Air Canada grounds direct India flights

Montreal: Citing insufficient demand, Air Canada said it will end regularly scheduled service to India on May 1.
The Canadian national airline confirmed Feb. 23 that it will discontinue all direct flights between Toronto and New Delhi to cut costs. Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told the Toronto Star daily newspaper that the company has had problems filling its planes during the summer months — typically, the slow season — while stiff competition in the winter drives down prices and cuts returns.
Air Canada currently flies the route every day — the only nonstop flight between Canada and India.
The decision to cut the India flights isn't sitting well with many in the Indo-Canadian business community, who have ridiculed it as "short-sighted" and "lousy." Kim Rathee, president of the Canada-India Business Council, said Air Canada should be looking to the future; with India's economy growing at an annual rate of 9 percent, he said the airline should be adding flights to the subcontinent instead of killing them.
"This is a major setback to our efforts to promote trade and tourism between both countries because Air Canada was such a visible symbol of cooperation and business between them," he said.
Rathee scoffed at the airline's justification for terminating service to New Delhi.
Air Canada will continue to service India through its Star Alliance partners, Deutsch Lufthansa AG and Swiss International Air Lines, but passengers will need to switch planes in Zurich or Frankfurt before flying on to New Delhi or Mumbai. Other carriers such as Air France, British Airways and Air India also offer alternatives, though none are non-stop.
13/03/07 Chris Nelson/IndUS Business Journal, US

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Categories: Foreign Mar 2007