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Air Canada ripped for cutting India trips
Feb 16, 2007 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Staff Reporter
Air Canada is ending all flights to India so it can boost its service to China, a move called shocking and short-sighted by Indo-Canadian business leaders in Toronto.
With Canadian politicians hyping the need to boost trade and other ties with India – whose red-hot economy is growing at a rate second only to that of China – Air Canada's decision to suspend service to that country is baffling, said Kam Rathee, president of the Canada-India Business Council.
He sent a letter of protest to Air Canada president Montie Brewer urging him to reconsider.
"It's a lousy decision. It hurts in our efforts to promote Canada and Canadian companies in India. It's a huge setback to the Canada-India business momentum, because Air Canada was a very visible symbol of co-operation and business between the two countries. Now it's snapped without notice.".
"India might think we're talking out of both sides of our mouth, which is disheartening. On the one hand, we talk about trade promotion and yet at the same time, our national airline does this. Actions speak louder than words," added Rathee, who has not received a response from Brewer.
Air Canada will discontinue daily service to New Delhi as of May 1, spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick confirmed.
"The route didn't meet our financial performance objectives. ... Because of the seasonal nature of the Delhi traffic it was difficult to fill the flights on a year-round basis," he said. Demand was high in winter but fell significantly in summer.
Air Canada has redeployed the 767 aircraft servicing India to China, "which is a very lucrative market for us," Fitzpatrick said. "There's a lot of demand there. There's a lot of business that gets conducted with China."
Air Canada will offer five daily non-stops from Toronto to Shanghai and Beijing, up from the current three, starting this summer.
Atul Ahuja, spokesperson for the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, noted that Canada will now be the only G8 nation that does not have a national airline servicing India. Yet provincial governments are actively courting Indian trade and federal trade minister David Emerson is planning a visit next month.
Ahuja and Rathee, along with 150 other Ontario business and academic leaders, were part of Premier Dalton McGuinty's recent trade mission to India and Pakistan.
Air Canada will still service India through its Star Alliance partners, Lufthansa and Swiss, but passengers will need to switch planes in Zurich or Frankfurt before flying on to New Delhi or Mumbai. Other carriers such as Air France, British Airways and Air India also offer alternatives, though none are non-stop.
Meanwhile, privately owned Indian airlines such as Air Sahara and Jet Airways may offer India-Canada flights within two years, Rathee said.
---------------------------------------
Air Canada ripped for cutting India trips
Feb 16, 2007 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Staff Reporter
Air Canada is ending all flights to India so it can boost its service to China, a move called shocking and short-sighted by Indo-Canadian business leaders in Toronto.
With Canadian politicians hyping the need to boost trade and other ties with India – whose red-hot economy is growing at a rate second only to that of China – Air Canada's decision to suspend service to that country is baffling, said Kam Rathee, president of the Canada-India Business Council.
He sent a letter of protest to Air Canada president Montie Brewer urging him to reconsider.
"It's a lousy decision. It hurts in our efforts to promote Canada and Canadian companies in India. It's a huge setback to the Canada-India business momentum, because Air Canada was a very visible symbol of co-operation and business between the two countries. Now it's snapped without notice.".
"India might think we're talking out of both sides of our mouth, which is disheartening. On the one hand, we talk about trade promotion and yet at the same time, our national airline does this. Actions speak louder than words," added Rathee, who has not received a response from Brewer.
Air Canada will discontinue daily service to New Delhi as of May 1, spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick confirmed.
"The route didn't meet our financial performance objectives. ... Because of the seasonal nature of the Delhi traffic it was difficult to fill the flights on a year-round basis," he said. Demand was high in winter but fell significantly in summer.
Air Canada has redeployed the 767 aircraft servicing India to China, "which is a very lucrative market for us," Fitzpatrick said. "There's a lot of demand there. There's a lot of business that gets conducted with China."
Air Canada will offer five daily non-stops from Toronto to Shanghai and Beijing, up from the current three, starting this summer.
Atul Ahuja, spokesperson for the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, noted that Canada will now be the only G8 nation that does not have a national airline servicing India. Yet provincial governments are actively courting Indian trade and federal trade minister David Emerson is planning a visit next month.
Ahuja and Rathee, along with 150 other Ontario business and academic leaders, were part of Premier Dalton McGuinty's recent trade mission to India and Pakistan.
Air Canada will still service India through its Star Alliance partners, Lufthansa and Swiss, but passengers will need to switch planes in Zurich or Frankfurt before flying on to New Delhi or Mumbai. Other carriers such as Air France, British Airways and Air India also offer alternatives, though none are non-stop.
Meanwhile, privately owned Indian airlines such as Air Sahara and Jet Airways may offer India-Canada flights within two years, Rathee said.
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