Good point. Probably far better for WS to beef up its strong North American offerings instead of continuing with a somewhat half-assed transatlantic service.

I forgot Emirates codeshares with WS as well, so strange that they codeshare with both our national airlines. The AC codeshare really shocked me to be honest, I couldn't believe they would formally team up with an airline that was essentially a main rival for North America-Middle East/Asia traffic, especially now that AC has multiple Indian destinations and Bangkok in SE Asia. Years ago, AC fought so hard against Emirates even when AC didn't operate any non-stop routes to India. They were in so tight with Lufthansa who didn't want to lose out on the connecting traffic. I wonder what Lufthansa thinks of this cooperation. And it's not just AC; United just signed a similar codeshare agreement with Emirates, and so did Copa, so all 3 North American *Alliance carriers formally partner with Emirates now. Seems like such a big change of strategy, as conventional wisdom would think Emirates would hurt both AC and UA's service to South Asia especially. One has to assume that the market is substantially larger than previously thought, and both Air Canada and United can still fill their own planes and benefit from Emirates partnership. But still seems weird to me, especially since AC operates its own metal to Dubai, not sure what this partnership is doing really (maybe they just realize Emirates is such a powerhouse and would rather be friends than competitors??). United makes more sense, since they don't even fly to Dubai (they are starting next year from Newark, but as of now, and previously, did not fly there).

Even though DXB has many other carriers, it is probably considered a fortress hub of Emirates/FlyDubai (technically different airlines but owned by the same group and heavily codeshare with each other). I know Emirates is restricted to where they can operate in Canada (and frequency), hence why WS is stepping up. Just seems kind of funny to me that one of the most symbiotic relationships of any airline with an airport is Emirates with Dubai (in the same vein as Singapore Airlines in Singapore and Cathay Pacific for Hong Kong), and yet Emirates won't be operating the YYC route. They are known to fly to a massive amount of destinations from Dubai, to points all over the world. YVR, YYC, YYZ, and YUL should all be served by EK metal, really. If you look at where Emirates flies and how often, Canada is the most restricted, without a doubt. If the bilateral was different, I guarantee Emirates would have massive service to all 4 biggest cities.

It's not so strange, I suppose. I've seen Air New Zealand codeshare with Westjet, despite the former being Star Alliance. Codesharing outside a formal alliance is just a way to broaden one's connections if one doesn't mind the hassle, or feels the potential traffic is worth it.

As for Emirates, United and AC might nominally compete with them, but those airlines have come around to the fact that they'll never match Emirates in that part of the world and that future growth lies there. The flights to that part of the world are so long-haul as to make them risky bets for anything other than the most stable/profitable connection points.

Giving the Middle East 3 carte blanche into Canada would likely be a bridge too far for AC, whose protectionist instinct still runs deep. I could see some more flex on the bilateral in the future, but an open skies agreement would be a bridge too far.

I do agree that Emirates would definitely try YUL/YVR after going 2x daily into YYZ if they could get that. Like I said, fat chance of that with AC lobbying for hometown advantage.

UA flew IAD-DXB for a number of years until 2016 I believe.

Out of the US3, UA had the best service to the ME. They used to fly to Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar as well. They used to have a contract with the US government, and it was the driving force behind these flights.

Ok that's interesting, I didn't know they had such an extensive ME network before. I suppose if the government contract ended, it just wasn't feasible to serve all those destinations. Is a government contract the reason UA has a large South Pacific network as well? They are pretty much the only game in town out there (Micronesia, Guam, Mariana Islands, etc.). They also have a lot of Japan service, and to more secondary cities.

I doubt Emirates will ever join an alliance, they have a unique position in terms of routes and hub at DXB, they will be happy to continue to partner with a little bit of everyone (they have codeshares with major airlines from all the other alliances). I don't want to see ME3 airlines overrun our airports and stifle growth from other airlines, but I think there's a happy medium, especially as the Gulf States and even Saudi Arabia are really developing fast. I think EK should be flying to YYZ, YUL, YYC, and YVR, for sure. Daily to YYZ and maybe 4-5 weekly from the other airports would generate a lot of traffic without cannibalizing other carriers going to Europe, ME, and Asia. I know onward traffic to Iran and India was always the main goal of Emirates, but I think times have changed since 10 years ago. I believe there is more demand to the Middle East itself now, not just Dubai but also Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and even to Syria (eventually once the refugees in Canada are more settled and established economically, there will be some demand for connections to Syria or Iraq). I know Iran and India connections are still probably the main goal, I think demand to Dubai itself is higher now than 10-15 years ago.

Just an aside, since we're talking about Emirates and routes to the ME... As I'm sure most people were aware, Israel was a pariah and not recognized by any ME countries except Egypt and Jordan. I am shocked that it's happened, but somehow the last few years have seen a thaw between Israel and several Arab states, namely Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia (the biggest shock of all). Aside from being a huge political shift, it has meant changes for Tel Aviv airport. All of the Arab states used to ban Israeli planes from flying through their airspace (of course Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan still ban them). This made flights to Asia more costly and difficult for Israeli carriers, as Saudi Arabia is right in between Israel and India. Now the airspace is wide open. But even more importantly, there are direct air links between TLV and DXB. And not just a token flight. Up to 7 daily flights, on 4 different carriers, with El Al using a 787 and Emirates using two 777s (FlyDubai and Israir also operate the route but with narrow body planes). I am shocked to see such a high amount of service between the two cities already. Only a couple of years ago, UAE wouldn't even use the name "Israel"publicly, let alone foster a relationship that generates this level of traffic. Pretty wild to see

The simplest explanation is history. Continental Airlines had a subsidiary that focused on Micronesia with a dedicated fleet. When United purchased Continental that came along with the deal.

