Originally Posted by
AC7E7
I was not a fan of government ownership of GM Canada, and I am very concerned about government ownership of AC.
How much influence will the government have going forward? I am not talking about a board seat. If AC wants to cancel or cut back flights to a city, will the government force them to keep money-losing routes in place? This is unacceptable.
I do believe the government needed to get involved as this was their doing. They are the ones that restricted travel, and should be compensating companies for these decisions. However, I am disappointed Air Canada agreed to a government equity stake. I am considering moving my business to Westjet if their agreement does not include an equity stake.
As a shareholder, I am happy the shares have not tanked as I suspected they would in my earlier post. However, I am considering selling my shares. I don't believe the government can keep their nose out of their operations.
To each their own, but I suspect that in the long run most people will be a lot happier if they keep their investment decision making process and airline patronage decisions somewhat separate. I mean, some of your questions have already been answered - they are being required to restart (in some fashion) those cancelled routes, so apparently that's unacceptable to you? That's a perfectly fair opinion to have, but as others in the thread have noted, it's unlikely that government will "keep their noses" out of the airline industry over the next few years.
If AC is the best carrier for me, I will continue using them. If not, I'll switch, but I won't make that call based solely on who holds voting rights for the shares.