Emirates Airlines said its expansion plans in Canada will not hurt the country’s airlines or airports, as charged by chief executive of Air Canada. The Dubai based carrier maintains that by increasing its three-day-a-week Dubai to Toronto service, Emirates will “offer a boon for the Canadian economy by growing a key market and region of the world that is currently under serviced.”
The airline said reasonable air access to Canada is “overwhelmingly in the country’s national interest.” Calin Rovinescu, CEO of Air Canada claimed in a speech he gave in Vancouver that Emirates Airlines wants to flood Canadian airspace with seats to take more travelers and divert them to Dubai. Rovinescu said Emirates strategy will limit growth of Canadian airports and transform them from hubs into stubs, leading to Emirates’ hub in Dubai.
