Program (RAAP) are :
This price is for all Quebecers as well as travelers from outside the province.
The maximum amount for a one-way trip is $250, even if there are one or more stopovers during the trip.
The discount is applied at the time of ticket purchase. The maximum purchase is three $500 round-trip tickets or six one-way tickets per year, between April 1 and March 31.
Despite the bad press this program has received in recent months, there are still some good deals to have. For example, I had to decide:
In my personal situation and for the time savings, I preferred to fly through the RAAP even if it cost $45 more.
The airlines have financial assistance to pay the difference in airfare. The average cost of a ticket negotiated with each carrier is determined by reference to the pre-pandemic cost.
At this time, these air carriers are eligible:
They serve the following cities:
It should be noted that a carrier must serve a destination in a remote area throughout the year in order to receive financial assistance.
For example, Air Canada only serves the Magdalen Islands in the summer. Therefore, she is not eligible to offer $500 tickets. However, if Air Canada gives a firm one-year commitment to the Quebec government, it may be entitled to the compensation.
Here are the eligible routes, cities and airlines for the $500 ticket.
Pascan is one of the airlines offering a $500 ticket to the Magdalen Islands from Montreal.
When searching on their site, you must choose the PAAR option. The cost per trip is $249.97.
On the Air Canada website, click on the blue banner at the top of the search results, on View Eligibility.
Then, in the window that opens, click on the Apply discount 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 RAAP program costs approximately $381. Please note that the price may vary, but will always be a maximum of $500.
One of the longest eligible trips is Blanc-Sablon to Montreal. The one-way fare is $250, even if there are 3 stopovers. That’s a big difference from the regular rate of $1,597.
The search on the Air Liaison website is similar to the one on Pascan. Look for the PAAR option.
One trick we really like is to reimburse the cost of an airline ticket with points.
Simply charge the cost of the airline ticket 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 $500 airline ticket with Pascan could reduce the bill by $500. In total, your flight would cost you $0!!!!
These NBC Rewards points can be obtained with the following credit card:
Here are some credit card issuers that have programs with travel points:
To learn more, please see the article on saving on airfare here.
Savings are here:
