Ottawa: Air Canada wanted Emirates to fly daily into Toronto, a document obtained by Gulf News shows.
According to the proposal dated October 17, 2006, the Canadian airline even proposed the landing times for Emirates flights in Toronto so as to maximise the number of Air Canada passengers using the service.
In return for the arrangement, Air Canada wanted 50 per cent of all of Emirates's profits on the route. Emirates rejected the proposal. Air Canada and Emirates did not comment.
Since the 2006 deal was rejected, both Emirates and Etihad have been limited to three flights a week to Toronto, and the UAE carriers have been refused more landing slots and have been stalled in their efforts to fly to other Canadian destinations of Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.
Air Canada, however, while believing the proposed arrangement would be profitable in 2006, has since consistently claimed that thousands of jobs would be lost if more UAE flights are granted. "Clearly, this document shows the duplicity of Air Canada and the Canadian government in this whole affair," Dan McTeague, the opposition Liberal party's critic on foreign and consular affairs, told Gulf News. "The government is acting in the interests of Air Canada."
McTeague said that if Air Canada wanted more flights, then its current view on jobs doesn't told water. An Emirates study says that daily flights to Toronto would create nearly 2,000 new jobs and would contribute $26 million (Dh94 million) annually in tax revenue for federal and provincial governments.
