An E-Mail Extra Bulletin
[] It's Time To fight Back
Boycott Air Canada !

It's a done deal. Air Canada is re-implementing that $50 fee for the handling of firearms, keeping in place its previous policy of charging US citizens more than anyone else in the world. Moreover, Air Canada has now implemented a silly policy of requiring trigger locks on all firearms it transports as checked baggage. This triple blow to gunowners is ample evidence in our view that this carrier does not deserve our business as hunters. Therefore we urge everyone who hunts or shoots or simply cares about firearms freedom to boycott Air Canada.

The Air Canada decision to re-implement the fee comes in the wake of a favorable decision on the fee by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). The CTA got involved in this matter, you'll recall, because SCI, the NRA and Guide-Outfitters Association of British Columbia (GOABC), among others, filed formal complaints about the fee, calling it unfair and discriminatory against a single class of passengers. As we told you last Friday, the CTA disagreed and gave Air Canada the green light to begin implementing the fee again.

The $50 fee is a one-way charge. Its impact on the entire price of a ticket will be considerable. For example, a round-trip economy ticket from Calgary to Edmonton, departing Calgary on November 20 and returning on the 27th currently costs $237.80, according to the carrier's web site this afternoon. A $100 gun-handling fee will increase the cost of that ticket to $337.80 - more than 40 percent. If you add in the $150 round-trip cost of transporting the firearm as a third piece of luggage (which is the way most hunters travel), the cost of the $237.80 ticket rises to $487.80. Unbelievably, the cost of transporting the firearm ($250) at that point exceeds the cost of the ticket itself! And that does not take into account Air Canada's current policy of charging $125 (US) plus tax each way for the transport of horns or antlers if you are successful on your hunt.

Clearly, Air Canada either does not care about the international hunting market, or assumes it can hold it captive because of its dominant role in the Canadian airline market. Either explanation is unacceptable in our view and reason to boycott the carrier. Even more unacceptable is its policy of charging US citizens $50 (US), while it charges the rest of the world $50 (Canadian). As an American, I am personally insulted by the policy, and I am personally not going to fly the airline as long as this policy is in place, even if it means postponing hunting plans.

It is worth noting that both SCI and the NRA have told us they are actively considering joining us in calling for a boycott of Air Canada. Decisions by those two organizations should be forthcoming soon. In the meantime, GOABC's Dale Drown tells us he has not given up trying to bring political and/or legal pressure against Air Canada to eliminate the fee. An NRA contact told me there may be grounds for lodging a formal government-to-government protest over the unfair singling out of Americans for additional payment. This may be a violation of international trade agreements between the two nations.

For sure, here at The Hunting Report, we are going to do all we can to encourage individual hunters and other organizations to join us in boycotting Air Canada. We urge you as an individual hunter to do the same. If Air Canada gets away with this unfair and discriminatory fee, it is going to be open season on hunters worldwide. The precedent of charging Americans more than anyone else is dangerous as well.

We understand our call for a boycott of Air Canada could be viewed as detrimental to the business interests of our Canadian outfitting friends. Actually, that does not need to be the case. GOABC's Dale Drown tells us a cursory study of the matter turned up the surprising fact that only two significant hunting arrival cities are served only by Air Canada. All of the others can be reached on alternate carriers. With a little joint effort, perhaps even those arrival cities that only Air Canada serves can be reached by special charters. We plan to look into this in much more detail, and so does GOABC. Anyone with special knowledge of the Canadian airline market is urged to get in touch with me at: doncausey@msn.com.

In the meantime, here is an quick overview of alternate carriers that can help you get to your next Canadian hunting destination. We are indebted to Steven Turner at Gracey Travel (800-299-8558) and Barbara Wolbrink of International Journeys (800-203-0951) for help in putting this list together:

quote:

In the meantime, here is an quick overview of alternate carriers that can help you get to your next Canadian hunting destination.

Where?

Inside Canada, at least most of the west Westjet is a better choice than Air Canada.

The example of a flight form Edmonton to Calgary is kind of silly, why would anyone fly just that distance on Air Canada? In that situation nobody would ever fly AC, 1st it's only a 2.5 hou drive, second there are about 5 diferent choices of smaller airlines that fly between the cities, 3rd both Edmonton and Calgary have international airports.

As a Canadian, I generally try and fly another airline, mostly because AC has terrible service but your example is so bad it damages your argument against the fee.

Sorry I meant to add this to my previous post.

You wanting your governtment to launch an official protest about a $100 fee when we can't even fly through the US with guns as checked baggage is a joke. After reading that comment I almost want them to, so I can get our side of this almost meaningless trade issue on the table.

Air Canada lost my guns for 6 weeks this past summer so I am no fan of theirs .. and this will make it much tougher to love them .. But to get to that other comment ... I would dearly love to pay the Americans $50 to bring a rifle either into the U.S. or travel through it on the way to Australia or wherever .. Their present policy is beyond painful ...

quote:

Originally posted by martinbns:
...You wanting your governtment to launch an official protest about a $100 fee when we can't even fly through the US with guns as checked baggage is a joke. After reading that comment I almost want them to, so I can get our side of this almost meaningless trade issue on the table.

+1 !

I stopped hunting Colorado in 2002; it's become extremely difficult to hunt in the U.S. given all the hoops we have to go through. Also, on my flights to Europe and Africa, I can, apparently, no longer 'technically/legally' fly through the U.S. with firearms. I've had to book all of my travel direct and through European cities.

Not to mention the times that I've flown back from an SCI convention and have had my GPS, bullets (yes, the copper things) and a knife in my checked baggage confiscated by the TSA without apparent reason. Just a pamphlet from the TSA.

So, bureaucracy, profit and greed come into the picture...nothing really new afterall, right?!

I don't know what this thread has to do with African hunting??? I would move it but my moderator privileges do not work in this forum.

Anyway, hopefully the author of the statement above (Don Causey of the Hunt Report) does read this thread, as my Canadian compatriots make a very good point. While I wholeheartedly DISAGREE with what Air Canada is doing, I think Martinbns put it in perspective with this comment....

quote:

...wanting your governtment to launch an official protest about a $100 fee when we [Canadians] can't even fly through the US with guns as checked baggage is a joke.

Mr. Causey, please feel free to check out this related thread (here) on the Canadian Hunting Forum (where this thread also properly belongs).

We Canadian's would sincerely appreciate it you would put this same energy used to dispute a $50 firearms handling fee into lobbying your own government for some relief for your Canadian brethren that would love to go hunting in the US, or JUST PASS THROUGH THE US TO ANOTHER HUNTING DESTINATION.

Cheers,
Canuck

We'd love to, but it takes at least a million of us to get anything noticed by the US Government. And that just barely. They ignore everybody uniformly, unless you've donated at least fifty grand to your favorite senator's reelection campaign. The TSA is a hydra-headed monster, and they ignore everybody.

But I'm still flying to Saskatchewan on Northwest on Sunday, anyway. And I actually enjoyed Air Canada's service two years ago on another SK hunt. I much prefer AC to Northworst. I'll keep my fifty bucks in my pocket, thank you very much.

Air travel is rapidly reaching the point of diminishing returns. It's becoming just too painful to suffer through all the bullshit anymore. I love hunting huge Canadian bucks, and I love western Canada, where liberals are in short supply. But if this crap worsens anymore, I'll soon start shooting little does in South Carolina before I continue to subject myself to the vagaries of lost rifles and luggage, rude reservations personnell, stupid, greedy airline regulations, contemptable security officials, and arrogant customs agents. They can all go to hell.