Interim competition commissioner Jeanne Pratt says a proposed expanded Air Canada–United arrangement would substantially harm competition on 10 routes.
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Canada’s competition watchdog says a proposed co-operation arrangement between Air Canada and United Airlines would reduce competition and raise airfares.
Interim competition commissioner Jeanne Pratt said an expanded joint venture between the two carriers would “substantially harm” competition on 10 routes connecting major airports.
She said that co-ordination on those 10 routes is barred under a 2012 agreement put in place after the watchdog found a similar deal would have hurt competition.
Pratt said Air Canada and United currently make up all non-stop traffic on half of the routes and have “significant” market share on the others, and she added that a high barrier to entry would likely cement near-monopoly conditions on several corridors.
The watchdog said Air Canada and United proposed expanding their three-decade-old partnership in June, including on pricing, on routes that connect Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver to seven of America’s biggest cities, including New York City, Chicago and Houston.
Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon is set to consider the Competition Bureau’s findings and decide whether to approve the proposed arrangement.
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