FYI
Globe and Mail Update
Published on Wednesday, Jun. 03, 2009 4:14PM EDT
Last updated on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 11:09PM EST
Air Canada (AC.B-T1.510.010.67%) pilots should be looking internally at reasons for their employer's financial instability, Emirates Airline president Tim Clark said Wednesday.
“It's totally ludicrous to lay some of the blame at the door of Emirates. It's complete and utter nonsense,” Mr. Clark in an interview, responding to warnings from the Air Canada Pilots Association that if Ottawa allows Emirates to expand in Canada, it could force cash-strapped Air Canada into bankruptcy protection.
Mr. Clark made the comments after delivering a speech in Ottawa to the Economic Club of Canada. He is in Canada this week as Emirates introduces the double-decker Airbus A380 to its Toronto-Dubai route.
Mr. Clark added that the Dubai-based carrier is competing fairly against Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners, notably Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which offers flights to India.
Lufthansa and Air Canada have a co-operation agreement that allows them to sell seats on each other's planes, including service to key European hubs such as Frankfurt – competition for the Dubai hub on international traffic.
Emirates, owned by the Dubai government, also said in a newsletter that it's often the subject of distorted arguments over being a government-backed company. “Emirates receives no subsidies from our government and is run as a fully commercial airline,” it said.
Mr. Clark urged Ottawa to approve Emirates' request for daily Toronto-Dubai flights, compared with the current three departures a week. Emirates also wants to introduce service to Calgary and Vancouver.
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said any open skies agreement has to be mutually beneficial, and there is relatively little originating traffic from Dubai, while a large portion of Canadians use Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as a stopover before connecting to destinations in other countries.
“Air Canada has always said it supports liberalization and open skies agreements with the provision that they create a level playing field and make sense for Canada,” he said. “There is no reciprocal benefit to Canadian carriers or Canada. There has to be advantages for both countries.”