Opportunity Knocks

In this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press, executive editor, Bob Mowat reports that Duncan Bureau made it abundantly clear that Air Canada is no longer willing to give up business in areas where, in the past, it has done just that.

Bureau, AC’s vice-president, global sales, said bluntly, “I think we’ve conceded business in areas where, quite frankly, we’re not prepared to do that any more. So we are going to be aggressive. We are going to win back the hearts and minds of our customers and our partners and our employees.”

Asked for an example, Bureau told Canadian Travel Press that: “I think that in Western Canada there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for us. Obviously, WestJet has a strong position in Western Canada and I believe that Air Canada has a tremendous product and a tremendous network and I think that Western Canada represents a significant opportunity for us.”

He also said that Air Canada will “continue to fortify key markets. You know the triangle for us is an important market. Transborder is incredibly important for us. And then, obviously, anything into Europe and into Asia. With the addition of the 787s, we believe that we’re going to be much more meaningful from a North America perspective to serving Asia.”

In the job for just three months now, Bureau’s brief is to grow Air Canada’s profitability, and he said that the carrier “wants to grow significantly and we’re here to grow, profitably, the airline’s total revenue and network.”

As for his assessment of where things are at for Air Canada right now, Bureau said, “Air Canada has got a phenomenal brand. It’s internationally well recognized. The team has done a great job in building the revenue to over $13 billion. The reality is we want the revenue to grow to $20 billion and over the next five to 10 years, Air Canada has a tremendous opportunity to continue to grow.”

For the full story, check out this week’s digital edition of CTP by clicking here.