Here it is SH.

Air Canada does give a damn
MONTIE BREWER

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

I was more than a little dismayed to pick up my Saturday Globe and Mail and read Jeffrey Simpson's column (Air Canada Doesn't Give A Damn -- June 10). Coming as it did without warning, and containing a level of vitriol rarely exhibited by the normally reflective Mr. Simpson, my first response was shock.

Upon further consideration, however, I had to admit that while I disagree with many of Mr. Simpson's assertions, some criticisms of our company are fair. We are not perfect and things sometimes go wrong. I'll be the first to admit that.

Let me also take this opportunity to apologize personally to all our customers who have experienced problems when flying with Air Canada. No one, least of all our company, wins when a customer goes away dissatisfied.

We carry 30 million people a year safely to their destinations. Along the way, we strive to provide professional, courteous service. Sometimes, we exceed that goal and our people reach out to customers in ways that are truly inspiring. But sometimes we let our customers and ourselves down. I don't think anyone at Air Canada would deny that.

Our employees have gone through a lot in recent years -- a hostile takeover fight, a major merger, a severe downturn brought on by SARS and a financial restructuring. There is no doubt their morale has suffered along the way, and so I have made it my goal to rebuild that morale through dialogue, real change in the way we work together and meaningful financial incentives, such as our profit-sharing plan, which paid out $43.5-million to Air Canada employees in 2005.

Mr. Simpson's criticisms of our employees, however, are unfounded and downright insulting. Our employees work hard every day toward better serving our customers. One important measure of this commitment is Air Canada's on-time-performance rating, which in the first quarter of 2006 was ranked No. 2 in North America, second only to Hawaiian Airlines, which operates in a somewhat more hospitable climate.

Moreover, monthly customer surveys demonstrate that we are making progress: Customer satisfaction levels have improved steadily over the past three years in all areas, including baggage handling.

Still, we are a company in transition in an industry that is itself in the throes of profound change. We are changing to adapt to the new industry realities and many of those changes are welcomed by our customers. We have lowered fares and are giving customers the option to choose the level of service they want to receive -- and pay for. We have invested heavily in new technology to make travel simpler, such as the ability, both on-line and on handheld mobile devices, to check in before arriving at the airport. We are embarking on the entire refurbishment of our fleet to provide customers with new amenities, such as individual, seat-back entertainment systems. We also are investing billions in new aircraft that will provide greater comfort and open new routes.

One thing that remains unchanged, however, is our dedication to serving Canadians. Contrary to Mr. Simpson's assertions, we have grown our services 6 per cent domestically, and both the Atlantic and Western regions have benefited. We have recently added new long-haul services to communities such as London, Ont.; Abbotsford, B.C.; Yellowknife; Sydney, N.S. and Fort McMurray, Alta., and with the arrival of more aircraft, we will introduce more long-haul, point-to-point service to smaller communities where market demand exists.

Through the dedication and focus of our employees, we are carrying more passengers to more places and doing so with better -- and still improving -- on-time performance and customer satisfaction. We are ever mindful that the Canadian travelling public has other options when they go to the

airport.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Simpson has not been able to experience the improvements we have accomplished. We are still focused on winning him over as a loyal customer and show him that we at Air Canada do give a damn.

Montie Brewer is the president

and chief executive officer

of Air Canada.