Treq (Canada) (North Bay) has set its sights on serving the Quebec regional market following Air Canada's decision to curtail its local presence. The start-up touts itself as a Quebecoise regional transport cooperative among whose investors are the president of Mont Tremblant International Airport, Serge Larivière, and Éric Larouche, the founding member and President of Hôtel Chicoutimi, in the Auberge des îles.
In terms of fleet, the cooperative claims to have secured two Dash 8-300s for its initial operations but plans to acquire at least five Dash 8-400s, the first of which are should arrive during the final quarter of the year.
“The Q400s came on to the market 15 years ago. So there are a lot of good used planes out there, and the current crisis is increasing supply," he said.
Larivière told Radio Canada that the cost of the project, which has been in development for several years, varies between CAD90-100 million Canadian dollars (USD66.2-73.6 million) of which CAD30 million (USD22 million) will go towards infrastructural upgrades. He said he hopes to bring the Quebec regional government onboard as an investor to ensure Treq's longevity.
In terms of network, Treq plans to serve the following city-pairs:
Short-range:
- Montréal Trudeau–Québec
- Montreal–Bagotville
- Montreal–Sherbrooke
- Montreal–Gatineau
- Quebec–Mont Joli
- Quebec–Baie Comeau
- Sept-Îles-Wabush
- Gaspé–Îles de la Madeleine
Medium-range:
- Montreal–Rouyn
- Montreal–Mont Joli
- Montreal–Baie-Comeau
- Quebec–Sept-Îles
- Quebec–Gaspé
- Quebec–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
- Quebec–Rouyn
Long-range:
- Montreal–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
- Montreal–Sept-Îles
- Montreal–Wabush.
Other regional Canadian operators that have already expressed in filling the network gaps left by Air Canada's departure include Air Creebec (YN, Val d'Or), Pascan Aviation (P6, Montréal Metropolitan) and Air Liaison (DU, Québec).
A subsidiary of Quebec overland transport firm Groupe la Québécoise, Air Liaison said it would expand its existing Quebec network should the government offer incentives such as tax breaks.
A spokesman told CBC.ca this week that it currently serves 13 destinations with regular flights from Quebec to Baie-Comeau, Sept-Îles, Mont-Joli, Rouyn-Noranda, and Gatineau, among others. Starting in August, Air Liaison will also offer connections to Montréal Trudeau.
