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Air Canada makes amends after flights to Fort McMurray skyrocket in price

As Air Canada customers in Edmonton attempted to connect with loved ones in Fort McMurray, many faced sticker-shock as they shopped for flights into and out of the region.

Several customers took to social media to express their displeasure after flights leaving the distressed region for Edmonton were listed on the Air Canada website for almost four times the typical price on May 3 and 4.

“And be sure to hate on Air Canada, who rose the price of flights leaving the region from under $200 to $700. BE SURE TO HATE THEM,” said one commenter on Imgur (Yahoo Finance Canada was unable to independently verify these prices).

These weren’t the only flights that seemed exorbitantly high, either. A Facebook user posted a screenshot of the Air Canada website listing flights from Fort McMurray to Sidney, Nova Scotia at over $5,000.

[Crop of screenshot posted by Facebook user Stanley Brian on May 4.]

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“I paid $314 to Syndey on Friday,” wrote Brad MacDonald in a comment under the photo. The Suncor construction worker was returning home from Fort McMurray.

So what was going on here? Was Air Canada seriously gouging customers in desperate circumstances?

“It is not correct that we raised fares in response to this devastating situation,” Air Canada said in a statement released to the public.

“In some cases, customers booking last minute on May 3 and 4 on flights from Fort McMurray and Edmonton have paid premium fares. This was a result of Air Canada’s computerized revenue management system, which automatically manages fares. Regrettably, we were unable to intervene in advance to manually adjust fares.”

The statement went on to say that customers who paid premium fares will be contacted and they will be refunded the difference between the price they paid and the normally available, lowest advance fare.

“As I write this, one can purchase an Edmonton-Halifax flight for today for $323,” wrote Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick in an emailed response to Yahoo Canada Finance on May 6. He also revealed that the airline has dropped change and bag fees for those affected.

Fitzpatrick did not explain what exactly influenced the company’s computerized revenue management system to raise prices at such an inopportune time, saying only, “There are a large number of factors and a variety of them come to bear in each particular situation.”

A representative from eRevMax, a Florida-based company that makes computerized revenue management systems said that it usually comes down to inventory.

A salesperson who spoke to Yahoo anonymously said that the fewer flights that are available, the more prices will go up based on the computerized system.

With up to 90,000 people being evacuated from the Fort McMurray area, it’s not hard to assume flights would be hard to come by. Currently, Air Canada is adding more flights out of the region.

“Air Canada and its Air Canada Express partner Jazz have taken a number of measures to assist in this situation, including so far adding more than 1,300 extra seats into Alberta for people wishing to travel,” wrote Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick wrote the airline also delivering emergency supplies to affected areas, chartering flights at cost to oil companies seeking to airlift employees from dangerous areas and has already donated $50,000 to the Red Cross.

“We continue to explore other options for assisting in this difficult situation and are in constant contact with those coordinating the response, letting them know we are standing by to help as needed.”