Order No. 2003-A-464
September 4, 2003
File No. M4210/V100-1
Val Air Inc. (hereinafter the applicant) has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (hereinafter the Agency) for the exemption set out in the title. The application was received on August 21, 2003.
Section 59 of the Canada Transportation Act (hereinafter the CTA) prohibits the applicant from selling, causing to be sold or publicly offering for sale in Canada an air service without holding a licence in respect of that service. The applicant has applied for a licence to operate a domestic service, small aircraft; however, because the application is not yet complete, an exemption from the application of section 59 of the CTA is necessary in order that the applicant can sell, cause to be sold or publicly offer for sale in Canada the proposed air service prior to obtaining the applied for licence.
The applicant states that it is in the process of completing the installation of its computer reservation system (CRS) through the Intellisys group. This will allow it to publicly offer for sale its services thirty (30) days after an agreement is reached, i.e., the third week of September 2003.
The applicant further submits that it intends to enter into agreements with other air carriers and to offer the Aeroplan program to its passengers. In order to do so, an International Air Transport Association (IATA) airline code is mandatory and the application to obtain that code can only be granted if the applicant gets the authorization to sell its services from the proper governmental authorities.
The Agency has carefully reviewed and considered the application and is of the opinion that in order for the proposed service to be viable, the applicant must be able to offer for sale seats at the earliest possible date. Therefore, the Agency finds that compliance by the applicant with section 59 of the CTA is impractical in the present circumstances.
Accordingly, the Agency, pursuant to paragraph 80(1)(c) of the CTA, hereby exempts the applicant from the application of section 59 of the CTA, thereby permitting the air carrier to sell, cause to be sold or publicly offer for sale in Canada a domestic service, small aircraft effective from the date of this Order, without holding the required licence, subject to the following conditions:
- All passengers shall be notified, before reservation, that the service is subject to government approval. All future advertising in any media, whether in writing or by telecommunication, shall also include this information.
- The exemption authorized herein does not relieve the applicant from the requirement to hold a licence in respect of the service to be provided and, accordingly, no flights shall be operated until the appropriate licence authority has been granted.
- The applicant shall arrange to provide alternative air transportation by an appropriately licensed air carrier, at no additional cost for all passengers who have made reservations with the applicant, or, if such arrangements are not acceptable to the passenger, to provide a full refund of all monies paid by the passenger, should the domestic licence not issue.
- All revenues from the sale of tickets shall be deposited and held in a trust account until the issuance of the licence or until alternative air transportation arrangements are finalized.
The exemption granted herein does not exempt the applicant from the requirements of other legislative acts or regulations, including those of Transport Canada.
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