Air Canada criticises Emirates plans to expand Canadian services

Air Canada CEO, Calin Rovinescu, stated the country's airline industry would suffer "devastating" long term effects if Emirates' plans to expand Dubai-Toronto capacity and launch services to Calgary and Vancouver are approved (Globe and Mail, 09-Mar-2010). Mr Rovinescu stated the approval would result in less jobs, less economic activity and fewer cities served by carriers, and that Emirates' expansion would undermine Vancouver's emerging presence as an Asian hub.

Air Canada: "While its argument may be seductive, what Emirates' strategy will do is constrain the growth of Canadian airports by turning them from hubs into stubs at the end of a spoke that leads only to Emirates' hub in Dubai…Sure, you will be still be able to get to anywhere from Vancouver. But you will have to get there through Dubai…Collecting this rent [from airports] may help solve the Federal deficit, but it chokes economic development and is an anti-stimulus measure," Calin Rovinescu, CEO. Source: Globe and Mail, 09-Mar-2010.