Air Canada’s chief executive officer Calin Rovinescu has launched a scathing attack on Emirates Airline, accusing the Dubai-based carrier of telling “fairy tales” about the economic benefits of increasing its flights to Canada.
“It is well known in the industry that Emirates is trying to push hard to divert as much global flow traffic via Dubai in order to deploy its massive fleet of wide-body aircraft, including (Airbus) A380s it has purchased or has on order,” Rovinescu warned in a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.
“Simply put, the market between Canada and the UAE has not developed to the point where more capacity is warranted. Period. Full stop. There are already more airline seats being flown between Dubai and Canada than there are people to fill them,” he continued.
Emirates is currently limited to sharing six flights a week with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. However, according to CBC News, the Dubai-based carrier had claimed it could potentially create 2800 jobs across the country if it were allowed to increase its Toronto flights to a daily service and expand flights to markets like Vancouver and Calgary. As a result, an additional US$480-million would reportedly be generated in economic activity.
Related article: Rivals ‘will never accept’ Emirates success
