JD
09-07-2009, 11:56 AM
Not sure if this has been posted yet..
Canada's six NHL teams are scrambling to find alternative travel arrangements south of the border after the U. S. Department of Transportation banned Air Canada's charter fleet from flying between U. S. cities.
In a furious exchange with the Obama administration over the mid-August ruling, Canada has launched its own investigation and will soon close its skies to U. S. sports team charters in retaliation, warns Transport Minister John Baird.
The sticking point is an eight-year-old exemption that had allowed sports and celebrity charters to make several pit stops in American cities. Under existing open skies agreements, regular Canadian airline flights can only visit one U. S. city before returning.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly warns the charter ban will create a complicated "patchwork" of travel that could "wreak havoc" with the oncoming hockey schedule, including early league games in Europe, as teams scramble to book flights under the new rules.
"It's potentially a very significant impact," Daly said Friday.
"It's crazy and very destabilizing to our business. We're operating on a long-standing interpretation and for it to change overnight on the eve of our season is creating a huge problem for us," said Daly.
Air Canada executive vice-president Duncan Dee predicted the ruling will create "chaos" for teams shuttling across the border.
"It's extremely messy for both American and Canadian teams," he said. It was a unilateral action imposed without consultation or Air Canada being able to defend itself. It's obvious the U. S. Department of Transportation doesn't watch hockey."
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/flights+hits+Canada/1964976/story.html
:pirate2:
Canada's six NHL teams are scrambling to find alternative travel arrangements south of the border after the U. S. Department of Transportation banned Air Canada's charter fleet from flying between U. S. cities.
In a furious exchange with the Obama administration over the mid-August ruling, Canada has launched its own investigation and will soon close its skies to U. S. sports team charters in retaliation, warns Transport Minister John Baird.
The sticking point is an eight-year-old exemption that had allowed sports and celebrity charters to make several pit stops in American cities. Under existing open skies agreements, regular Canadian airline flights can only visit one U. S. city before returning.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly warns the charter ban will create a complicated "patchwork" of travel that could "wreak havoc" with the oncoming hockey schedule, including early league games in Europe, as teams scramble to book flights under the new rules.
"It's potentially a very significant impact," Daly said Friday.
"It's crazy and very destabilizing to our business. We're operating on a long-standing interpretation and for it to change overnight on the eve of our season is creating a huge problem for us," said Daly.
Air Canada executive vice-president Duncan Dee predicted the ruling will create "chaos" for teams shuttling across the border.
"It's extremely messy for both American and Canadian teams," he said. It was a unilateral action imposed without consultation or Air Canada being able to defend itself. It's obvious the U. S. Department of Transportation doesn't watch hockey."
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/flights+hits+Canada/1964976/story.html
:pirate2: