First Air (Carp) says it has given notice to Canadian North (5T, Yellowknife) that it will terminate their codeshare relationship with effect from May 16, 2017.

The two High Arctic specialists entered into the agreement back in May 2015, approximately eight months after talks over a possible merger were called off. At the time, they hoped the deal, which also included Calm Air (MO, Thompson), would boost the sustainability of each carrier's scheduled services.

“The codeshare achieved the efficiencies and schedule improvements that First Air had hoped for,” First Air President and CEO, Brock Friesen, said. "However our customers have told us that they strongly prefer to fly First Air on its own."

As it stands, the agreement is due to come under scrutiny from Canada's Competition Bureau (CB) following accusations by failed start-up Go Sarvaq (Iqaluit) that First Air and Canadian North colluded to keep GoSarvaq out of the market through predatory pricing.