Dictators of the Skies?

[Fender Bender]

Dictator of the skies : Prime time : SunNews Video Gallery (http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/featured/prime-time/867432237001/dictator-of-the-skies/1094497028001)

(Video quality fair):eek:

Comments? Discussion?

[kennedy]

I've never heard such biased, incorrect, small minded, bigoted, crap in my career!

I can't believe that a representative of a upstanding professional pilot's body could be such an idiot!

No wonder the Canadian pilots at EK, EY and QR left their homeland to find employment as that union will drive Air Canada to bankcrupt itself before allowing in the competition, instead of fixing its own problems to defeat the competition!

[GMC1500]

Couldn't agree more. It makes foxnews look fair and balanced. Its embarassing for Canadians, of which I am one.

[fo4ever]

Kennedy,

You have been in the UAE too long dude.

I say he is 100% correct.

No such thing as fair competition. If you think so why don´t you go work for 500 AED/month as a baggage handler.

[Left Coaster]

Or how about at the bottom of the AC seniority list at 35 years old with a starting salary about 40K at a 40 percent tax bracket with lousy benefits and a union self destructing and no chance to make a command until almost 55...I could go on....sad isn't it?

[Eric Carr]

I´d have to say that the biggest losers would be the Canadian pubic who will be left with only Air Canada and Star Alliance if they want to explore the world if EK won´t get more slots or even lose the ones they have. But maybe you´re happy staying at home if you live in Canada;)

[falconeasydriver]

I say he is 100% correct.

No such thing as fair competition

Umm I don't know if you understand the definition of competition, but heres the oxford concise version..


"noun


the activity or condition of competing:there is fierce competition between banks at this conservatory, competition for admissions is stiff
an event or contest in which people compete:a beauty competition
[in singular] the person or people with whom one is competing, especially in a commercial or sporting arena; the opposition:I walked around to check out the competition"
So first things first, competition isn't about leveling the playing field, nor is it about being fair. It all boils down to using every little advantage you posses to be better than those you are competing against.
Air Canada have used their own advantages i.e. political clout, the home advantage, fear of the big bad M/E airlines etc to win this round of competition, much it must be said to the detriment of the Canadian traveling public.
This interview merely reinforces my view that Air Canada has absolutely NO intention of doing anything other than continuing on with business as usual, after all why shouldn't they?
Protectionism in a globalized world doesn't work anymore and ultimately the consumers will vote with their feet.
If anyone was in any doubt about the type of journalism involved here, go and watch the way Faux news (its on OSN)do it to give you a good clue as to the blinkered misinformation on offer.
What a load of utter bollocks.

[Neptunus Rex]

One prolific slice of the market for the UAE airlines is flying Indians and Sri Lankans to North America via the Gulf. Air Canada flies to Delhi and Mumbai, but not to Chennai or Colombo, which both have substantial numbers of passengers flying to and from Canada and the USA.

Get in there and compete.

[Alconguin Crusader]

Why do you keep defending Emirates? They treat their staff like crap and could not care less about you or any of its employees.
800 dhs a month baggage handler and the minute he gets sick its back to his 3rd world country thank you very much.
They do not honor contracts unless it suits them.
They fly you over 90 plus hours a month and that is all hard time, in the middle of the night with two pilots and no credit time whatsoever. Most pilots at Emirates have no idea what credit time is or ever experienced it however.
Here are some facts not mentioned;
Emirates labor costs are 13% of their budget. Most LCCs are more than twice that and legecy carriers approach three times that. Emirates will kill any airline it comes across.
If you want competition it must be fair for all involved. 1st world airlines can not pay their unskilled labor $200 a month. First of all it is illegal and what kind of worker would you get for that price even if you could pay that?
The jobs that Emirates would provide in Canada would be min wage at best. They would go to the local FBO and hire a local mechnic for probably $15 an hour and ramp workers for $8/hr. These are the jobs Emirates say they will give Canada.
Meanwhile since Emirates has slave labor and very little income tax they will literally kill AC. The $40,000 baggage handler goes away and so does the taxes he pays. The Canadian government will now have to pay for the low wage workers insurance, pension and dental because Emirates will not. Also the gov't will have to pay the laid off AC worker unemployement. This is what you want? Just so the good people of Canada can have cheap seats?
There is very little market between the UAE and Canada. All Emirates wants to do is swing the Indians and take market share. I say give it to the airlines that pay a decent wage and honors its contracts and obligations.

