AC evaluating the future of rouge post-COVID
Mar 31, 2022, 1:19 pm
#1
Original Poster
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AC evaluating the future of rouge post-COVID
Headline only.
Air Canada is reconsidering the operational strategy of its discount subsidiary Rouge, a move coming amid heightened low-cost competition within Canada.
Air Canada is reconsidering the operational strategy of its discount subsidiary Rouge, a move coming amid heightened low-cost competition within Canada.
Mar 31, 2022, 1:25 pm
#2
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Headline only.
Air Canada is reconsidering the operational strategy of its discount subsidiary Rouge, a move coming amid heightened low-cost competition within Canada.
Air Canada is reconsidering the operational strategy of its discount subsidiary Rouge, a move coming amid heightened low-cost competition within Canada.
From the daily AIAA newsletter:
Air Canada Re-Evaluating Strategy For Subsidiary Rouge
FlightGlobal (3/31) reports that Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer Lucie Guillemette said the airline is rethinking the strategy behind its Rouge subsidiary. Guillemette said that the discount airline is “in a little bit of a transition period.” She said, “We are now in the process of really re-looking at the mission of Rouge and how we best want to proceed in the years to come.” Air Canada believes Rouge will help the airline compete against other discount airlines, but Air Canada has retired 25 Boeing 767 jets used by Rouge, leaving the subsidiary with “an all-Airbus A320-family fleet that stood at 39 jets at the end of 2021,” though “many of those aircraft are 25 to 30 years old, according to Cirium fleet data.” Air Canada suspended operations at Rouge from February to September 2021 and has flown to a limited number of destinations since relaunching flights.
Mar 31, 2022, 8:02 pm
#4
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Mar 31, 2022, 9:12 pm
#5
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Apr 2, 2022, 11:16 am
#6
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They have just refurbished the cabins on half the A321 fleet. I guess they could fold it into mainline, but then they would have to change up the seats as they don't have screens, if they are to keep the mainline product consistent. The A319's are definitely going to age out, but the A321 and A320 fleet is relatively young, with the A321's 10 years or younger.
There are rumours that the 15 mainline A321's are being refurbished, along with the 8 A320's that are being kept. If Rouge continues, could some of these be moved over? Kind of a head scratcher...
Apr 2, 2022, 3:18 pm
#7
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As we say here, Rouge is cheep for them, not for PAX. In no way is it competitive (or branded to be competitive) head to head with true discount airlines.
I've never had the option of mainline or Rouge; very few routes ever did. I don't think they rationally have data to know if the extra branding is worth while. I'm today basically willing to risk/suffer Rouge because it can tap into the lounges, points, service recovery of mainline... But also has those shared costs. Not discount. Why bother?
East coast outports and Sun seems like a solution looking for a problem. And if that is a problem, Jazz is right here.
I've never had the option of mainline or Rouge; very few routes ever did. I don't think they rationally have data to know if the extra branding is worth while. I'm today basically willing to risk/suffer Rouge because it can tap into the lounges, points, service recovery of mainline... But also has those shared costs. Not discount. Why bother?
East coast outports and Sun seems like a solution looking for a problem. And if that is a problem, Jazz is right here.
Apr 3, 2022, 11:26 am
#8
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As we say here, Rouge is cheep for them, not for PAX. In no way is it competitive (or branded to be competitive) head to head with true discount airlines.
I've never had the option of mainline or Rouge; very few routes ever did. I don't think they rationally have data to know if the extra branding is worth while. I'm today basically willing to risk/suffer Rouge because it can tap into the lounges, points, service recovery of mainline... But also has those shared costs. Not discount. Why bother?
East coast outports and Sun seems like a solution looking for a problem. And if that is a problem, Jazz is right here.
I've never had the option of mainline or Rouge; very few routes ever did. I don't think they rationally have data to know if the extra branding is worth while. I'm today basically willing to risk/suffer Rouge because it can tap into the lounges, points, service recovery of mainline... But also has those shared costs. Not discount. Why bother?
East coast outports and Sun seems like a solution looking for a problem. And if that is a problem, Jazz is right here.
“Cheap for them, not for pax” is so correct. In some cases Rouge was actually more $ than I paid before my various routes were “rouged”.
Apr 4, 2022, 12:27 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2020
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I am betting that most posters here would dream of saying good riddance. When frequent flyers know what it means to be "Rouged", with no monetary compensation, how does does the more expensive than other low cost airlines help your primary brand?