tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post81388986518320258..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: Air Rage - the 800 Pound Gorilla in the Shiny Aluminium TubeThe Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-81577370807186162682017-05-04T14:36:28.540-07:002017-05-04T14:36:28.540-07:00Toby, the pre-Mulroney, regulated regime was able ...Toby, the pre-Mulroney, regulated regime was able to accommodate government policy within the commercial aviation industry while, at the same time, allowing Canada to have two profitable "flag carriers." Routes were regulated so the two key carriers, Air Canada and Canadian Pacific, didn't cut each other's throat on the major, big ticket routes. The payoff for that was that these carriers had to extend jet service into smaller markets and extend air service into the north.<br /><br />AniO is right. It's been a race to the bottom that has seen prices, especially on domestic routes, go through the roof even as flying has become an ordeal. The triumph of the neoliberal ideology.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-48046787204104103542017-05-04T06:10:20.656-07:002017-05-04T06:10:20.656-07:00It's spot on that deregulation is the cause. ...It's spot on that deregulation is the cause. Do you remember when it was going to be good for consumers? I was very young when my father explained to me that airlines were regulated so they could not compete on price. Air travel was the way to go back then. Deregulation creates a race to the bottom; that is a particularly dangerous strategy in aviation. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-52343668185227249042017-05-03T16:53:58.050-07:002017-05-03T16:53:58.050-07:00Before deregulation there were jets flying into th...Before deregulation there were jets flying into the interior and parking was free. Now there are cramped little turboprops bouncing over the mountains. No thanks. Tobynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-65062032009896668572017-05-03T15:58:08.322-07:002017-05-03T15:58:08.322-07:00
Before I gave up on flying, Toby, I gave up on YV...<br />Before I gave up on flying, Toby, I gave up on YVR. Far better to drive an hour north to catch WestJet out of Comox to Calgary and then on to just about anywhere. When they first got a corner of the RCAF base to set up shop parking was $5 a day. Can you imagine?The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-80187448819178286662017-05-03T13:09:10.188-07:002017-05-03T13:09:10.188-07:00My anger at airlines starts at having to drive thr...My anger at airlines starts at having to drive through Greater Vancouver to get to the airport. There is no good way to go down the Fraser Valley to YVR (or the Tsawwassen ferry terminal). Parking at the airport has a whopping tax on top of the usual taxes. By the time I'm in the terminal I'm already angry. You know the rest. In spite of protests from my family I do what I can to avoid flying. <br /><br />We can thank the de-regulators (Reagan, Thatcher, Mulroney) for creating this situation. The old regulations treated airline somewhat like utilities which pretty much limited the competitive forces that put such a strain on flying. <br /><br />Tobynoreply@blogger.com