CBC just reports Air Canada employees locked out

[Al Czervic]

The payment of $4.6 million to Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu last year, plus a retention bonus to stay with the airline, is a disgrace especially after years of difficult economic times in the airline industry.

This is one of the few times I completely agree with you. Right now it would seem his entire management strategy is predicated on Conservative Government intervention. The shareholders might as well save money and simply send flowers to Lisa Raitt...

[logicalview]

Air Canada has been losing money for years. They lost hundreds of millions last year.

I don't know if I would be asking for a raise in that environment.

They should ask for a 15% windfall and see where that gets em.

[The Green Barbarian]

The payment of $4.6 million to Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu last year, plus a retention bonus to stay with the airline, is a disgrace especially after years of difficult economic times in the airline industry.

You are 100% right on that one Heymac. The only thing keeping AC and it's garbage unionized workforce afloat, along with its garbage management team, is the fact that the Conservatives (or no party for that matter) want to be seen as the ones in power while the "National Airline" failed. While AC certainly has no real fanbase in Western Canada (other than the Union zealots who would cheer for Pol Pot if he was the head of the CAW) they still have a cache in Eastern Canada, as Westjet is still seen as some sort of interloper, especially in Quebec. That being said, the Conservatives should just bite the bullet, and just like the CBC, let this old government institution sink or swim on its own merits. We all know how long that would last.

[Merry]

I'm not much of an Air Canada fan, because I do agree that many of their flight attendents (who are the public face of the airline) are a bit on the lazy side when compared with their counterparts on other airlines. I often comment that whenever I fly Air Canada, the attendents come round with the obligatory cart service but, if you want anything in between and press the buzzer, they invariably ignore you and you have to get out of your seat and go talk to them in their little galley. Other airlines, such as Westjet, Alaska, and Singapore are much more responsive to their customers needs, and usually make you feel more like a guest than an unwelcome annoyance.

But that said, Air Canada do provide service to many of our smaller, northern communities that the other airlines are not interested in serving because they are not profitable, or not as profitable. This is a good example of where the "business model" does not always serve us well when determining how to run a country, and what services to provide. Airline service is a necessity in many of these places so, if we allow the national airline to fall, how do we ensure adequate air transportation to our more outlying areas? Would, or could, Westjet pick up the slack? I suspect the answer is no.

[The Green Barbarian]

But that said, Air Canada do provide service to many of our smaller, northern communities that the other airlines are not interested in serving because they are not profitable, or not as profitable. This is a good example of where the "business model" does not always serve us well when determining how to run a country, and what services to provide. Airline service is a necessity in many of these places so, if we allow the national airline to fall, how do we ensure adequate air transportation to our more outlying areas? Would, or could, Westjet pick up the slack? I suspect the answer is no.

Merry - having actually worked for a small airline that serviced several small northern communities, I can tell you that this statement is completely false. It's not a good example at all, yet demonstrates the ignorance of the average Canadian when it comes to the status of our airline industry. Westjet isn't the only other airline in Canada. There are many others, you just haven't heard of them. The only reason other small airlines don't service these communities is due to Air Canada being there already, so there is no room in the market for two airlines. It's sad because Air Canada usually gouges the hell out of these communities, to subsidize the routes where they are forced to compete. Another big barrier to entry is the insane amount of regulations in Canada's airline industry. It's almost impossible nowadays for a new airline to get started, given the large capital requirements, but also the myriad regulations that make almost no sense, yet are strictly enforced by the many bureaucrats and bureaucracies that suckle off the Canadian airline industry.

If you want to get into the airline business, you're better off becoming a bureaucrat and then running one of the fiefdoms/airports in a lucrative market like Kelowna, or joining Transport Canada, or NAV Canada, or CATSA etc etc - you'll get a fat guaranteed salary with pension and with low expectations, vs a high-risk low paid job with an airline. Or better yet - join Transport Canada, work there for 20 years, max out your pension, and then jump ship and go "work" at CATSA for another 20 years, that way you can double-dip and get two pension cheques, all without taking any risk, milking the airline industry for all its worth.

[Glacier]

Smithers based Central Mountain Air is an excellent example of an airline that makes money flying into those smaller markets. If Air Canada ceased to exist, companies like this would fill the void in a heartbeat.

[The Green Barbarian]

Smithers based Central Mountain Air is an excellent example of an airline that makes money flying into those smaller markets. If Air Canada ceased to exist, companies like this would fill the void in a heartbeat.

Yup.

Hawkair
Pacific Coastal
CMA
Northern Thunderbird
Helijet
That's just BC!

Perimeter Air
Bearskin Airlines
CALM Air
Air North
Canadian North
Canjet
Arctic Air (sorry, that's just a CBC TV show - that's actually not too bad!)

That's just off the top of my head. There are many little guys out there that could expand rapidly to fill the void. They've been waiting years for Air Canada to finally die so they could move into these small communities and give them decent schedules and better prices, but Air Canada continually gets propped up and kept alive by the myth swallowed by the general populace that if Air Canada dies, small communities and international markets will close up. Just not true. Believe in the power of capitalism and entrepreneurship people!!

[Type_O]

Horse drawn wagon, or auto mobile?

Accept the payout your fellow Canadians will provide you, through government, update your skills, and get/create a job.

Everything has a beginning and an end.