National Airlines Council of Canada

[Embraer190]

This just in; Canada's four largest airlines (Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, Air Transat and Westjet) have joined forces to create the National Airlines Council of Canada. The main goal of this council is to promote public policy and legislation favourable to the success of the Canadian aviation industry.

http://www.airlinecouncil.ca/


I think it's a great idea and hope more airlines jump on board.

[. .]

I'm all for it until they start trying to stop progression to our awful duty regs. This is an owners group, not a pilot group.

[CD]

I wondered how long it would take them to "organize" after they took their toys and pulled out of ATAC...

[clip on tie with hat]

Are they serious? What is with the beard and side burns on those pilots on their home page. Who wears hats in the FD.

hope it's all for the better.

[planett]

If no smaller carriers join, they'll just lobby NavCanada to lower fees by cutting services in places they don't operate from. That will screw the operators in the north. (read: no new approaches where they're badly needed, and more regulatory review delays.) Otherwise a good start.

[bmc]

User fees in Canada are outragious. There has long been a need, particularly under the current economic climate, to advocate in defense of the airlines. I wish them every success.

[20102m2]

Another seat at CARAC with the other alphabet groups.
Another Association for government to ignore.
CBAA has the right answer-work behind the scenes to get legislation that forces all private owners of turbine pressurized aircraft to join at thousands of dollars per year, for no real service. A license to make money but of course as a delegated authority they are limited as lobbyists.
ATAC was and is a very important organization and the general consensus is the National Airline Council was formed after a rash decision. All the various working groups and committees where real change takes place that is good for the industry has all but vanished, which is not useful.
NAC will not be a friend of commercial general aviation.

[bmc]

Another seat at CARAC with the other alphabet groups.
ATAC was and is a very important organization and the general consensus is the National Airline Council was formed after a rash decision.

NAC will not be a friend of commercial general aviation.

1. General consensus among who?

2. Why will NAC not be a friend of commercial gen av?

I'm not remotely close to this at all. I'm many miles away. From the limited amount of what I've seen and the actions taken, it seems ATAC did not meet the expectations of the airlines that left. There must have been some smoke to that fire.

[Widow]

Airlines call for infrastructure fund
Rent collected by Ottawa should be used for airport improvements, lobby group says
BRENT JANG
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
January 22, 2009

A new lobby group representing the country's four largest airlines wants Ottawa to create an aviation infrastructure fund to reduce airport improvement fees for consumers while still sprucing up terminals.

The National Airlines Council of Canada said yesterday that rent collected from Canada's airports by the federal government should be used to help finance capital spending at various terminals.

Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, Air Transat and WestJet Airlines Ltd. abruptly quit the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) last April, opting to form their own group.

WestJet chief executive officer Sean Durfy is the council's chairman while George Petsikas, Air Transat's director of government and industry affairs, serves as president of the lobby group.

"An aviation infrastructure fund would direct revenue collected from the industry back into the industry," the council said in its federal budget submission, noting that money from such a fund could effectively offset a portion of the airport improvement fees being paid by consumers.

The airline industry would benefit from such fiscal stimulus during the recession, Mr. Petsikas said.

He said major projects that need the government's support are in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Regional terminals requiring a boost include Kelowna, B.C., Fort McMurray, Alta., Bagotville, Que., and St. John's, Nfld.

Mr. Petsikas said he will also press Ottawa on other issues, including reducing the fuel excise tax and capping the travellers' security charge.

Transport Canada didn't tip its hand on what's in store for Tuesday's federal budget.

"The government has received submissions offering ideas of all kinds in recent weeks for consideration in the budget, and this submission will be reviewed like all the others," said Chris Day, press secretary for Transport Minister John Baird.

The four major carriers withdrew from ATAC because they thought the 200-member association represented too many diverse interests, from private jets to charter operators to small regional carriers.

Yesterday, the Canadian Airports Council said it's looking forward to collaborating with the four leading airlines in an effort to improve trade and tourism.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... y/Business