Celine Dion sings for Air Canada...

Pugster · Post by **Pugster** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:28 am

Rita won't be singing. She's in jail after being caught cutting weed in a field just a few miles away from Sunnyvale Trailer Park.

Siddley Hawker · Post by **Siddley Hawker** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:41 am

Good post F-16.
I'm not that big a fan of AC or Céline Dion but she is internationally recognizeable and that's what AC is looking for. I wish 'em luck. I know a lotta good guys at AC.

I think the new uniforms and the livery look great. Beats that loon-shit green tail any day of the week.

SierraPoppa · Post by **SierraPoppa** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 9:13 am

So are these the new colours and are all the aircraft going to be painted like this?

Tango01 · Post by **Tango01** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 12:32 pm

Celine Dion is my mother.

W0X0F · Post by **W0X0F** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 1:52 pm

Griffon, sorry I have to dissargree!

Air Canada stuck the rest of this industry with a $30 million unpaid NavCan tab. The rest of Canadian Aviation Companies had to pay and have no other choice as service provider. Effectively we were taxed and those moneys went to Mapleflot. Therefore I believe those that say, "Get your act together and quit squandering money you don't have on Celine and another paint sceme." are correct

Rebel · Post by **Rebel** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:16 pm

That’s not exactly true as AC is the biggest user and payer of the system. Without AC paying the majority of the bill NavCan would cease to exist in its’ present form as no one could afford the cost of its services..

The paint job and Celine are the result of a international marketing strategy endorsed by many business's and fairly common in the business world..

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:28 pm

Hey Rebel, not to start a pissing match with you but could you tell me what percentage of their total bill to Nav Canada Air Canada paid, so I can deduct that percent from my fees?

Cat

Rebel · Post by **Rebel** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:30 pm

Cat

I'm surprised at your comment..

Reb

Pindunder Jeep · Post by **Pindunder Jeep** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:45 pm

Funny posts! Everyone seems to have a different opinion here. I just came back from the Vancouver debut. The paint job sucks and I am not sure that Celine is the answer. A broken down car with a new paint job is just that. I wish I could say that we were lean and mean but I can't. I still see the same management team doing what they do best.

As an employee, I can tell you I did not appreciate my wage consessions going to this. In the media, it is supposed to be a thank you to the employees. What crap! Milton is a dork and hated by everyone! The rumour at AC is that he is on his way to Delta. I would love to hold the door open for him.

On a better note, the Embrarer is a slick machine.

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:54 pm

Rebel, I have always tried to stay netural in the Air Canada debacle.

The reason being that to many of my colleagues are as much victims as anyone else in this miserable profession.

So let me rephrase my post so as not to rile you up for no reason.

In that my company also has suffered a crippling loss due to circumstanses beyond my control, could I get back some of my Nav Canada fees?

I am on your side as far as my symphthy goes, I just do not however have it in my heart to defend Milton and his ilk...
O.K.?

Cat

Rebel · Post by **Rebel** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:03 pm

Pindunder Jeep

What are you doing to make it a lean and mean machine?

Rebel · Post by **Rebel** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:21 pm

Cat

First things first, I don’t have the expertise or knowledge to provide you with useful input regarding your personal dilemma. However I would think that you should have the same protection under the law as any other business and as such should be able to apply for a let on your fee’s. All they can say is no, and you’ve heard that word many times in your career.

On the second note I’m no fan of Milton however I don’t think there’s anyone else out there. Besides do we really want to go through another learning curve? Modern day aviation has gone down the tubes but in reality we’re just following what’s happened to industry all over the western world. The Wal-Mart way of doing things has captured the imagation of the world but can the aviation world survive this fad. I don’t think so as our business is not like any other business. I suspect when the body count gets high enough folks will begin to understand.

Cheers

Reb

Pindunder Jeep · Post by **Pindunder Jeep** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:47 pm

Hi Rebel

What am I doing to be lean? Well for starters, we laid off 180 guys so I rolled downhill with that. Lost my left seat, increased productivity by doing sims and annual recurrent training on my own time and then took a 20% paycut, to mention just a few.

