Wiz,
You mentioned that US regionals and flights from many parts of Europe have far worse FTL's than EK. That is utter BS.
Then you go on to state something about curtailing service to Germany, while trying to equate that to the sub-continent. Either of these might be a service that benefits a proportion of one ethnic group, but does it benefit Canada overall? Sometimes a benefit to a minority group is actually a detriment to a country.
Then you state that ''it's not EK but rather the UAE government that is putting pressure on Canada''. You obviously don't understand how the UAE, Emirates and the vast list of government controlled entities work in this country. That simple sentence on your part should adequately explain your predisposition regarding this topic.
THEN, you make the suggestion that NoLimit is only concerned about his up-grade possibilities and amazingly you have tried to connect his viewpoints to that assumption. That is a mind-boggling assumption on your part and indicates that perhaps YOU have the hidden agenda.
I have rarely talked to a Canuck who spoke highly of Air Canada and probably for good reason. By all accounts AC is not a great airline and they probably deserve to have EK infringe upon their domain, but there is no denying that this is extortion on the part of Emirates Airlines (aka, the UAE government).
Doesn't the UAE have a vested interest in what is going on in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran? If the UAE has a heartache with Canadian involvement in those arenas of conflict, then kick out the Canucks from their airbase. But instead they are using it as a bargaining tool because they realize the Canadian government is under some pressure from its allies.
Canada is a heartbeat away from being raped and pillaged by Emirates airline, similar to the outcome of Australia. Damn, I want to fly to Vancouver and Calgary as much an anyone, but for the sake of Canada, I hope they tell the UAE to go #*&%^# themselves.
ps. If I had predicted which country would have allowed such abuses, I would have chosen Canada and not Australia. It still amazes me to this day how EK has been allowed to take advantage of OZ to such an extent.