(September 16 – 11:05 ET) –
“The proposed airline merger is a
bad idea for all parties,” says the
president and CEO of Maritime Life.
“The arguments in favour of this
merger are very reminiscent of
those used by the telephone
companies that felt their monopoly
should be preserved,” said Bill
Black in a statement released
today.
Black says the proposed merger
will be problematic for Maritime
Life. He says his company puts out
a lot of money on “airline travel
and a monopoly in airline service
would impede our ability to perform
well.”
He says the proposed merger of
Canada’s major airlines is also bad
news for consumers and employees
of the travel industry. “From a
customer perspective, the merger
will mean higher prices, diminished
service, less choice and fewer
flights. For airline employees,
this will mean the loss of
thousands of jobs,” says Black.
He advocates an alternative.
“If Canadian Airlines cannot make
it on its own, the logical policy
response is to let them be bought
by a strong foreign competitor.
That would be good for customers
and provide better job prospects
for airline employees.”
Maritime Life has offices in
Halifax, Montreal, Toronto,
Kitchener, Calgary and Vancouver
and markets investment products,
pensions, individual life
insurance, and group life and
health insurance.
-IE Staff
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