[Eric Carr]

Why do you keep defending Emirates?
Dunno if anyone is, I just couldn´t care less aboot Air Canada...

[Kapitanleutnant]

Algonquin...'

Thats exactly why EK will never have outbasing anywhere.... They lose their advantage tremendously!!

This is total sensationalistic journalism.... if you can even call it journalism.

"Blood thirsty dictator"??? Huh???

This guy is a knucklehead pure and simple.

[alwayzinit]

Mr "AC" ......

Don't know about defending EK but having been in this business for my entire life EK offers a lot that is not available elsewhere.

Without doubt certain aspets of life are different in the EK circle but speaking from a purely personal point of view I am very happy in EK, my family is also very happy in DXB.

We have a standard of living that most, if not all my buddies still in the UK have expressed their desire to have as well.

In light of recent events............... We also don't miss gangs of scum running about being a bloody nuisance!

The Air Canada vs EK "battle" will be won by Canadians voting with their credit cards. Hopefully, and I have no idea if this will happen, EK will fly to SEATAC asap and avoid the whole silly issue.

Happy landings chaps:ok:

[Left Coaster]

Crusader...do you not think that AC would really love to lower their costs by dropping benefits and salaries? I do! They've been trying to do it for years! Thanks to a little common sense it hasn't gone too far...yet...and yes, minimum wage would be the target any airline would like to pay a worker for maximum hours...some call it slave labour and some call it productivity...but you need to put a fact or two in your argument...the issue in this video is that the reporting is juvenile and lacks credibility...its a set up posing as journalism...no facts and plenty of inflammatory rhetoric! (Kinda like your posting.) AC has the same wish as EK...dominate markets, steal revenue and lower costs...they just have a different set of roadblocks to clear. Ask yourself why so many Canadian pilots ended up working for EK in the last 10 years? Is it because of a balanced and fair airline policy in Canada that allowed a forced merger between 2 major competitors and allowed a huge number of employees at other carriers to watch their employers struggle to match the predatory actions at AC? Eventually those airlines failed and hundreds of well qualified pilots were forced to either join AC at the bottom of a seniority list (care to start a career agian at 45?) or leave the country. Fair policy? AC wins at all costs...its an often repeated action that will keep lowering the bar for pilots in Canada for a long time...keeps the costs down for the airline doesn't it? :ouch:

[Fender Bender]

AC,
So when EK/EY flies to Canada, who is doing their handling? I doubt if the underwing employees are working at the same rates they would be in the UAE. And of course, when AC comes into the UAE, are the workers handling the aircraft working for the Canadian wages? I am very well aware of credit time, duty rigs etc., but where would one go, in the "western" world and make what one can in the first year at EY or EK? UPS pays around 36USD an hour for the first year pay. Sure second year pay is excellent, but that is "food stamp" pay for anyone in their first year (slave labor?). Perhaps, just a thought, that there could be just a bit of unsaid "racism" in keeping more from the subcontinent out of Canada? Just a thought. BTW, love Canada, its people and culture, always have. And good for the Canadian pilots to have this gent standing up for them, but not good for the general public wanting a true deregulated sky.

[Craggenmore]

Crusader,

Where are the clothes and shoes that you are wearing and electrical appliances in your house come from?

No one can escape aiding exploitation in this global economy.

[LHR Rain]

The reason so many Canadian pilots are at Emirates is because in Canada there salaries are very low and Canadian taxes are very high.
Coupled with the fact that many airlines went out of business in Canada so there are many pilots in the UAE.
The reason so many Emirates pilots are happy is that they come from dodgey airlines that don't pay as much as EK. You can't argue that EK treats its pilots well or even fairly. You can just say Ek is better than where you were before.

[Alconguin Crusader]

When I first posted I did not watch the video. I have since and it is not first class journalism I admit but the points the Captain makes are prefectly valid.
Blood thirsty dictator is over the top. He should have just said dictator because when was the last election he "won."
The airlines of the world are going to have to stand up and stop Emirates because as they said in the video 6 major airlines in Europe no longer serve Aus. Emirates killed the competition with their vey low wages and government support. Notice how I did not say subsides.

[falconeasydriver]

The airlines of the world are going to have to stand up and stop Emirates because as they said in the video 6 major airlines in Europe no longer serve Aus

More uninformed headline grapping.

