Air Canada Takes a Stand Against Flights from UAE Airlines

Air Canada said it will oppose any more flights by Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways to Toronto.

As it stands, the country’s bilateral agreement allows each airline three flights per week. After battling over traffic rights, Canada’s previous conservative government blocked the Gulf carriers from increasing the number of flights. But that may change under the new liberal government, which was voted into office Oct. 19

Meanwhile, Air Canada flew its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to Dubai International for the first time on Wednesday, kicking off its new route.

A spokesperson for Air Canada told TMR that the current number of flights “already provides more than adequate capacity to carry all the point-to-point traffic between Canada and the UAE.” The company said substantial growth in demand would be needed to amend the current agreement.

Last month, Delta said it can’t compete with government-subsidized airlines, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, which are accused of allegedly violating international Open Skies agreements.

The Air Canada spokesperson said it “generally favors liberalization and we have been supportive of Open Sky agreements with other countries where sufficient demand exists, notably the U.S. and with the European Union.”

Photo courtesy: Flickr/Brian