Offers Fliers Option To Purchase Time In Advance

A pricing practice used by fractional aircraft ownership operations, flight schools, and several current and upcoming air taxi services, is also being tried out on a far larger scale by Air Canada. USA Today reports the airline is testing the concept of selling tickets in bulk, for customers to use at their convenience.

The practice allows frequent fliers to purchase a set number of tickets ahead of time. Those tickets may then be redeemed as needed, for a set price, and may even be booked up to one hour before a flight's scheduled departure time.

The paper cites the experiences of Dallas, TX-based consultant Tom Burke, who paid Air Canada $6,858 last year for 20 round trip flights between eastern Canada, and many of the 53 US cities the carrier flies from. The option also allows him to change or cancel trips without penalty.

"A couple of times (before buying the pass), I got socked with significant increases in fare because I changed the (travel) date," Burke said.

The concept of selling air travel by bulk, or in "blocks," isn't new. Fractional ownership programs typically sell blocks of flight time on a per-hour basis; an increasing number of flight schools also offer students the option of paying for blocks of air time upfront, often at a slight discount compared to standard hourly rental rates.

Some on-demand air taxi operators also offer customers the option of buying tickets in bulk.

The approach is new to the world of commercial airlines, however, and US airlines are keeping a wary eye on Air Canada's success (or failure) with the program, before deciding on whether to adopt similar practices.

FMI: www.aircanada.ca