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Discount airfare company NewLeaf Travel will be testing the skies in Calgary over the next three weeks, using the holiday season rush to gauge whether local travellers are willing to sacrifice some frills in exchange for a cheap flight.

The Winnipeg-based travel operator, which styles itself in the “ultra-low-cost carrier” model popularized by discount airlines like Ireland’s Ryanair and U.S.-based Spirit, launched in Canada in July. Since then, it has operated over 1,000 flights and carried about 125,000 passengers, serving markets like Abbotsford, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Moncton, and Halifax.

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The company will be starting three-day-a-week non-stop service from Calgary to Phoenix in January, but is making its entry into the local market now with holiday season service to Hamilton, Ont. — at a steep discount from what the major airlines are offering. For example, a last minute booking to Hamilton from Calgary, departing Dec. 17 and returning Dec. 30, was going for $432 on NewLeaf’s website on Friday. That same trip on the same dates was advertised for $889 on WestJet’s website and wasn’t even available on Air Canada’s website.