I think the Air Canada CEO is operating on the principal of “don’t waste the opportunity a crisis presents”. He is looking to permanently shrink the cost base of the airline both in terms of an optimized fleet mix and structural reductions in the employee cost base.
This is also a shot across the bow of the Prime Minister. The government is shoveling money out the door and he obviously wants some
The really interesting thing for me is of pretty much all of the major airlines, Air Canada has the most pessimistic models for the resumption of air travel and this is the driver for early and drastic action to dramatically shrink the airline immediately.
Sadly I think he is going to be seen as prescient.....