None of which I mind, if the company would fundamentally change its bad habits. I take it personally when I see money given up by employees, lessors, and creditors ( such as Nav Canada ) pissed away so extravagantly in our faces. It has Milton arrogance written all over it!!!

How many times did Milton try to bonus himself during this fiasco while expecting everyone to take a haircut? When I say everyone, I don't just mean the employees. I am also beginning to wonder if he owns a paint shop somewhere. I have never seen so many different paint jobs in such a short span of time!

There is a poster in the Vancouver Flt Ops center that states " $100 saved is the equivilant to adding 7 passengers to a flight" Think about that for a second!

I dunno...........sometimes I wonder what happened to common sense.

Cheers.

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:50 pm

I was being facetious Rebel.

I could care less about a refund from the few bucks I've paid Nav Caanda, ( but I wouldn't mind getting a rebate from the tens of thousands I have paid in foreign countries ferrying aircraft )

Anyhow I hope everyone pulls through this restructuring of all the Airlines but I don't think we will ever get back to the way things were.

Are we friends again? Wave

Cat.

Rebel · Post by **Rebel** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:55 pm

Pindunder Jeep

This was posted on flyertalk by an AC frequent flyer named "Shareholder" regarding Celine Dion.
He/She holds Aeroplan SuperElite status.

But Dion represents the perfect messenger for AC's marketing objectives:

1. She is both French Canadian and English. This further blunts the Blocheads who are insisting the airline is going to bolt from its Montreal HQ and forget about Quebec
2. She can appeal to both English and French customers in Canada and thus makes it possible to sell AC with a single campaign [unlike Shania who would require a Quebec/French alternative]
3. She is a world-known celebrity identified with Canada, so makes AC's international marketing push more accessible in many overseas markets [even at the height of the Fish Dispute with Spain, her six-story high visage was featured on the side of el Corte Ingles, the giant Madrid department store, looking out over Place del Sol]
4. She brings some glitz and glamour [well, okay that's subjective] to the airline and proved this by securing the media coverage it did; just as Jackie Chan presents a certain image to CX in its overseas campaigns

There are few other Canadian celebrities that can cut across so many variables when it comes to marketing. Why did she bomb for Chrysler? Primarily it was a product and maybe not one many people wanted, so there was no natural affinity between Dion and that product. [Also, people forget it was part of a wider campaign that also featured Diana Krall.] What other Canadian celebrity could AC go for who did this? Gretzky: while he may be well known among sports fans, he is hardly known in many parts of the world where AC will be agressively courting new customers. Avril and Shania are too niche market, as is Sarah McLaughlan. Eric McCormack, er well...good cross-over, but still limited to NAmerica. Pamela what's her name?

Anyhow, one never convinces everybody, so...

centerstored · Post by **centerstored** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 4:25 pm

Unfortunately, as C-J said last night, this company is broken and no celebrity or paint scheme will fix it. With labour problems so deep, the only solution is drown and re-incarnate.

sprucemonkey · Post by **sprucemonkey** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:00 am

I got some pics of the latest a.c. but haven't downloaded them so I can only see them on my PC.

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

Hell, you'd have to wait in line for christmas hampers in YYC for three years before you'd be able to deliver ONE and there's your stock options. Blows goats, don't it!

Pindunder Jeep · Post by **Pindunder Jeep** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:26 am

Rebel

You have some good points but this is what I think is really going on.

Milton is simply posturing for his departure. AC comes out of CCA, has a big bash and publicity stunt like Celine. Milton is seen as the man to pull AC out of the ashes and will leave on a high note. He doesn't care what happens in the long run as he is on his way back to his hometown as Chief Restructuring Officer of Delta Airlines.

Just my prediction, if it holds true, you owe me a beer! Deal?

Cheers.

scubasteve · Post by **scubasteve** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:33 am

My condolences to Delta if they take Milton

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..............