Comp Bureau launches study of competition in Canada’s airlines industry

Canada’s Competition Bureau officially launched its market study of competition in domestic air passenger services in Canada.

The launch of the market study follows the completion of the consultation on its scope, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry’s approval of the final terms of reference.

This market study will allow the Bureau to better understand what is driving the competition issues in the domestic airline industry.

Three key topics

The Bureau plans to examine three key topics:

• The state of competition in Canada’s airline industry
• The barriers to entry and expansion that exist in the domestic industry
• The impediments to Canadians seeking to make informed choices for air travel

“Air travel is a critical service. We know many Canadians are frustrated by the cost and quality of the service being provided domestically,” said Matthew Boswell, commissioner of competition. “We heard this in many of the over 1,400 submissions to the consultation on the terms of reference. Our goal with this market study is to examine the current state of competition in Canada’s airline sector and to determine what can be done to improve it.”

Final report coming soon

Once completed, the Bureau will publish the results of the market study in a final report, which will make recommendations to improve competition for the benefit of Canadian air passengers, as well as the workers and entrepreneurs who enable these services.

The Bureau is seeking submissions from those with information relevant to this study. Those interested in making a submission can learn more at Market study: Competition in Canada’s airline industry.

The deadline for submissions is August.