Inaugural NextJet flight leaves Waterloo Region

The first NextJet flight flew out of the Region of Waterloo International Airport Monday morning, arriving in Gatineau at 8:20 a.m. to much fanfare, according to company owner Tan Ahmed.

"We had a great event," Ahmed said. "The media was here and everything."

• Nextjet flights between Kitchener and Montreal to start May 2

The nine-seater first flight was full, with four passengers boarding at the Waterloo airportand another five boarding at a stopover in Peterborough.

New flights coming

NextJet flights will leave the Waterloo airport at 6:45 a.m. Monday to Friday, with an additional 7:45 p.m. departure on Fridays, according to apress release.

"We really want to stabilize this schedule we have right now," he said. "Once that happens, we will be changing the schedule and adding new flights and everything."

With taxes, a one-way flight to Peterborough costs $99.99, to Gatineau costs $285.07, and to Montreal costs $315.72.

Airport participates in marketing

The Region of Waterloo has agreed to help with marketing for the new flights out of the local airport.

According to airport generalmanager Chris Wood, the region has agreed to a per-passenger formula that could contribute up to $15,000 towardadvertising the new service.