Air Canada Enters Next Stages of Acquiring Aeroplan

As you probably hear already, Air Canada moved closer to buying out Aeroplan for $450 million.

I was still holding out hope that this deal would fall through. I was really hoping to see what would happen with Aeroplan’s initiatives, especially with Porter Airlines. Guess it will essentially be business as usual with Aeroplan sticking to Air Canada.

I’m not sure about you, but it really feels like monopoly in Canada. With no signs of foreign based airlines offering any new co-branded credit cards in Canada. With no other major airline giving Air Canada a run for their money (in Canada), in terms of its international reach.

What I really hope to see is that WestJet join a major airline alliance and raise their profile. At the very least, they need to take a closer look at the valuable Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program. WestJet needs to revamp is loyalty program to be more in line with programs that offer miles, rather than cash back. Furthermore, they need to increase the number of valuable co-share partners. This is probably too much to ask of WestJet, but it has come to this if Air Canada is going to be a monopoly in Canada.

Let’s just hope that Air Canada will not abuse their monopolistic position. I am going to hope for the best. To be fair, Air Canada does have a decent product if you are purchasing a ticket with them.The biggest frustration is actually for Aeroplan members trying to redeem Air Canada flights that have high taxes and fuel surcharges. Maybe Air Canada prefers it this way. Pay for their flights but redeem the miles on a partner airline. This way, they can sell more seats for cash!