I agree though, it sure is hard for AC when their home airport taxes etc are higher than the competition's but that's not the fault of the other airlines
Took a while for the Emirates debate to come back. Still seems to be the same as before. Half of my work colleagues still drive to Buffalo to catch their flights to Florida because $200 flights against $500 makes more sense.
If you work for "peanuts" as it is put..then you are always looking for the cheaper option. What other terms would the general population look at....if people really cared about where their goods came from then the "Walmartization" of the economy would never have happened. Even millionaires become rich by looking for the cheaper option.
It has never been answered in this entire debate, the question of the tax rate in Canada. Air Canada are already put at a disadvantage by this mentioned above. They themselves have said that they would like the governtment to ease up a bit to allow them to compete with the US carriers. YYZ is still the most expensive place in the world to land. In this thread and the previous on this topic...no one could ever say WHY..and for what purpose?.
Western democracy..ra rah...Canadian government...ra rah.....and yet the government causes the industry in Canada no end of grief both through taxation and intervention (it seems). Meanwhile the legacy carrier of Air Canada has labour disputes galore, the shop floor workers don't trust the executive further than they can throw them...and the executive tell the govt to cut them some slack and ease up on airport tax, then the shop floor workers tell the govt to butt out of their labour processes..etc etc.
This is not the picture of a rosy aviation scene (and if anyone would care to list the amount of "failed" airlines in Canada in the last 10 years...Zoom, Skyservice and Harmony are 3 that spring to mind) and not really something to crow about. Where is the competition domestically? How does Canada compete with the US (YYZ against BUF, YVR against Seattle etc etc.)...how can they compete Trans Atlantic....when the barriers that are there to stop EK also affect the carriers you are trying to help (Westjet and Air Canada).
Canada may be responsible but that dosen`t mean they are always forward thinking.
We`ll see over the next few years. I hope for the industry`s sake that 555 and JO and the rest are right. Keep an eye on the US though...and keep an eye on the taxation rates at YVR, YUL and YYZ. See if they go down as the airlines have requested.