Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

Friday, 13 April 2001

Issue #597 - Prepared & etc. by Mike Murphy & James Lyon

In this issue...

Rail

VIA Ocean Derailment

Two dozen people were hurt when a Via Rail Ocean train carrying 123 passengers and crew members derailed in the NS farming town of Stewiacke Thursday afternoon, slamming into a building. Investigators are still not sure what happened, but Thursday night they confirmed that they're looking into whether a switch was thrown the wrong way. Rescue workers freed the last of 12 people who were trapped inside the train within a few hours. Two cars were badly mangled, and one of them was torn open. Injuries ranged from small cuts to broken bones. All 24 people who were hurt were expected to be OK, according to Nova Scotia's Health Department.

CN/WC Merger Update

Seeking US government approval for its US$1.2 Billion purchase, CN has said that its merger with Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp should eventually yield more than US $100 million a year in added savings and revenue. The purchase gives CN better access to Chicago from the northwest. The deal, which has received the blessing of WCTC shareholders, has yet to be approved by the US Surface Transportation Board. The deal enjoys the support of 280 shippers, local governments and other public bodies. WCTC owns Algoma Central Railway in Northern Ontario, requiring CN and WCTC to file with the Canadian Competition Bureau as well.

Air

Halifax Airport Strike

Airport workers at the Halifax airport voted overwhelmingly to strike. Contrary to newpaper reports, the airport fire fighters at Halifax and 27 other airports in Canada are deemed to be essential to the safety and security of the airport and are unable to strike. The Air Passenger Safety Group notes that Transport Canada deems crash fire rescue services at 250 other airports in Canada with scheduled air service as merely a level of service, not as a safety service, and is thus not required.

Air Travel Complaints Commissioner Report

Air Travel Complaints Commissioner Bruce Hood released his first report, covering the period July 5, 2000 to December 31, 2000. An online copy is available at with a little searching at www.cta-otc.gc.ca

Written in candid, breezy and even humorous terms, the report indicates that by December 31, 2000, the Commissionerıs office had closed 419 of the 1,129 complaints within its jurisdiction. Air Canada, the country's largest single air carrier and the 11th largest in the world after its integration of Canadian Airlines and its affiliates, was named in 82 per cent of complaints against Canadian carriers. The majority of the complaints concerned the quality of service provided by the carrier. Complaints were lodged against a total of 55 carriers licensed to operate within, and to and from Canada.

Of the total number of issues revealed that three categories ­ quality of service at 45 per cent; flight schedules at 19 per cent; and baggage problems at 12 per cent ­ dominated the nature of the complaints.

In the quality of service category, passengers overwhelmingly cited a lack of communication and a negative attitude of air carrier employees as the key areas of discontent.

In the flight schedule category, delays to flights comprised 56 per cent of the issues with cancellations following at 29 per cent. In the baggage category, the majority of complaints involved delayed luggage, followed by lost and damaged luggage.

The majority of complainants sought either an explanation and/or an apology from the air carrier. However, an almost equal number sought compensation as well.

Author grounds air industry quality

Almost coincident with the Hood Report, internationally renowned Montreal scholar Henry Minzberg released a book of his own, entitled Why I Hate Flying. Mintzberg, normally a cool and detached management and organizational guru, takes passionate aim at airline food, boring airports, the discomfort of economy class seats, which he refers to as sardine class and the ethics of bribing customers with frequent flier points. He is particularly incensed with a corporate culture that glorifies overpaid executives while treating customers and employees as objects to be manipulated.

Vancouver Airport Update

Vancouver Airport Services, a for profit subsidiary of the not for Profit Vancouver Airport Authority, which in 1992 was Canada's first airport to privatize after the federal government decided to privatize its airports, has obtained up to $47 million in equity from a London-based private equity investor currently owned by the British Government. This arm of the Vancouver airport authority, which manages airports in Hamilton, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Cranbrook and Moncton, indicated the cash infusion will allow it to bid on other international airport management contracts. The airports complex and controversial holdings came to light last year in a major article in the Vancouver Province.

Canada 3000 eager to expand

Canada 3000, the second largest carrier in the country, which recently bought both Royal Aviation and CanJet, says it wants up to 30% of the domestic market, at Air Canada's and WestJet's expense. The Toronto-based carrier, which said it is purchasing or leasing nine new Airbus A319 aircraft, bringing its fleet up to47 aircraft, wants to serve 21 Canadian cities with fares up to 85% lower than Air Canada's. The airline said it will offer upgraded service, to be known as Club C3, for exactly half the price of Air Canada's business class service.

Air India trial update

The BC court of appeal has rejected a bid by one of the two men charged in the bombing of an Air India jet in 1985, which killed all 329 people on board. The aircraft had departed from Toronto and Montreal before it exploded over the Irish Sea. The bombing, the worst in aviation history, was the result of terrorist activity carried out by Sikh extremists.

American Airlines closer to TWA takeover

American Airlines parent company, AMR Corp, has cleared the final legal battle to become the world's largest air carrier, by its purchase of the bankrupt Trans World Airlines, which had not shown an annual profit in more than a decade. The chief executive of American, is Canadian Don Carty, a former executive with Canadian Airlines. TWA, first owned by Howard Hughes, was the first airline to serve freshly brewed coffee and provide movies in flight. It has been in bankruptcy several times, and came out of bankruptcy the same day it suffered its worst crash, the loss of TWA 800 off New York in 1986, which killed all 230 on board. The accident has been attributed to a wiring anomaly, which has been a focus of the Air Passenger Safety Group, and its US counterpart, the International Aviation Safety Association.

British Airways update

Unlike its rivals, Air France and Lufthansa, British Airways has prepared itself for a US recession by cutting capacity and by adding a popular bed service on its trans-atlantic flights.

Road

Ford recall

Ford has announced its 2002 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs will be subject of a recall concerning rear liftgates, which could cause the rear glass to shatter or detach. Suspension problems forced General Motors to recall its entire 2002 fleet of SUVs. The Ford recall is particularly embarrassing for Ford, which delayed launching its 2002 SUVs, to work all the bugs out, in light of the huge problem it suffered last year with Firestone tires on the Explorer and other trucks.

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