Transport Committee on Dec. 13th, 2024

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Okay.

Air Canada recently announced that you'll be charging for carry-on baggage. I take an Air Canada flight almost every week to work. I'm lucky to be able to leave some things in Ottawa, but a lot of Canadians travel on the weekend or for work or for other reasons not as frequently, and they might have to travel with more. Can you explain to Canadians why you'll be charging them for carry-on baggage that requires no handling by baggage carriers and that just goes into an overhead compartment?

[Michael Rousseau]

First of all, that change is only on our basic fare. We have seven different fare structures. It's only on the basic fare. There are many other commercial decisions we make that benefit customers. For example, as of just yesterday, we will be offering free Wi-Fi for all Aeroplan members.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

[Technical difficulty—Editor] for frequent flyers, correct?

[Michael Rousseau]

There are nine million Aeroplan members. You can join Aeroplan for nothing. If you're an Aeroplan member, you have free Wi-Fi in our planes.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Okay.

[Michael Rousseau]

There are other examples from throughout the year where we have provided significant value benefits to all our passengers.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

I'm a passenger on Air Canada frequently. I can attest to the experience being a good one, generally, but I also know that it's very expensive to travel on Air Canada. Would you say that Canada is a high-competition market for air travel?

[Michael Rousseau]

All the statistics indicate that it is one of the most competitive markets compared with Australia, Europe and the United States.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Sorry. Compared to Europe....

How many options do I have if I would like to fly from Toronto to Ottawa in terms of airlines?

[Michael Rousseau]

Off the top of my head, I don't have the answer to that question.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Would it be more than five?

[Michael Rousseau]

I do know that 54% of all routes in Canada have at least three carriers on them. That's the same percentage as the United States.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Okay.

Prior to being an MP, I was an athlete. I travelled a lot in Europe, and I can attest to the fact that there were quite a few more airline options when travelling in Europe and in the United States. Canada's different in that regard. Will this $35 charge apply to a really large backpack if somebody's going on a hiking trip?

[Michael Rousseau]

Again, I think that will be up to the gate agent to make that decision, but we have specifications as to size, and—

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Let me put it this way, then. Let's say I'm planning on taking a trip and I'd like to do some hiking, so I bring some shoes and whatever. I plan on putting it underneath the seat, so I plan on bringing it on as my personal item, experiencing no cost associated with that. However, I arrive, I check in and the gate agent says, “Actually, that's too big to go under your seat,” even though I could probably get it in there, and they tell me that it's actually carry-on baggage. What will I be charged at the airport to put it in the overhead compartment?

[Michael Rousseau]

We believe our gate agents will be reasonable in the circumstances.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Do you know the amount it will cost, though?

[Michael Rousseau]

I believe that, at the gate, it will be $65.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

With this additional $65 fee that you'll be charging Canadian passengers—passengers from anywhere, really—do you expect increased revenues in surplus of your over $2-billion profit?

[Michael Rousseau]

Well, we also invest a tremendous amount of money. All the profits we make, we reinvest.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Is that a yes?

[Michael Rousseau]

We reinvest in airplanes, flying Canadians all around the world, and other opportunities and benefits for consumers as well.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Yes, I know. I appreciate that and, like I said, I think the flying experience on Air Canada is good, but my question is, will this increase your revenues next year? Will this fee increase the amount of money that Air Canada makes?

[Michael Rousseau]

Again, to the earlier question, we will provide to the committee a financial analysis that will detail that.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Thank you.

Do you expect to be compensated more in 2024 than you were in 2023? Do you generally make more year over year?