Airline Crisis in Stark Numbers 
November 9, 2020. Airline workers in Halifax demand government action. (Unifor Local 2002)
The gross income of
Canadian airlines plunged dramatically during the first half of the
year 2020; in July passenger
numbers were down on average 90 per cent year over year. NAV CANADA,
the private
cartel controlling air traffic, reports that air traffic throughout the
country in September was
still down by an average 62.6 per cent compared to a year earlier, with
air cargo accounting
for a large percentage of the traffic. It could be said these terrible
numbers are largely
self-inflicted by those in control. They stem from the contradiction
between the private
competing control of an industry that is completely socialized and
interconnected with the rest
of the economy and in need of cooperation for the mutual benefit of
all. The airline sector,
along with all the basic industries, requires a new direction and aim
to serve the people,
economy and society under the control of those who do the work.
Air Canada
Since
mid-March, the country's largest airline, Air Canada, has slashed its
flight schedule by more than 90 per cent and grounded more than 200 of
its fleet of 332 planes. At that time, it laid off 5,100 employees. It
has cut service internationally from 150 airports to just five. Gross
income from ticket sales and services at Air Canada dropped by $604
million or 16 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 compared with a
year earlier. The company says it burned through $22 million in cash
per day in March. It reported a loss of $1.05 billion in its first
quarter compared with a profit of $345 million in the same quarter last
year. The company said it expected the cash burn to ease as it stops
most flying other than for cargo.
This is the backward and destructive view of the ruling
oligarchs. They see only the "cash
burn" of what they consider their own money when producing a necessary
service during an
emergency. They do not see the value of mobilizing the working class to
work and produce,
albeit at a reduced rate, during the pandemic. But they
scream, What is the good of producing
if maximum private profit cannot be had and we're burning money that
belongs to us? Let the
public burn its money paying workers not to work!
When faced with the difficulties of a health emergency, the rich
oligarchs lash out in
desperation to save their private fortunes. Through destruction they
see opportunities to save
their skins, demand public money and even expand their empires, as the
Air Canada oligarchs
are plotting to do with their proposed purchase of Air Transat at half
the price they offered
before the pandemic.
Air Canada's Second Quarter: Air
Canada's second quarter 2020 results showed gross income declined from
$4.738 billion in the second quarter of 2019 to $527 million in the
second quarter this year, a
decline of $4.211 billion or 89 per cent. Only cargo income was up over
the previous year,
climbing 52 per cent to $269 million. Total passengers carried declined
by 96 per cent compared
to the second quarter of 2019. Operating loss for the quarter was
$1.555 billion compared to operating income of $422 million in the
second quarter of 2019,
a decline of almost $2 billion.
Air Canada reduced
its second quarter 2020 passenger/seat capacity by 92 per cent compared
to the second quarter of 2019 and announced plans to reduce its third
quarter 2020 capacity by approximately 80 per cent compared to the
third quarter of 2019. By this point, Air Canada had reduced its
workforce by more than half -- a total of 20,000 positions -- through
layoffs, attrition and early retirement.
Cancellation of Routes:
Air Canada announced in June the complete suspension of service to 30
regional routes. The
routes cancelled without any indication of a plan to restart are the
following:
Atlantic
Canada: Deer Lake-Goose Bay, Deer Lake-St. John's,
Fredericton-Halifax,
Fredericton-Ottawa, Moncton-Halifax, Saint John-Halifax,
Charlottetown-Halifax,
Moncton-Ottawa, Gander-Goose Bay, Gander-St. John's, Bathurst-Montreal,
Wabush-Goose
Bay, Wabush-Sept-Iles, Goose Bay-St. John's.
Quebec: Baie
Comeau-Montréal, Baie Comeau-Mont Joli,
Gaspé-Iles de la
Madeleine, Gaspé-Quebec City, Sept-Iles-Quebec City, Val
d'Or-Montreal, Mont
Joli-Montréal, Rouyn-Noranda-Val d'Or.
Ontario:
Kingston-Toronto, London-Ottawa, North Bay-Toronto,
Windsor-Montreal.
Western Canada:
Regina-Winnipeg, Regina-Saskatoon, Regina-Ottawa,
Saskatoon-Ottawa.
Stations Closed at Regional
Airports: Air Canada closed its stations in the following
regional airports:
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador
Gaspé, Baie
Comeau, Mont Joli, and Val d'Or, Quebec; and
Kingston and
North Bay, Ontario. WestJet
The second biggest Canadian carrier, WestJet, parked 140 of its
181 aircraft and furloughed more than 9,500 of its 14,000 employees
early in the year. The wrecking of service
resulted in a 95 per cent drop in passenger travel on the airline,
particularly to and from
Alberta.
WestJet also eliminated 80 per cent of its flights to the Atlantic
Provinces, completely
suspending service to Moncton, Fredericton, Sydney and Charlottetown
while significantly
reducing flights to Halifax and St. John's. It stopped all its flights
between Toronto and
Quebec City.
Other Carriers
Porter Airlines out of Toronto grounded its entire fleet on March 21
and now
says the suspension will last until at least December 15.
Air Transat ceased almost all its operations and closed its Vancouver
base.
Sunwing and other smaller regional carriers across the country have in
the main suspended air
service.
NAV CANADA
The national air traffic controller NAV CANADA, which is a private
cartel of the
major airlines and others, so far this year has cut 720 of its 4,600
workers.
NAV CANADA announced in May that it would hike its fees by 29.5 per
cent, which became
effective in September. The new fees increase the price of tickets for
a cross-country flight for
a family of four by about $100. NAV CANADA blamed the increase on the
absence of greater
government support though it did not specify, as a private enterprise,
what support it wanted
from the public treasury.
Chief executive officer Neil Wilson said in a press release at the
time: "NAV CANADA
acknowledges this increase (in fees) comes at a time when its customers
are also in
exceptionally difficult circumstances as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. [...] All available
alternatives, including further government assistance, will continue to
be explored and utilized
in order to minimize or avoid the proposed rate increase."
NAV CANADA is a private corporation that owns and operates Canada's
civil air navigation
service (ANS) on behalf of the private airlines. The work includes air
traffic control, flight
information, weather briefings, aeronautical information, airport
advisory services and
electronic aids to navigation. These responsibilities were held by
Transport Canada until
it was privatized in 1996. The federal government of Jean
Chrétien transferred the
ANS from Transport Canada to NAV CANADA for a privatization fee of $1.5
billion. The cartel
leadership that seized control of ANS consists of four directors from
the major air carriers,
one from general and business aviation, three from the federal
government and two from
bargaining agents or unions.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 44 - November 14, 2020
Article Link:
Airline Crisis in Stark Numbers
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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