Air Canada, WestJet cut ties with Hopper over ‘secret fares’

Air Canada said Friday it will join rival WestJet in severing its ties with Hopper Inc. after the mobile travel app’s suggestion it has sole access to “secret fares” caused confusion in the travel industry.

Hopper, which notified when a fare matching their criteria becomes available, landed in hot water with other travel groups that sell airfares, such as travel agents and aggregator sites, when the company suggested earlier this week they were the only ones to have special fares at up to a 35 per cent discount and marketing them “Secret Fares.”

“For someone to say that we have a secret fare and that it applies to all of our network is totally incorrect, it doesn’t happen, Duncan Bureau, Air Canada’s vice-president of global sales said Friday.

The country’s largest airline had agreed to a trial of Hopper’s program by giving it access to a low fare on one route between the United States and Asia, he said.

Like other airlines, Air Canada uses various distribution channels to drive sales, especially in markets where it isn’t the dominant player. They offer various types of fares, including private ones available to partners depending on the route, competitive dynamics and season.

“We don’t disadvantage one distribution partner from another,” he said.

Bureau said Air Canada isn’t interested in selling the lowest possible fare or unloading seats at below cost. “We don’t have secret fares. We have negotiated fares with all of our different partners and different partners bring different types of customers.”