Alitalia? Try telling me that this organisation was anything other than an enormous sponge, how may bailouts from the govt?
Sabena? Never turned a profit as far as I was aware, now Bankrupt.
BA do fly to SYD in their own aircraft, as well as code share, as do Virgin Atlantic in their own aircraft (via HKG).

What you are REALLY saying is "The airlines of the world who traditionally have dominated the market, wish to maintain their marketshare" and that they are frightened to the extent where they will use all means at their disposal to facilitate this.

Pure unadulterated crap journalism.

[dkz]

@Alconguin

You talk about baggage handlers making $200/month ... That comes with the land and not with the company. As far as i know when AC goes to Delhi and Mumbai they couldn't care less how much the baggage handler is making when they load their aircraft ... also Emirates when they load their aircraft in Toronto pay the full handling charge.

As flight crew, salary seems much better in the M/E.

The only point of discussion here is the lack of unions here, without a minimum wage they will hire anybody that takes the job. (AC will do just that if they could). - and that is NOT illegal (in the UAE).

[Left Coaster]

LHR...dodgy airlines? Why don't you ask the EK guys who joined from C3, AC, BA, TAM, VARIG, SQ, SQC, CP, UAL, Delta, SW, AA, Virgin, Jet Blue, AF, SAS, Sabena or many other good operators if they thought they came from a "dodgy" carrier? Another hard question for you...is it "there" "their" or "they're"?

[KangarooFlyer]

The Air Canada union leader is naturally trying to rally support for the unpopular protection of his, his membership's and Air Canada's position at the expense of the Canadian flying public. The xenophobic, racist and ignorant comments distract from the professionalism and credibility of the interview, in which the interviewer is doing as much of the carping as the union leader.

The irony not yet mentioned in this thread is that it is Canada government's recently-reiterated policy to try to obtain more Sixth Freedom traffic through Toronto - in other words, having Air Canada moving more U.S. passengers to and from third countries through Pearson Airport. Just like KLM, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and, yes, Emirates.

Air Canada likes to have it both ways, arguing for free enterprise and "competition" when it suits them, claiming the protection of the government as flag carrier and former Crown corporation whenever necessary.

As for Air Canada's desirability as an employer, ask any former Canadi>n employee.

[jackbauer]

The use of the term Crusader on a ME forum immediately suggests this guy is a troll. When you read the ill-informed rubbish he writes the suspicion is confirmed. Ignore list!

[Jumeirah James]

OMG, I've joined the Dubai Air Force. :D I couldn't stop laughing at this interview. Wasn't the interviewer Drew Carey?

[kumul1]

Question. If a carrier from the sub continent (where the majority of the ramp workers in the gulf are from), decided to up it's game and expand like the Gulf carriers and try to 'BULLY' it's way into Canada (where most of them live anyway), will Canada still cry foul? Bear in mind the overheads in those countries are way less.

[ironbutt57]

Air India, PIA, and Aircanada should merge...and form a nice big hometown airline:}:}

[masalama]

I think what the video discusses is very much real and credible. As EK continues to expand, you will find more govts wary of the NKOTB eventually leading to some co-ordinated action. Bullying tactics might work in UAE but it's a whole new game out there ....let's wait and see.

Here in India, there's growing media focus on the middle eastern carriers growth at the cost of Indian airline businesses.Limiting flying rights of flydubai into India was one of the outcomes of this pressure from the media .EK cant land a widebody on a 6000 ft runway in say patna/rajkot/jammu/raipur etc ...so their idea was to get the sister , no unrelated flydubai to get the passengers out of these smaller Indian airports. I hope the Federation of Indian Airlines(FIA) and other aviation bodies apply increased pressure to reverse this situation and allow professional Indian carriers like Indigo, Jet, Kf, Spice etc . to grow in a fair aviation friendly environment .

While our govt. is at fault for the skewed aviation policies that affect Indian airline companies , I'm sure the ME airlines would have a role to play in the rule making /policies of the govt. Recently, the economic times in India called Emirates the national airline of India purely based on it's frequency of flights from/to India.

In spite of our govt, there are a few Indian carriers that can give EK a run for their money in the years to come, interesting times ahead maybe????

masalama.:ok:

[Left Coaster]

Dear Crusader...why don't you bring the argument back here in public rather than hiding in there behind the PMs? No one likes to argue or whatever it is you do in the dark...or do I ignore ya like many others seem to do?
Cheers! LC :bored:

[fliion]

Boys and girls: Simply put its Geography.

