The airline industry in Canada is intent on self-destruction, and for all intents and purposes, has been fataly wounded. Recent events included.
Our Liberal Government, having painted itself into a corner over airline mergers and competition, is running out of, and short of solutions. Despite protests from out of work airline workers, this government refuses to listen. It’s its own boss. For this reason I expect to see Air 2000 operate out of Toronto this winter as a viable solution to the present state of the industry.
And why not?
Perhaps they are welcome more than many care to admit.
We should expect this proposal to meet with ‘token’ resistance in Parliament. The number of ‘out of work’ airline employees is only a fraction of the number found in our Fisheries Industry. Bureaucrats will make that comparison and realize the present airline unemployment situation isn’t that bad by comparison. In fact, there are many within Government on record (during the Air Canada/Canadian Airlines merger) as having called for the allowance of Foreign Carriers to operate within Canada. The rationale being the threat that exists to the consumer is of far greater concern than their concern for the industry through forced and ‘artificial’ competition.
Frankly, with all the Canadian consumer has had to put up with for the past 10 years, there is likely to be a reasonably large number of Canadians who’d support Air 2000 and Signature. Fed by anti-Air Canada attitudes on all fronts.
It will take months for an alternative to arrive on the scene. The hopeful startups already stating their wishes to compete with Air Canada.
Will we ever learn?
Angus Kinear is talking about creating a charter airline from the remnants of Canada 3000.
Michel Leblanc is talking about an Eastern Canada based, low-cost carrier, modelled after ‘Southwest’. (Didn’t CanJet just fail with that idea before C3 rushed in?)
Who knows what we’ll end up with? But this might very well be a timely and sensible short term solution to a problem the industry in Canada is going to face for some time to come.
Whether or not it’s our First Choice, remains to be seen.
