OTTAWA -- 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 "wreck 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," Mr. 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."
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."
The Air Canada charters fly under the Jetz label.
Mr. Baird said the dispute "shows the power of anti-free-trade Democrats in the Congress" and cautioned his government will respond in kind.
"We've already directed the Canadian Transportation Agency to launch a formal inquiry and the next step will be a direction to the CTA to immediately prohibit charter flights by U.S. carriers under season-long contracts with professional sports teams with multiple stops in Canada," he said in an interview.
The ruling also side-swipes musicians and other artists on tour.
The matter was pushed by the U.S. Air Line Pilots Association. It had demanded an investigation of passenger lists on the NHL flights, which found a few examples of injured players, personal trainers and team owners boarding the charter south of the border and departing at another U.S. city in a technical violation of the agreement.
Despite the small number of passengers involved, the American side ruled it was enough to shut down an arrangement negotiated eight years ago during the George W. Bush presidency.
The Anaheim Ducks have pulled back from an Air Canada contract and there are concerns existing clients like the Boston Bruins and NBA Milwaukee Bucks will follow suit.
Air Canada says it still hopes Mr. Baird's hard-line response will force a resolution by the time NHL season starts next month.
Former Air Canada president Montie Brewer says the Jetz charters are the only way to fly for teams that must reach their destinations without fail. Each charter plane comes with its own on-board mechanic and has exclusive access to private terminals regular airlines cannot use.
U.S. bans NHL canadian charter flights
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does the US government give a damn about who and where a chartered jet would fly around?
Originally Posted by Denny Crane!