I you are at either end of the world you cant make point to point work...if your are in the middle...you can connect the dots.

Newcastle-Sydney ...No

Calgary - Colombo....No

Only a matter of time...and before the AC crowd get too high on their moral horse, they agreed to let EK penetrate Canada for 50% of the profits a number of years ago and EK said no - at which point it was "well if we cant do business with them" lets attack (not sure why morally they sought a deal with the so called 'dictator in the skies' in the first place - after all its about principle right?.....riiiiiggghhht)

Awful lot of imported cars built by labourers in Asia zooming around the streets of Canada...the consumer will ultimately prevail...at which point...shall we say "schadenfreude"

This isn't about human rights or competitive fairness - its about a business model that cannot work. Let Capt Luddite scream...it wont stop the paradigm global shift in hub dynamics.

f.

[White Knight]

Two very stupid and ignorant fellows on that video!!!!!

AC WILL go down:E:E And hopefully the spineless governement with it. EK (for all of it's faults) will generate far more income and business IN Canada for Canadians than AC can ever hope to achieve...

LHR RAin - check the backgrounds of many many pilots here; they're not all from P1ssWiily Air:hmm::hmm:

The airlines of the world are going to have to stand up and stop Emirates because as they said in the video 6 major airlines in Europe no longer serve Aus

Interesting that you (and the two spanners on the video) mention Sabena! Let's face it, Sabena was in it's death throes before 9/11.... And Alitalia??? That's good for a laugh. They can't even afford new paper aeroplanes:p:p

No - I'm not defending Emirates either. I just think that the Canadian government and AC are as hypocritical as the entity that they hate so much:=:=:=

[sheikmyarse]

Let me applaude this video:ok:
Time to stop the ******* habibis slaver, exploiter dictators sheiks of my arse.
Some of you need Stockolm Syndrome treatment.
Well done !!!

[Cpt. Underpants]

It's about reciprocity.

Air service agreements are supposed to be mutually beneficial. There's no doubt that EK would kick ACs' butt. You can't deny the contestants aren't evenly matched.

EK doesn't represent anything but the ultimate manipulation of ASAs. Because the market is there doesn't mean you have the right to grab it all.

No one can compete against the EK behemoth and thrive.

I'm no fan of Air Canada either but it's no fight when the 98 lb vegan weakling is battling the gorilla on steroids.

Go and beat your chest elsewhere guys, it ain't going to happen till the rules change and the wimps' training regimen is done.

[GMC1500]

I dont' care who is serving the Dubai-Canada market, as long as somebody is, at least daily or whatever the market will bear. Right now I have 3 flts per week in which to try to get home, compare that to my colleagues from any other country that we serve. Even in markets that are flown twice per day, most of the flights are full. Ask an aussie how easy it is to get home.
All this protectionist bulls*^t is just a red herring. They want a chance to catch up, but they can't possibly expand as quickly as Emirates can. And should a route turn unprofitable, especially a long haul one, they can't adjust as quickly as Emirates can. They're fuc*#d and they know it.
And don't call that interview journalism. Its sensationalism at best, agitation at worst. Nobody in Canada has ever considered Ezra Levant (the 'interviewer') a real journalist.
How about getting Rex Murphy to interview Capt Strachan???

[muppet in the sky]

To be honest, I think EK has got some great exposure from this.... Those pictures of the airline look fab :p

New airplanes, great seats, better service, they have THEIR OWN airport, and more importantly for the Canadian consumer.... CHEAPER tickets as mentioned by the interviewer!!!

My 2 cents....

[MrMachfivepointfive]

Muppet: Spot on. Great commercial and EK didn't even have to pay for the air time.

[CAYNINE]

Mupp I too thought that it was a great ad for EK!!!

On the issue of "Government funded" aircraft.... I believe that on several of our planes these a neat little silver plaque in the flight deck that tells you who the owner and lessor is..... last time I looked it didn't say "Government of Dubai".

Canadians unfortunately are going to be the big losers in service and convenience because of Harperism politics.

[Cpt. Underpants]

I'll repeat my 98lb weakling vs. the gorilla analogy.

It's not a fair fight and any government would need it's head read if they allow unfettered access to their markets by EK. Just because it's there doesn't mean it's yours to take.

