Dramatic rise and fall of Canada's Jetsgo shows promise was too good to be true
Less than three years ago, a brash airline launched itself into the already fragile Canadian aviation industry with just three planes and a bold slogan: 'Pay a little. Fly a lot.' It all seemed too good to be true. And it was.
In its brief flight time, Jetsgo Corp became Canada's third-largest airline with 29 aircraft and 1,200 employees and a route map that took it to 30 cities in Canada and the United States.
On top of all the other problems besetting airlines, Jetsgo's cut-rate fares threatened to finish off its two main competitors, the staggering Air Canada, and WestJet Airlines, itself a discount operation.
But, as airline analysts had been predicting, Jetsgo's luck came to an abrupt end last week when its founder, Michel Leblanc, concluded his venture was doomed.
Jetsgo's losses in the past eight months reached C$55 million ($355.18 million) and had been rising quickly as the price of jet fuel spiralled and the company slashed fares even further in the hope of attracting more passengers.
There was no shortage of customers. When the last Jetsgo plane touched down, there were 17,000 passengers stranded across the continent.
