TOO CHEAP TO FLY

Everyone is looking for a $99 fare, if they don't get it - they don't fly. How would you like to be an investor in a business that has rarely turned a profit in 80 years?

That's the crazy airline business and Air Canada shares with too many others the dubious distinction of its poster child. The Montreal based International Air Transport Association (IATA) notes that the airline industry has lost a total of $50-Billion since the business took a direct hit in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

Because of the progressive rise in the cost of jet-fuel even some of the traditional "discount" airlines have found it more difficult to continue to offer low prices. For instance to shave costs, SouthWest in the U.S. has merged with Air Tran, and Ryanair in the United-Kingdom and Europe has grounded about 80 aircraft of its fleet.

Anyone remember "Tango" and "Zip"? A decade ago they were Air Canada's frontline effort to create 'airlines within the airline' to replicate and mimic the look and the feel of its upstart competitors; at that time primarily Calgary based WestJet which copied the successful SouthWest model from the United-States.

Air Canada Express (Sky Regional Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) N505LX (msn 4174) YYZ (TMK Photography) (new airline), a photo by Airliners Gallery on Flickr.

Despite the gloomy outlook, or perhaps because of it Canada's legacy flag-carrier claims to be positioning itself to buck the trend. Air Canada announced last spring that it would launch a discount airline that will provide cheap fares to holiday destinations. The surprise announcement seems to figure prominently in the company's labour turmoil which so far has involved customer service agents, flight attendants and which will likely soon also involve the company's pilots.

Speculating about forming a new company may have had more to do with pensions and work rules than lower ticket prices for customers. Which leads some pundits to speculate that the announcement was part of a scheme to advance the corporate agenda to negotiate different work rules, as it has since with the customer service agents where the salary scale for new hires was reduced by 20%; while the Federal Government's back-to-work legislation (which ended their June strike in less than 3 days) sent pension roll-back issues to binding arbitration.

Deep in the throes of its financial agony and bankruptcy reorganization in 2001 Air Canada split-off and downloaded regional operations by creating JAZZ, a company based in Halifax whose 5000 employees are represented by different unions and less lucrative wage scales. JAZZ has just started rebranding itself as "Air Canada Express" (see photo) to streamline operations with Sky Regional Airlines. Sky Regional is a non-unionized operator contracted to compete with Porter Airlines on the lucrative Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal routes operated from Toronto's downtown island airport. Lest I digress...Porter's response has been to open a new crew hub in Halifax leading to speculation that it will increase flights into Atlantic Canada and into the United-States through Boston, New York and Newark.

Following the threat of more back-to-work legislation from the Harper Government, this week's last minute agreement reached with Air Canada's 6000 flight attendants likely involves terms similar to those ordered in June for the customer service reps. It may force (at least strongly encourage) the company's pilots to follow the lead when their turn comes-up most any day now.

With a willing government and back-to-work orders at the ready: If Air Canada can achieve what it wants on labour and pension costs, then you may pretty well forget about their plan to create another discount airline altogether.

WHAT WOULD JESUS CUT?

It is increasingly apparent as the un-official campaigning for the 2012 run at the Presidency ramps-up in the United States that evangelical Protestantism and extreme fiscal conservatism have somehow become entangled. The front-runner in the current round of Republican Party candidates seeking the party's nomination, the Governor of Texas Rick Perry, has been focussing on politics, prayer and redemption from his one pulpit.

Pundits denounce this brand of  Christianity as focussed on fear, and in Governor Perry's case an abuse of power.  Harsh critics say this most fundamentalist of born-again credo seems so strict that if the alternative to raising taxes involves gutting services such as umemployment benefits in a time of severe joblessness, basic medical care, food stamps or shelter for the homeless - well, so be it!

Perhaps there were elements of truth; certainly an air of surrealism on Monday during the CNN/Tea Party Express debate in Tampa, Florida when the moderator, Wolf Blitzer, asked a hypothetical question about whether a man without health insurance should be provided medical care in the event of an accident - "Are you saying that society ahould just let him die?" Blitzer asked. - Before the candidate could reply several shouts of "yeah!" came from the audience.

Reporting on the Tea-Party sponsored Tampa debate, the Canadian Press  noted: "It was the second Republican debate in less than a week to feature such a show-stopper from the audience. Last week in California, Rick Perry got the most boisterous cheers of the night when he noted proudly that 234 people had been executed in Texas in the 11 years he's been governor."  Tongue set firmly in cheek, a liberal commentor Tweeted: "Given all the applause for death in the last two GOP debates, the Grim Reaper would be a very strong candidate.