Stop beating your chests and grow up, for Petes sake.

[three eighty]

Stop beating your chests and grow up, for Petes sake.

Stop crying into your glass of milk and grow a pair for Petes sake

[fliion]

Capt U,

I wonder would you be sounding the same tune if CX had access to only three flights a week to YYZ.

Stop it, its pathetic.

Dubai is a global hub whose govt will invest in its strenght...location. AC offer nothing to the sub-continent eventhough its citizens are well ensconced in Canadian society like the Asians that CX so profitably serve.

Arguing that city pairs must only provide for direct point to point pax in todays world would put your airline out of business...back to the fragrant harbour with you

f.

[Eric Carr]

Maybe someone north of the border can help me out.
Why would AC stand or fall with a bit more competition on one, yes one destination namely DXB. EK isn't asking for rights to fly to Europe nor other places in north america:confused:
AC has 200 or so planes and without having studied their route map I´m still confident that they don´t fly exclusively to the subcontinent (where most passengers to DXB end up).
To be honest I feel that you mounties over react just a little bit:rolleyes:

[Swan Man]

There is too much focus on the cheap video. The focus should be on Emirates and how they administer their contracts and treat their employees.

[Wizofoz]

So we shouldn't be discussing the contents of a video in a thread about the contents of a video?

EVERY thread should be about Emirates contracts??

[muppet in the sky]

wizofoz: couldn't agree more!!

[Swan Man]

Most of us come from 1st world countries where the Rule of Law is paramount. It is the basis of civilization.
When Emirates does not honor contracts at the very least we as pilots should be very concern. We are going down a slippery slope. They can do whatever they want and we have no recourse.
It is the same ole song and dance. Emirates has two sets of rules. One for what happens out of the middle east and one for how they treat us. Completley different set of rules.

[GMC1500]

You're thread creeping there, swanny. Start a new one if you like.

[White Knight]

Most of us come from 1st world countries where the Rule of Law is paramount. It is the basis of civilization.

Give us the figures dude:{:{:{

[sheikmyarse]

Swan... it is a lost cause. You cannot talk with White Knight or the like... does his nickname tell you anything? WK is most probably a Southafrican that fled when the oppressed black people raised and took control of their land ,country and airline.There are many in EK in this or similar situation.
Most of EK convinced supporters have the same racist and slavery prone attitude of their arab masters.
The rest, to give an example , are so convinced they are privileged cause they can buy big polluting SUV...to drive to the mall in most cases.
They are part of a system of thought that is outdated as the silver plated brithish style pottery in EK first class that indian passenger like so much.
Whatever you might say the world as a natural tendency to improve. Look from Middle Age to now how much it has actually changed for the best. We are simply living a moment of reaction like many others driven by greed but this is just the preamble to more positive radical changes ahead. EK is profiting of this moment of social and political dismay in the civilized west.
But it is just a "moment" and the signs it is about to end are there.The UAE and consequently EK are socially 600 years behind and the end that , not Air Canada, will bring them down sooner than later.

[three eighty]

Thanks for clearing that up for us.
Where do I send my Air Canada application to?

[sheikmyarse]

If EK was to play on the same rules of socially responsible, civilized airlines there would be no EK and many more jobs in places with a decent climate. As simple as that!

[Wizofoz]

Yes, it's always a wonderful sight when BA or Virgin or Lufthansa pull up at a gate at Dubai, and their reps go down and give bags of money to the oppressed DNATA loaders and cleaners cause, you know, they're socially responsible and all and wouldn't exploit low paid workers....

...and then there's Ryanair....

[three eighty]

ahh yes an airline like Air Canada locked in perpetual battle with its pilot's union reminding them of how "socially responsible and civilized" they are

Me thinks its not the Sheiks arse your talking out of but rather your own!!

[touch&go]

Air Canada isn't perfect with regards to free trade if you look at the pilot recruitment page,

I'm British and loose my job because of the economic crisis so look around the world for a job to feed my family, looking at Air Canada for a job the answer would be no as I need to be be a citizen of Canada to work for them, I look at the middle east and they would say yes we will employ you, so you could say the middle east carriers are more open then Air Canada to flow of the labour.

