Air Canada today launched "subscription flight passes" in the United States, offering unlimited travel between the United States and Canada for a flat monthly fee.
The carrier last year introduced such similarly nonconformist products as unbundled fares and prepaid corporate flight passes, and now is offering several versions of unlimited flight passes—the most flexible of which costs $3,550 per month for a six-month commitment.
Other unlimited pass segment options vary by geographic zone, fare category—either the Tango Plus or the less-restricted Latitude—and commitment lengths of either three or six months. Depending on which region, fare class and time commitment travelers elect, prices range from $1,656 to $3,788 per month.
Guylaine Lavoie, Air Canada director of marketing innovations, the department that develops and oversees its pass programs, today said the carrier launched a similar unlimited pass program in Canada last fall. Although the product is not specifically geared toward the corporate market and is unavailable for negotiated discounts—that's the realm of the Corporate Pass
(BTN, Oct. 23, 2006)—Lavoie said some Canadian companies have deployed the unlimited passes for their most frequent travelers.
Lavoie noted that the product does not carry blackout dates or booking-window restrictions, but must be booked online within two hours of travel.
An Air Canada spokesperson by e-mail said travelers could use the pass for unlimited flights between any of 53 departure points in the U.S. and the 67 airports the carrier serves in Canada. However, other variations limit travel to predetermined origin and destination cities. These options include the Canada Commuter pass, the Eastern pass and the Western Pass.
Air Canada said it would give travelers enrolling in the six-month subscription at the Latitude fare level immediate top-tier Elite frequent flyer status and receive 15,000 frequent flyer miles monthly. Travelers enrolled in the Tango Plus unlimited pass receive 10,000 frequent miles per month.