Nationalise Air Canada? Union floats idea of returning to government ownership

A Canadian union has floated the idea of re-nationalising legacy carrier Air Canada in light of the “disheartening impact” of the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s lack of support for the industry. The airline’s machinists’ union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), on 20 October sent a letter to the country’s ministers of transport and finance asking to discuss returning the airline to government ownership. The letter cites “unparalleled devastation” of the industry. Air Canada was privatised in 1988. ”We now recommend a debate on the re-nationalisation of Air Canada,” the union writes. “It is long past time for the federal government to step in and prevent our crucial air transportation industry from collapsing in the midst of this global pandemic... We are calling for investment in the industry, particularly as it impacts upon Air Canada and the tens of thousands of Canadians who rely upon this company for their income and their livelihoods." But a trade group representing Canada’s largest passenger carriers said on 19 October that loans and loan guarantees would be more useful than a government takeover. “We are not looking for government ownership,” Mike McNaney, chief executive of the National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents Air Canada, WestJet, Jazz Aviation and Air Transat, told Canadian television. <br/>