My name is Francis Manfredi. I've been a service director at Air Canada since 1998, based in Toronto, Ontario. I've been asked by my colleague Marie-Josée Pagé to accompany her today to answer any of your questions or concerns regarding the developments and efforts of my employer, Air Canada, in the past couple of years regarding the bilingual services offered on board and what I see on board. I come at this as a non-French-speaking person, so for today I'll be considered unilingual.
My expertise comes not only from my years of service but also from my day-to-day front-line experience in serving Air Canada customers and from the challenges that arise on board the aircraft. As a service director, I'm the on-board leader and I have a critical role and a sort of nexus of responsibilities on board the aircraft. I'm the conduit between the company expectations, the cabin crew that I'm leading that day, the captain and the first officer, and finally the operational realities present that day. As a service director, I must show leadership; plan; organize; coordinate; control; provide help, coaching, and guidance for the flight attendants; and sometimes stand firm when necessary. There are a number of protocols and targets to meet before the aircraft even takes off, with safety of course being paramount followed by on-time performance targets like leaving on time. Any failure or shortcoming of any of the above is ultimately my responsibility, and I have to answer for it.
Finally, I'd just like to thank the chair and the hon. members who invited me here today. I'd be more than happy to answer any of your questions to the best of my abilities.