Thank you, Mr. Hanley.
Overall, I believe that interline agreements really are a good thing for the consumer. I really do believe that for our travelling public, it would be wonderful to unite two different airlines so that a passenger would have one itinerary for the entire length of their travel.
The trouble we get into, and where we've had problems with the interline or co-share agreements in the past, is that a small airline like ours cannot carry the same terms and conditions as a fellow interline company.
Typically how it worked in the past, historically, was that the interline agreement somewhat protected the consumer from the amount of baggage they had and the different terms and conditions they had. For us, as a small regional airline, we don't necessarily have a tiered approach for our fares, and we don't have a tiered approach for our benefits, and it goes on.
My concern with interline agreements actually is if it exposes the air carrier to be responsible for something that happens out of their control. Typically how it works with normal travel is that our agreement with our customer is to go from Norman Wells, let's say, to Yellowknife. In having an interline agreement, we would have to work to ensure we carry them for the length of their travel. I would say that I wouldn't be overly against it, but for a small airline with smaller airplanes, aircraft and payload, it's really hard for us to guarantee those three bags at 80 pounds, whatever Air Canada or WestJet decides—