The politics of the United States are clearly divided, poisoned and increasingly strident. A discord which doesn't bode well in dealing with the myriad of multiplying issues and problems the country is facing. Mobilizing a nation in prayer, quiet contemplation and reflection  to seek the legislative wisdom to make the right choices and decisions is one thing. - Throwing God into the middle of this poisoned debate is a whole other matter which (I am frankly not sure) even He in His infinite wisdom would approve.

Canada isn't immune to the creepism of extreme-right fundamentalism disguised as evangelical fervour. The divisions and debates south of the border in the name of, and which invoke Jesus and a singular interpretation of The Bible, can easily be imported into our own legislative process. For instance the "National House of Prayers" based in Ottawa claims that it has an on-going..."presence of praying people in the halls of our Federal Government." The group formed about 10 years ago now maintains an "Embassy of Prayer" in Ottawa from which it sends (it says) "intercessors" to attend Question Period, sit-in on sesssions of the Senate, position themselves in Committee meetings and make appointments with individual Parliamentarians.  It's founder, Rob Parker, claims to have received Divine direction to this mission after crying-out to God that Canada had become a "Godless Nation."

The precept of division of State and the worship and practice of religion is fundamental to the healthy process of democracy. Otherwise the danger is in getting the government you've been praying for.

...SNOW WHAT?

As sure as the sun will rise in the morning, the snow too will soon fly over the Great White North. Though hardly a surprise, still it's a tiny bit disconcerting when by late month each September the overnight temperature in many parts of the country dips below freezing.

So too, for many as well begins the thought process to seek a place of refuge from the harshness of the winter months, even if only for just a few days once in a while, at a welcoming, warm, sun drenched escape from our Canadian reality.

There are in excess of 26-million cross-border trips by Canadians into the United States each year. Fueled by our strong currency against the United-States "greenback" and despite the tightening border security measures imposed by various U.S. Homeland  initiatives, the flow of northern visitors south of the border dipped in the immediate aftermath of 9/11; but has steadied and grown in recent years. More than 60% of Canadians hold valid passports which are essential to crossing the border, compared to roughly 20% of U.S. citizens with valid documentation.

Security became the top priority at the border following the terrorist attacks of 2001. When combined with the economic downturn in the United-States since 2008, the free-flow of trade has been significantly impacted. But the American economic malaise has also pushed many more individual Canadian shoppers and tourists across the border. Seeking refuge from  winter, from November 2010 to March 2011, Canadians made 5.6 Million "winter leisure trips" to the United States. Florida's tourism bureau reports a significant increase in visits so far in 2011. Canadians lead the increase. The number of Canadian visitors to Florida in 2011 is up 18.4% over last year.

About one million visitors are "Canadian Snowbirds" who spend a month or more (sometimes much more) each year below the Snowbelt. There too, Florida is a destination of choice. It's home-away-from-home for about 360,000 of us each winter. Arizona (83,000) and Hawaii (21,000) follow in the ranking.

From the perspective of the business and trade community which has been buffeted by a weakened economy and the trauma of 9/11, it is abundantly clear that the security guidelines of the past 10 years have been harmful, and clearly no longer sufficient. To that end, there are ongoing talks between Federal Government officials from both sides to construct a detailed plan to secure the border while allowing the free flow of trade and commerce which both countries believe essential to the economic well-being of the continent. There's been speculation in fact that by month's end, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper will announce thirty or more elements of the "Perimeter Security" arrangement they spoke about last February in Washington.

Doubtless the business community will applaud this deal. The challenge for the Obama Administration, and to a lesser degree (perhaps) for Mr. Harper will be to convince their respective Legislatures that it's good for the country. While it is clearly understood that privacy is not an unconditional entitlement, the question for the millions of individual Canadians who commute across the border for business, pleasure or leisure each year should be that the greater pursuit of business is not achieved at the expense of their personal guaranteed rights.

ISLAND OF THE ADVENTURE

Given the number of idled and idling shipyards and boat building enterprises along the eastern Canadian shore, one might pause to ponder why a previous Government of New Brunswick chose a Florida company to build its car ferry to the Island of Grand Manan.

Lest I digress; President Barack Obama's summer tour of several midwestern American jurisdictions was virtually derailed because he chose to travel in a state-of-the-art private coach manufactured in Quebec.

