Interest in Ottawa-Paris direct flights will determine whether they continue

Direct flights between Ottawa and Paris have begun, but it's a trial run and challenges remain, according to the Ottawa airport's president and CEO. 

As of Tuesday the Ottawa International Airport has five Air France flights per week. They leave Ottawa at 5:05 p.m. ET and arrive in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport the next morning at 6:15 Central European Time (CET).

Going the other way, they leave that main Paris airport at 1:10 p.m. CET and arrive in Ottawa at 3:05 p.m. ET.

This marks a return to Europe for the Ottawa airport, which lost its London and Frankfurt flights earlier in the pandemic.

In an interview in French with Radio-Canada, Ottawa International Airport Authority president and CEO Mark Laroche said interest in these flights this summer will determine whether the service will continue.

And it's a tough sell.

Ottawa's location between Toronto and Montreal can make competition to acquire and continue flights to destinations such as Paris difficult, Laroche said.

According to a search for round-trip non-stop flights at Expedia.ca on Tuesday, Ottawa flights to Paris cost just under $1,900, compared to $1,125 in Toronto and $1,051 in Montreal. Without a direct flight, people around Ottawa would have to make their way to another airport such as those.

To drum up interest, Laroche and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe will be going to the French capital next week in the hopes of convincing Parisiens to make the trip to Ottawa.

Big desire for direct flights

Mehran Ebrahimi, director of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation and professor at the school of management sciences of the University of Quebec in Montreal, said the current trend is for direct flights.

In an interview with Radio-Canada, he said families especially are sometimes willing to spend more for the convenience of a direct flight without having to travel to another city to get one.

Ebrahimi also said that when a company like Air France decides to launch a new direct route, it's been well thought out and can help bolster a city's travel reputation.

The fact that Ottawa attracts people travelling on business, especially diplomats, adds to its allure, he said.

Other changes at the airport

The number of people going through the Ottawa airport every day — 12,000 return travellers on average, according to its figures — is nearing pre-pandemic levels.

The completion of the light rail expansion to the airport will also help bolster its recovery, Laroche said.

There is also a pilot project starting by late August that will see Ottawa added to the Verified Traveller program. 

Laroche added there is no reason for travellers to worry about WestJet's recent takeovers of Sunwing and Swoop, though some of the connections for flights could change.