In May 2022, the Government of Quebec announced a plan to ensure that all travelers can benefit from affordable and frequent air travel in the province.

Effective June 1, 2022, the maximum round-trip fare is $500 for passengers flying to and from remote regions. Then, the excess cost of the airfare will be paid by the Quebec government.

To obtain a cheap airfaire ticket, the flight must have as departure point or final destination the airport of Montreal, Quebec or Saint-Hubert, regardless of the number of stopovers if any.

The regions eligible for the Regional Air Access Program (RAAP) are :

• Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine
• Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Chibougamau
• Côte-Nord

This price is for all Quebecers as well as travelers from outside the province.

The maximum amount for a one-way trip is $250, even if there are one or more stopovers during the trip.

The discount is applied at the time of ticket purchase. The maximum purchase is three $500 round-trip tickets or six one-way tickets per year, between April 1 and March 31.

Despite the bad press this program has received in recent months, there are still some good deals to have. For example, I had to decide:

• Do I take a 6-hour bus ride for $145 from Saguenay to Montreal with a transfer in Quebec City or a1-hour direct flight for 190 $ from Saguenay to Montreal ?

In my personal situation and for the time savings, I preferred to fly through the RAAP even if it cost $45 more.

The airlines have financial assistance to pay the difference in airfare. The average cost of a ticket negotiated with each carrier is determined by reference to the pre-pandemic cost.

At this time, these air carriers are eligible:

• Pascan Aviation
• Air Canada
• Air Creebec
• Air Inuit
• PAL Airlines
• Air Liaison

They serve the following cities:

It should be noted that a carrier must serve a destination in a remote area throughout the year in order to receive financial assistance.

For example, Air Canada only serves the Magdalen Islands in the summer. Therefore, she is not eligible to offer $500 tickets. However, if Air Canada gives a firm one-year commitment to the Quebec government, it may be entitled to the compensation.

Here are the eligible routes, cities and airlines for the $500 ticket.

Pascan is one of the airlines offering a $500 ticket to the Magdalen Islands from Montreal.

When searching on their site, you must choose the PAAR option. The cost per trip is $249.97.

One trick we really like is to reimburse the cost of an airline ticket with points.

Simply charge the cost of the airline ticket to a credit card offering rewards points and then apply the points to the purchase. A credit is then applied to the card account.

For example, redeeming 55,000 NBC Rewards points for a $500 airline ticket with Pascan could reduce the bill by $500. In total, your flight would cost you $0!!!!