Long story but the UAE is limited to the number of flights it can allocate to its two airlines. Those rights are split between Etihad and Emirates. Canada has reciprocal rights it can allocate to its two airlines. Air Canada is maxed out but WS would still have rights it could make use of. No single airline on either side can operate daily.

I think Canada would rather see domestic airlines from India and Pakistan serving those markets rather than Emirates.

Don't know much about the South Pacific. What I do know is that UA and CO merged back in the day, and CO used to have a subsidiary based in the Pacific called Continental Micronesia. That might have something to do with it.

They simply inherited the flights and rights from CO when both companies merged.

It's funny you should mention this, as I believe rumor has it that the cancellation of United's ME ops back in 2016, especially service to Kuwait and Bahrain, was due to a conflict between the US, Israel and Kuwait over an incident that happened on board a Kuwait Airways flight.

Back in the day, Kuwait Airways used to fly KWI-LHR-JFK. On the LHR-JFK leg, KU refused to let a man with in Israeli passport board the flight, as Kuwait didn't recognize Israel as a country. The passenger complained to the US Department of Transport. The DOT told KU to stop the practice. KU didn't comply, and instead canceled service on LHR-JFK.

As retaliation, Kuwait told UA to cancel their flight to KWI in 2016, which they did. BAH was a tag on service, so both KWI and BAH service were terminated in 2016. Incidentally, so was DXB. Don't know if the reason it was canceled was related to that or not.

KU has since resumed service to JFK, but it's now a non stop KWI-JFK.

YEG/Edmonton starting to promote the upcoming Condor YEG-FRA

---

Adrian Warchola, MBA
• 1st
Manager, Air Service Development at Edmonton International Airport
5h • 5 hours ago

An excellent few days in Frankfurt & area promoting Condor Flugdienst GmbH’s new non-stop route to Edmonton International Airport (YEG), as of May 2023. As one of Alberta’s top overseas markets, we look forward to welcoming more German visitors to the Edmonton Metro Region & beyond. A big thanks to Travel Alberta, Explore Edmonton Corporation, Tourism Jasper, Indigenous Tourism Alberta for your support and partnership!

Interesting, thanks for the info. Kuwait still has no relations with Israel, and are quite firm on that. But Kuwait isn't in the same ironclad alliance as Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi. Qatar and Kuwait are sometimes included in the friend club, but also often not. Both states have a more neutral stance and straddle friendships with both the BAH-UAE-KSA bloc and the Iran/Syria/Turkey bloc. The jury is still out if this is a good strategy or not for them. It certainly has strained relations on the Arab side more, Qatar especially has bore the brunt of flexing by the Arab bloc, 2017 they were totally isolated. Things improved, but Saudi didn't like how casually openly Qatar and Kuwait had friendships with Iran. That's the main issue. And Iran will take friends wherever it can, they are not choosy. If a country wants to befriend them, they will do it. But Saudi is more discerning, and wants strong allies with a public allegiance.

Well, let's wait and see how Canada-Dubai services changes. The feeling is this YYC announcement is imminent and more than a rumour, seems legit. Swinging big on this destination though, not sure how the economics play out for WS to make money on it. Remember, high loads don't always create profits.

Will no doubt need the equivalent of at least a B check to ensure everything's functioning properly before departing after having sat for over six months.

Frank Robinson, the founder of Robinson Helicopters passed away at the age of 92 last week.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...889882608.html

I've only ever been on a helicopter once, but the one I was on was an R44.

Looks like the Canada-India bilateral is set to expand: https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...871054492.html

Announcement expected today.

Now they just have to work with Air North and Canadian North for flights to Yellownife and Whitehorse. I was informed that there is a market to get people up in those areas.

Condor already flies to Whitehorse

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...866124565.html

So this is open skies between the two countries basically?

I suspect the expanded agreement comes now because Air Canada is in a place to capitalize on it, and Air India is just such a basket-case to be a non-concern.

Air India might have a few nominal increases to Canada, but overall the company is being eaten by domestic competition internally, and Emirates eats its international traffic.

I believe the cap to DEL is 2x daily.

AC definitely need more than that (once the Russian airspace is open).
AI is currently at 2x daily and likely also need more than that.

Close but not quite. Unlimited frequencies but not unlimited destinations:

Cargo-only ops have been open skies since the last bilateral expansion in 2011.

Now that AI are privatized they're not going to be that same basket case going forward.

^

Considering the cities listed, and the 2 choices available to India, it's as good as an open skies, really.

Unless we really think AI wants to serve Winnipeg or Halifax one day.

I will say that it's interesting that YEG is listed but not YYC. ultimately though, by giving India 2 extra choices, it doesn't really matter.

Indeed. It's as if bilaterals are only expanded when it suits Air Canada. That's a shame, really. This being said, let's see if AI will take advantage of this as well. With daily service to both YYZ and YVR, they were close to the limit as well under the previous agreement.

As someone of Pakistani background, and goes to Pakistan every few years (and family goes back much much more). No we do not want more PIA.

Dubai (The gulf in General)really is the connection spot for the sub continent now days for most of us. If most big cities in Canada had access to the Gulf (Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi), you have access to every major Indian and Pakistani City.

Qatar/Turkish/Emirates, are so so so much better for these flights.
PIA is a horrible airline.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/busin...hnk/index.html