That's what it says on the employment page:

aircanada.com - Career (http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/career/section_pilots.html)

[CanadaKid]

<Most of us come from 1st world countries where the Rule of Law is paramount. It is the basis of civilization.>

Swanman,

Funny, I left AC after many, many years because they abused the 'Rule of Law'. Wage & Working Conditions would be challenged immediately, after a new contract. Union grievances were filed, but the contract continued to be ignored. After extended negotiations failed, and arbitration was forced as a final result, inevitably all grievances were tossed out by the arbitrator.

Shortly after the new arbitrated contract, the company would ignore those portions of the new contract that it couldn't work around. The union would protest, and the company's response was, 'Grieve it'. this would carry on to the next contract negotiation, arbitration, where again, all grievances were tossed out .....

After many years of this charade, it seemed pretty clear to me what to do. CK

[fliion]

Back to the video and 'principles'...AC, and I suspect Capt 'Human Rights'...fly to China everyday...the country who has jailed the current Nobel Peace Laureate under censorship laws....

Step up to the plate AC, take a stance....and lets join hands together and get this slogan and campaign off the ground...

"Stop China flights NOW!!"

...cmon lads & lassies, who's with us eh!!???

; >

[fatbus]

Fliion, you are spot on with that one!

[usehername]

We are all indentured workers here; check the expiry date on your visa.

Kudos to the UAE for not giving away passports; and rights to its land (and oil).

Kudos to Capt Paul for publicly standing up for what he believes in.

Kudos to the government of Canada, and other nations, that stop or limit the amount of slots made available to foreign carriers.

It is impossible for a privately owned company to compete with a government, especially a rich government.

I'm sure EK's interest in Canada is to simply help the Canadian economy and to create jobs. After all, isn't that what big business is about? I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that they have 44 wide body's arriving in 18 months, and no where to send them.

The EK die hards have no problem with the UAE government supporting them, but seem to have an issue with the Canadian government supporting AC. Strange...

Peace in the ME.

[halas]

Emirates ruined the "Kangaroo Route"!

What a load of sh!t.

Star and Oneworld reigned in any loose kangaroo's on that one by condensing services to improve yield.

However l say good on the Canuks. And keep these two on TV as l found them very entertaining.

Halas

[usehername]

If the government of Canada is "blocking competition" for Air Canada, would that not constitute a type of 'support'? I don't know that they are blocking competition, just unfair competition.

Maybe the Canadian government would have limited the UAE slots without any input from AC, who knows.

"Open skies is an international policy concept which calls for the liberalization of rules and regulations on international aviation industry most specially commercial aviation - opening a free market for the airline industry. Its primary objectives are:
· to liberalize the rules for international aviation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_transport) markets and minimizes government intervention — the provisions apply to passenger, all-cargo and combination air transportation and encompass both scheduled and charter services; or
· to adjust the regime under which military and other state-based flights may be permitted.
For open skies to effect, a bilateral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilateral_Air_Transport_Agreement) (and sometimes multilateral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilateral)) Air Transport Agreement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilateral_Air_Transport_Agreement) has to be concluded between two or more nations."

In reference to the first bullet point, "minimize government intervention".

EK is owned by the government.

The UAE kicked the Canadian Armed Forces out of Mirage because they did not get their 60+ weekly landing slots in Canada.

This is blatant government intervention and goes against the first objective of the open skies agreement.

"Emirates is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emirates_Group), which has over 50,000 employees, and is wholly owned by the government of Dubai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates) directly under the Investment Corporation of Dubai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment_Corporation_of_Dubai).[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_(airline)#cite_note-6) "

Canada is not the first, nor the last, nation to block or limit foreign carriers. Nor is Canada the only nation with a concern for its own economy and interests with regards to EK.

"Some of these carriers—notably Air France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France) and Qantas—are so concerned about the detrimental effects of Emirates' growth on their future ability to compete with it on a level playing field (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_playing_field) that they have resorted to openly accusing their Dubai-based rival of receiving hidden state subsidies and of maintaining too cozy a relationship with Dubai's airport authority as well as its aviation authority, both of which are also wholly state-owned entities that share the same government owner with the airline. In addition, they have also accused Emirates of taking unfair advantage of its government shareholders' sovereign borrower status. They claim that this masks its true financial performance and reduces its borrowing costs below market rates.[85] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_(airline)#cite_note-CNN-84)[163] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_(airline)#cite_note-162)"

[Desert Cat]

LHR Rain,

Disagree with you! I came from Air Canada and work for EK. Best move of my life... I quit after the merger mess with CAI (I am former AC, not CAI) which screwed me out of my seniority and career progression forever at AC. And I was not junior. That is in fact why I left. Pilots are too busy there fighting each other to see what is going on elsewhere. Can't trust the unions, sorry!

