AC buying/bought AT

[JZA]

Short of eliminating the competition for rouge, and picking up more A330s for mainline, I dont see a logical benefit at all.

As for an established tour/vacation operator....check that they already have; Air Canada Vacations.

[Independence]

CATSA are very close to buying out Nav Canada. Final sticking point is figuring out how to allow controllers to handle your junk before they allow you to land.

[bmc]

Established client base, extensive network of nationwide travel agencies, hotels, established travel products, marketing programs and infrastructure. Group Transat is not an airline, it is vertically inter grated tour operator. That's something you need to be in order to compete in the leisure market and what rouge will need to establish to be a player.

Your post just described Air Canada Vacations.

Air Canada has far greater global reach, not only on it's own but also through the Star Alliance, to far more markets, accessing far more capacity and destinations than Air Transat will ever achieve. The revenue settlement agreement between the Star members, which I have some intimate knowledge of, gives AC great access to the planet without having to commit dedicated aircraft to.

Air Canada is one of the oldest airlines in the world. They've been at this for years, much longer than Group Transat.

Again, I'm not convinced. I could very well be wrong. I've been wrong before. Just ask my wife.

[tjtailwind]

I agree with 727driver. AC would be interested in AT for everything but the airline. Hotels, Travel Agencies and the Tour Operator. It might help explain why AT has been working so hard to get their balance sheet in order. It would also give AC a significant majority in the southern vacation market and an almost 100% lock on the European market.

[bmc]

So an AC/AT deal would give them 100% market share, pushing AF, LH, BA, Air Berlin and every other charter operator out of the Canada Europe Market? Really?

[mcrit]

I would lay odds that the OP has stock in one of the two companies mentioned in the post.

[Old fella]

OK, so don;t start beakin off at me that I'm spreading rumours and yadda yadda yadda, I'm just saying what I'm hearing today and you guys and trolls can flame away all ya want, but rumours are that AC has bought AT and will make an annoucement tomorrow.

Have at'er kids !!