Tango takes to Halifax, St. John's Last Updated Mon Jan 7 17:01:27 2002 ST. JOHN'S - Tango, Air Canada's low-cost carrier, has added two new eastern departure points. Although some were enthusiastic about the new service, others were critical. Tango offers a no-frills approach with no first-class and passengers have to pay for food and drinks. The airline now flies from Halifax to Montreal, Ottawa and St. John's, Newfoundland. With the demise of Canada 3000 last November, travellers in the Atlantic clamored for cheap seats on Tango. "It was only $109 one-way to St. John's, it's a bargain," said Halifax traveller Eva Toth. "I thought it was fine, I was expecting bottom of the line service, and it was comfortable. The staff was friendly," said fellow passenger Frank LeBlanc. Passengers say they were also surprised at the quick check-in and lack of lineups. But the praise wasn't overwhelming. Some in the travel industry say they're concerned Tango doesn't really offer a choice for consumers. The federal competition bureau is watching the discount carrier closely. The bureau says the only way to have real competition is for another carrier to step in. Ches Chard of the Travel Agents Association in Newfoundland agrees. He says Tango doesn't count as competition because it's run by Air Canada. "They control the low end and the high end," says Chard. "As long as they keep the spread, they can continue to raise prices. We would like to see a non-Air Canada competitor come in here as well." WestJet's CEO, Clive Beddoe, has promised new routes in 2002, but they're not expected to be implemented until the end of the year. Beddoe has also predicted that Tango is destined for failure. "The concept of an airline within an airline has failed numerous times," said Beddoe in previous interviews "This is not going to turn Air Canada around." Meanwhile, Michel Leblanc, the former head of Royal Aviation who sold his company to the now-defunct Canada 3000, said he wants to launch a new discount carrier in the Atlantic. Leblanc has yet to release details of his plan but says he's been talking to other financial partners. Right now, Atlantic travellers have little choice. "Considering some of the problems I've had with Air Canada in the past, I'm pretty apprehensive to find out what the bare bones Air Canada service is like," says traveller Dave Thompson. Written by CBC News Online staff The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com ICQ: ICQ # 15836110 ICQ Pager: mailto:15836110@pager.icq.com escape email #!1 mailto:ejames@escape.ca yahoo email #2: mailto:triniroj@yahoo.com Yahoo Pager: triniroj Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Group on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribsocabrass Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Club Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeansocabrassconnection/ ******************************************************* Steel Expressions Orch http://www.escape.ca/~ejames/se/ email #1: mailto:steelexpressions@yahoo.com email #2: mailto:steelexpressions@home.com ******************************************************* The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Traffik) http://www.cariwaksoca.com/trafik.htm (Caribbean Traffik Jam) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************