I think the first thing to note is that the definition of long term in our sector has fundamentally changed. I think all of our forecasting and other issues have really changed. We're developing an investment schedule month per month now, whereas we used to do it twice a year. Everything has changed.
I don't know the article you're referring to, but I can talk about some of the critical issues you're touching on.
I'm going to leave out the safe restart, Mr. Van Bynen, because we've talked a lot about that, but there are two things. First would be the prioritization of domestic travel and the second would be a more appropriate arrivals testing regime for international traffic.
The other issue that I think you're getting to is the cost of travel. In Canada, the cost of travel has been a major achievement of WestJet. In 2019, I believe that fares had been stagnant for about two decades, and we were saying in 2019 that Canadians had never been more affordably connected to each other and to the world. If you consider 2019 to be a very high mark for affordability, accessibility and for communities gaining access, the policies that supported that were okay in good times, but they won't work in bad times.
There was the example just yesterday of the president of Southwest Airlines making an announcement that they were going to be investing in Bellingham, Washington. He cited government taxes and fees as the reason Southwest was investing in Bellingham, Washington. He didn't say WestJet's planes suck. He didn't say Swoop can't compete. We can compete globally. What he cited was government policy.
We need to be really careful about the cost of travel. The government has not supported Nav Canada or airports. Both of these key partners have had to increase their fees. That hurts Canadian travellers, so I would highlight that issue.
As it relates to aerospace, Abbotsford wants to keep developing their aerospace hub, and a key and vibrant airport with commercial aviation services is a key factor for that. You've heard that today from Philippe, Jerry and others, so it's all interrelated, but the fact that the president of an American airline is citing government policy as the basis for his investment decision is troubling. Frankly, I don't think we'd accept that if it were steel, aluminum or an agricultural product. We simply wouldn't. Those are Canadian jobs being exported across the border.