Celine Dion sings for Air Canada...

golden hawk · Post by **golden hawk** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:43 am

They should have hired Mike Myers aka Dr. Evil, and paid him .............ONE MEEELION DOLLARS..............

Rebel · Post by **Rebel** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:30 pm

Pindunder Jeep

Personally I wouldn’t have spent the money on Celine or a new paint job but I can understand why they are doing it. Besides the marketing side of it I wouldn’t be surprised if certain major shareholders probably forced the issue and AC management went along with it in order to secure the the financing. Milton is not stupid he knew that there would be employee reaction to the plan but I don’t think he had any other choice.

As far as Milton going to Delta, just another rumor as no one in their right mind would want to get involved in the US majors dog fight that's is going to take place. When the dust settles down south there will probably be only a couple of majors left the rest having either merged with the others or simply gone out of business because their unions never got on side. The US blood bath is going to make the AC restructuring look like a tea party.

Cheers..

172pilot · Post by **172pilot** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:08 pm

Look at it this way. Anytime a company goes bankrupt we all lose. It's simple. They don't pay the creditors/outstanding debt. That means the general public pays more for bank fees and every other service we buy to make up for the loss. Banks/creditors don't forgive companies for going bankrupt. The risk is made up by higher user fees, loan interest rates etc. The money will be made up by someone (ie you and me each time we use a debit card or buy a good/service). The bad debt doesn't vanish. If half of Canada was to go bankrupt tomorrow don't tell me that the loan rates wouldn't triple. Yes. We all pay for these mistakes. The companies that got .10$ on the dollar will find other areas to make this up. Higher cateringfuel/NavCan fees to all airlines etc. We pay for it one way or another.

And. Why does the new AC need a makeover? I understand glamour but Southwest is as bland as WestJet yet they seem to be focused on providing a simple, low cost service -- while making money.

I have the highest respect for the AC pilots here. I just don't think the new strategy will do anything. As I've learnt in economics many times over, the majority of ppl, as profit maximizers use price to decide. The marketing money should of been used to payback the old creditors, customer service reps, lower ticket prices, or for a rainy day when the economy slows down - which it will. Consider this. Say a new startup with all white planes, ugly uniforms and no food service offers a seat to CXYZ at 125$ while AC is at 139$. I know where the pax will go. Even when I was a frequent corporate traveller, the company would pick the lowest rates. My old firm was ALWAYS on AC, to the point where the AC staff knew us by name (i miss those cockpit visits on the ground), now they are always on WJ. They don't care about meals, nice uniforms, marketing, the bottom line was cost (down to the last 5$). As long as AC can deliver the same profit margin as WJ while spending more on marketing then I'm proven wrong. Time will tell.

gelbisch · Post by **gelbisch** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:19 pm

sprucemonkey wrote:Just think though..... do you really want AC to fail and have WJ be the end all and be all of CANADIAN AVIATION.

amen.

just another pilot · Post by **just another pilot** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 6:18 am

I personally would have asked Gordon Lightfoot. Imagine the Air Canada slogan to the melody of "the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

LT · Post by LT » Fri Oct 22, 2004 6:47 am

Just think though..... do you really want AC to fail and have WJ be the end all and be all of CANADIAN AVIATION.
amen.

Obviously some do though, since group A here is giving Air Canada "props" for getting Dion.

gelbisch · Post by **gelbisch** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:06 am

172pilot wrote:They don't care about meals, nice uniforms...

the thing is... a lot of people do. of course folks are going to naturally gravitate towards the cheapest fares... but if they're unhappy with the service they won't go back. i don't think that the lcc philosophy applies so well to long-haul flights, either. and businessmen aren't going to relish being packed in with a bunch of yo-yos wearing ripped jeans and being given only peanuts or little crunchy whatnots.

the lcc idea obviously has merit and appeals to a lot of folks... but not all flights are hour-long rides on the bus and the phenomenon will not, in my opinion, spell the demise of all legacy airlines...

bandaid · Post by **bandaid** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:59 am

Well now let me think, mmmmmm, who would I like to sit next to on a long flight, Celin Dion or Reta McNiel?

gelbisch · Post by **gelbisch** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:26 am

a sat a few seats over from alannah myles on an a.c. flight to san fran back in her heyday. that was a'ight...

bandaid · Post by **bandaid** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 10:51 am

Alotta Miles, theirs a name that I haven't heard in awhile.

scubasteve · Post by **scubasteve** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 11:42 am

I think she'd like to sit beside Celine as well

if you know what I mean haha

There's also some of this talked about in the Misc Forum under a similar topic. AC doesnt have to compete head to head against WestJet or JetsGo in all markets. They have to decide to go for the prices that will compete or try to brand themselves as offering more...sure you may pay more but you'll get a meal and more leg room...On some routes they might have to cut back. I just think they try to do too much and want to be everything to everyone. If they picked certain market segments and stuck to them they can be successful but they have a history of going after the competition in the competition's strong areas...doesnt make sense to me.

Celine Dion sings for Air Canada...

AC did cost taxpayers

Re: AC did cost taxpayers