Air Canada moves to protect Mumbai route

Air Canada has renewed its partnership with Jet Airways (India) Ltd., a strategic move designed to keep their Canada-India route competitive against Emirates Airline.
Effective Feb. 21, a new three-year pact kicks in, ensuring that travellers will be able to continue booking seats on an Air Canada plane from Toronto to connect onto Jet at London’s Heathrow Airport, from where Jet then flies to Mumbai. Air Canada and its Star Alliance partner, Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG, also serve the Canada-India market through their Frankfurt hub.
Air Canada signed its first partnership pact with Mumbai-based Jet in 2008, clearing the way for the carriers to sell tickets on each other’s flights on the Toronto-Mumbai route. But Emirates, which launched its Toronto-Dubai service in October, 2007, introduced the Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft to the route in mid-2009, stepping up the battle against Air Canada and its allies.
Emirates, owned by the Dubai government, competes for passengers by offering service between Toronto and India via the Gulf carrier’s Dubai hub. Last fall, Ottawa rejected requests from the United Arab Emirates for more Canadian landing slots. Emirates currently has three flights a week on the Toronto-Dubai route, but wants daily landing rights at Canada’s largest city.
Emirates has said that its expanded presence in Canada would broaden consumer choice and generate a wide range of spinoff benefits for the Canadian economy.
04/02/11 Brent Jang/Globe and Mail

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Categories: Foreign Feb 2011