As for the Florida manufactured 400 passenger / 82 car, sixty-eight million dollar ferry "Grand Manan Adventure": No one doubts that it too is a state-of-the-art vessel. In fact it's precisely its onboard technology which has kept it tied-up at port for much of its short life. The ship was already several months behind schedule when it was delivered in August (Because it failed initial sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico) and it had operated for just 3 days before the bow thrusters failed on August 15.

The "Grand Manan Adventure" is going back into dry-dock in Florida later this week.

All of the hoopla surrounding the misadventures of the "Adventure" has
eclipsed what should have been a record setting tourism season for this island community sandwiched in the Bay of Fundy between the United-States and Canada. The "Bay of Fundy" itself is on the short list of finalists for the 21st Century's choice of the "Seven-Wonders of the Modern World" which will be announced early next year.

And...the well read international magazine "Reader's Digest" surprised islanders this past spring by naming Grand Manan third in its list of "World's Seven Best Small Islands."

(Ferry Dock / Not exactly as shown)

Grand Manan has long been known for its picturesque cliff faces, postcard perfect lighthouses, fresh seafoods and quaint villages. In the "Reader's Digest" poll it was ranked behind Santorini (Greece), and Key West, Florida. The locals, surely along with New Brunswick tourism officials, had hoped that having the island community on the international radar of the magazine's readers could enhance the economic outlook for the area, including much of southwestern mainland New Brunwick.

In nearby St. Andrews-By-The-Sea, the future of the Algonquin Hotel, since 1889 the historic mainstay of the once thriving resort community, is unclear as its operator, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, has told the government that it's pulling-out in December.

While it's good to have others recognize what a terrific destination the Fundy Coast of New Brunswick really is...if travellers can hardly get there; they are most likely to choose more hospital destinations.

LINKED BY RAIL...

....Perhaps to digress: It's been suggested, tongue in cheek, that high-profile Hollywood personalities recently arrested at the White House protesting the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico did not travel cross-country on "electric" airplanes.

President Obama is scheduled once again to address the American people in a few days this time about major job creation initiatives, as the economy of the United-States remains mired in an endless and semingly bottomless recession. Pundits expect he will call on Congress to implement additional tax credits and bolster infrastructure spending to get the U.S. economy out of the doldrums.

Just a few months after Obama's swearing-in as President in 2009 he was in Tampa, Florida annoucing a cornerstone measure of his new administration plans to modernize transportation, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and create badly needed employment opportunities. Mr. Obama had earmarked more than $2-Billion for the construction of a "show piece" bullet train linking Tampa Bay and Orlando which would open a new chapter in modern, efficient rail transportation. The Tea-Party backed State Governor, Rick Scott, elected in the follow-up 2010 (mid-term) Gubernatorial face-off flatly rejected the deal. Some of the Florida money,to be specific $404-Million, is now headed to Amtrak in an effort to increase average speed on its rail service from Detroit to Chicago to about 110-miles per hour from the current 90 MPH.

Regardless of the environmental benefits, the plain reality both in the United-States and in Canada is that high-speed (downtown to downtown) train corridors make sense because they are substantially more efficient and less expensive than airplanes along short to mid-range routes...

VIA Rail Train #76, a photo by t47360 on Flickr.

...An argument of course which rings familiar to Canadians who have been advocating for a number of years seeking improved, faster and more efficient rail links along VIA Rail's lucrative Windor / Quebec City corridor. In light of the Amtrak project about to get underway thanks to the Obama "jobs" inititatives, some forward thinkers see an opportunity for a direct Chicago to Montreal rail corridor by way of Detroit and Windsor. Really a "no-brainer," for which the potential would be easily recognized both in Europe and in Asia where most developed countries are light-years ahead of the North American model for rail transportation.

Alas! That's not quite the perception at Via Rail which has received almost $925-Million in Federal stimulus funding to upgrade infrastructure and rail stations. It claims to be hamstrung by its "conventional" service because:"Any plan to move forward with high-speed rail would be a government prerogative."

Still, despite the Federal government's faltering initiative towards a "perimeter security" deal with our U. S. neighbour and, along with a deadlocked Michigan Legislative Assembly, 'Transport Canada' remains committed to, and adamant about, advancing funds to the Americans to build a second bridge over the Detroit River. It seems a rail-link could be a seamless logical extension and a substantial opportunity for this proposal. Since Denis Lebel the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is "The" minister with responsibilities for every element of the file(s), he should be inclined (Nay!Encouraged) to reconsider.