Air Canada hopes to resuscitate cross-border venture with United

Air Canada is eager to revive a revenue-sharing arrangement with United Airlines on cross-border routes, now that a bill in the Canadian Parliament has been introduced that could make such joint ventures easier to pass regulatory muster. “We’re definitely interested in pursuing a JV with United,” Yves Dufresne, Air Canada’s VP of alliances and regulatory affairs, said Tuesday. “The Canada-US bilateral air transport market is still the largest in the world. We made an attempt several years ago but there were so many roadblocks.” The carriers in 2012 abandoned efforts to coordinate cross-border service after Canada’s Competition Bureau said the venture would create a monopoly on 10 routes, hurt competition and spark “significantly higher prices.” <br/>