Competition Bureau seeks information from Air Canada and WestJet to advance its study of competition in Canada’s airline industry

The Competition Bureau has obtained two court orders requiring Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd. to provide information for its market study into competition in Canada’s airline industry. This is the first time the Bureau has used its new information gathering powers in a market study.

The orders, granted by the Federal Court, require the companies to produce records and answer questions in writing relevant to the Bureau’s market study.

The information the Bureau is seeking with these orders includes Air Canada and WestJet’s:

analyses of the state of competition in the sector, including different sources of competition;
analyses of barriers to entry in the sector, including government policies, and airport access;
key performance metrics, from before the pandemic to recent years, and,
agreements with airports, and shareholdings in other airlines providing domestic air passenger services.
This information will help the Bureau better understand competition in the domestic airline industry and reach informed and evidence-based findings in its market study.