Embarking upon my first flights NewLeaf’s discount airline was a learning experience. I have emerged much the wiser as to how it works, after taking it basically halfway across the country.
I’ll dispense with being so opaque and give you my discoveries, distilled down to the heuristic by which I make most decisions: a pro and con list.
Pro: the price
Everyone to whom I’ve spoken about my plans to fly with NewLeaf already will roll their eyes at reading this, but I literally paid half of what I would normally pay to fly home for Christmas, booking at a time at which it’s usually not cheap to book flights.
No matter how many inconveniences there are on a round trip from Winnipeg to the Maritimes and back, the price fully justifies each and every one of them.
This is a game changer for a lot of people who probably wish they could to fly more.
Pro: The young families
There were a lot of young families who availed themselves of NewLeaf’s far more affordable services. Instead of spending thousands of dollars to bring themselves home to granny and grandpa for Christmas, they finally had an alternative.
It warms my heart to think of how much stress they were probably able to avoid, in doing that.
Con: The young families
I’m going to sound like a jerk admitting this, but there was a cloud for the silver lining I wrote about above. By “young families,” in this case I am specifically referring to the ones with the screaming, howling, caterwauling, shrieking, babies prone to defecating at the worst possible times (I.E. when all the washrooms were occupied with lines, so they couldn’t be changed right away.)
I understand that screaming malodorous babies are just an inevitability of life. So really, the only problem I had was that I was seated in their immediate proximity—between three families, in fact—with babies that literally created a symphony of screams, sobs and other awful discordant vocalizations headphones can’t drown out. Next time, I’m paying the extra $15 and picking a seat.
Pro: Landing
It’s almost inevitable when flying on major airlines that take you through Ontario that you end up landing at and enduring a layover in the sprawling, crowded abject cesspool of stress and misery that is the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Not with NewLeaf. Part of their strategy is to utilize smaller Canadian airpots (like Hamilton’s, in lieu of Toronto’s) for lower landing fees, which translate to lower costs for passengers. I have no problem with this.
Pro: Options
I love to travel light. NewLeaf encourages that, because the amount you pay for luggage depends on how much you bring on the plane. I realize that is a significant impediment who don’t have the privilege of being able to bring everything they need in a bulging carry on and a small piece of checked luggage, but it sure as hell works for me.
Con: The Delays
There were significant delays every time we landed. That really sucked. I understand that this is a problem that’s basically intrinsic to how all airliners operate in the winter, in Canada, but sometimes the causes of delays were absolutely foolish, during my outgoing and returning flights.
During what ought to have been a brief stop in Hamilton, the pilot of my flight threw what amounted to a hissy-fit because there purportedly was a little ice on the steps up to the plane.
Of course, the staff of the airport took his expression of anger to heart and refused to get a new ramp for almost two hours, to let the handful of passengers that needed to get off, off the plane.
Pro: The Service
Despite the litany of quirks and metaphorical speed bumps along the way, from people who don’t seem understand that “This flight boards at 11:30 a.m.” means they have to be at the gate before 11:30 a.m., to families wanting to switch seats to sit together at the front of the plane and that one tipsy passenger demanding why a discount airliner doesn’t offer its booze at a cheaper price, the staff with NewLeaf don’t miss a beat and maintained impeccable professionalism throughout.