Competition with subsidized carrier? Nope... What about AC paying for the housing and utility bills for all of its employees? There is no way they would survive. Yet EK, EY and the likes do that, so it levels the playing field somewhat if you are worried about that. I agree with others: competition is not about being fair... It's about competing using every advantage you have.

What about the AC business model, pre-merger with Canadian, of flooding the USA with multiple direct routes using RJ's everywhere and to squeeze every other airline in Canada to keep / increase their monopoly? I was there when it was going on... They are doing it to Porter right now! Since when AC wants to fly out of Toronto Island? Come on... Leave me alone with open sky and fair competition. AC doesn't even fly to the Middle East...

I'll stop here...

[jackbauer]

This says it all really.
Emirates Dictator of the Skies video; a nasty media smear | Plane Talking (http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2011/08/22/emirates-video-a-study-in-media-hysterics/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrikeyBlogs%2Fplanetalking+%28Plane+Tal king%29)

[Left Coaster]

Ok buddy...time's up! By hiding behind a cowardly and personally insulting PM, you've shown yourself to be a little boy pilot...by the looks of things you didn't do your homework before you joined EK, and now you are stuck, so you've chosen to throw all your toys out of your playpen... tough luck big guy...I fail to see why you still insist on staying and complaining...just take that big jet home and leave your long suffering colleagues alone...oh by the way, your PM was steeerike 3! You're out! Ignored....see ya! :D

[SOPS]

I have just watched the video..and it seems a great ad for EK..shows the FC Suites and the FC Terminal..all (I would think) positive for pax..so I dont get the point?...."At Air Canada we dont have this in First..so noone else can"...is that what he is trying to say???

(Do Air Canada even have First Class anymore?? And do they have dedicated terminals and louges worldwide??)

[Airmann]

No No, EK would really hurt AC bad.

Most think that its just AC's flights that fly the Indian/African passengers to from Canada but its more than just that.

Those flights also help subsidies AC's regional services, so if they go into deficit the regional flights will stop, which will then hurt transport throughout Canada. I don't think AC can compete with EK and never will be able to. Canada is a small country guys, don't be fooled by its size, it has half the population of the UK and in reality most Canadians are middle class and don't travel much.

As for what is said about the slave labour in the UAE its all true and its one of the biggest injustices in the world today. For a man to say that he works 9-5, 6 days a week and to be earning just enough to feed his family is criminal. Especially as the companies they work for are raking in big profits. Its just more proof that this world is heading for a massive realignment.

[KangarooFlyer]

"Most think that its just AC's flights that fly the Indian/African passengers to from Canada but its more than just that.

Those flights also help subsidies AC's regional services, so if they go into deficit the regional flights will stop, which will then hurt transport throughout Canada. I don't think AC can compete with EK and never will be able to. Canada is a small country guys, don't be fooled by its size, it has half the population of the UK and in reality most Canadians are middle class and don't travel much."

First of all, Air Canada does not even fly to India or Africa; it hands off those passengers to its Star Alliance partners in Europe.

As for intercontinental flights subsidising regional services, that is Air Canada's problem with its business model and not the problem of other carriers wishing to serve traffic to and from Canada. After all, Air Canada has run domestic competitors out of the market. If the Canadian people wish to have subsidised local service, that is on them to do so by paying higher fares or taxpayer-funded subsidies on those routes. In any case, this is a bogus argument because a passenger wanting to go someplace on a regional flight will do so either way, whether connecting from an Air Canada flight or another airline's flight at the intercontinental gateway. So the issue of regional flights is completely irrelevant, as they will probably see more passengers on those flights if there are more choices to connect to at the hub city.

The problem is that Air Canada argues for open skies and competition when it suits them - such as taking passengers out of USA and hubbing them over Toronto and Vancouver - then cries for protection and subsidies to Canada government, when it suits them.

Air Canada are a bunch of crybaby hypocrites who cannot compete on the open market. The protection and subsidy of Air Canada hurts the economy and citizens of Canada far more than allowing increased air service and international trade into Canada would or could ever hurt Air Canada.