Air Canada deal may be back

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, November 2, 2005

The airline has reached an agreement with its pilot union on labor issues and that will allow it to renew talks with Boeing about a 777/787 order, according to The Globe and Mail in Toronto reports. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051102/RAIRCAN02/TPBusiness/TopStories

Key Quote: “Air Canada announced its original Boeing order in April, saying that the purchase of 18 Boeing 777s and 14 Boeing 787 Dreamliners would give passengers the added comfort of new aircraft with roomier seats and aisles wider than older long-range models. … In June, Air Canada cancelled its aircraft order after members of the Air Canada Pilots Association narrowly rejected a labour contract to fly the new, fuel-efficient planes.”

Unnamed insiders — either knowledgable industry analysts or maybe just a airline caterer who’s in the know — tell the paper that Boeing and the airline will discuss a deal for 777 deliveries to start in 2007.

Here’s a Canadian Press version of the story, which includes more background on the labor issues: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=42c73596-d19a-4e7a-8e1d-19f097abd1d0