Transport Committee on Feb. 4th, 2021

[David Rheault]

That's a very good question and I thank you for it.

Discussions are currently underway between the Government of Canada and air carriers on this issue. They may talk about imposing conditions on the carriers, but as Mr. Shipley said, we are losing liquidity of $15 million a day. So that has to be understood and we need to have a plan that will allow us to preserve our liquidity and be in a good position to get the business back on track. So it's a matter of seeing what kind of assistance could be given to help us meet those obligations. As we have said with respect to passenger refunds, we are prepared to do it, but it will depend on the type of refund or assistance the government may give and the timelines that will be set.

With regard to the other conditions you mentioned, it is kind of the same thing. It's all part of the discussions that are going on. Carriers are open to having those discussions with Government of Canada officials.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Can I ask you to answer the second part of the question, for which Mr. Gibbons did not provide me with an answer, please.

Will this crisis alleviate or aggravate the shortage of pilots that existed before the crisis?

[David Rheault]

Again, that's a very good question.

As I said before, pilots are in a highly skilled profession. We did have a shortage and there is a great deal of competition in recruiting pilots, in Canada and in other countries. I feel the challenge we may face is that we might not be able to keep our Canadian pilots at home if aviation does not get back on track as fast as in other countries. That is a significant issue because a specialized group of professionals like airline pilots really is a major asset for airlines.

By the way, that's true for all our professions, but your question was specifically about pilots. So we have a competitiveness issue on an international scale as well.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

What percentage of your fleet is sitting idle?

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. Rheault and Mr. El-Khoury.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Members of the committee, would any of you mind if I asked one quick question of the witnesses?

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I'd be happy for you to ask a question, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.

It's come up in past meetings, and I was surprised it didn't come up at this meeting, and that is question of refunds on the clawbacks from travel agents. We've heard a lot from travel agents throughout the course of the past few months.

My question to both witnesses—and I just like a quick answer—is with respect to refunds to travel agents. Is this is a direction that you're considering?

We'll start with Mr. Gibbons.

[Andy Gibbons]

What is the question, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

It's whether, in fact, both you, as well as Air Canada, are considering either giving back or not clawing back the commissions that would otherwise go to travel agents.

[Andy Gibbons]

Our commitment is to refund Canadians. If you purchased a $500 air ticket on your Visa, you're expecting a $500 refund. It's an unfortunate and unintended consequence of our progressive refund policy that these partners are hurting. We've put those concerns to Minister Joly and to the federal government, because we believe this is an unfortunate occurrence. We believe it should be addressed by the Government of Canada, absolutely.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you. So the answer is no.

I'll move on to Air Canada.

Mr. Rheault.

[David Rheault]

I think your question outlines certain issues about refunds and the impact they can have on other stakeholders in aviation and other small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. For us, in implementing a refund policy, we also will consider the impact it will have on our business partners. We expect that to be part of the conversation with the federal government, as they mentioned this as a condition as well for the support for airlines.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Okay. So, again, the answer is no at this time, but both are looking at these considerations in discussions with government.

Thank you for that answer, both of you.

[Andy Gibbons]

You're welcome.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Also, thank you for your time today in participating in this discussion with the members of the committee. We are expecting to make a report, and I'm sure that the testimony you've given to the committee will help inform that report. Once again, I thank you for your time.

Members, I thank you for your questions and your time today as well.

I am now going to adjourn this portion of the meeting so that we can reconvene for an in camera portion of the meeting. I will ask members to log out and log back in for that portion of the meeting.

Thank you.

[Proceedings continue in camera]