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Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!watcgl!jchapman
From: jchapman@watcgl.UUCP (john chapman)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Low Cost Transportation
Message-ID: <2662@watcgl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 18-Oct-85 11:12:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: watcgl.2662
Posted: Fri Oct 18 11:12:31 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 19-Oct-85 06:20:58 EDT
References: <2649@watcgl.UUCP> <53@ubc-cs.UUCP> <54@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 27

> >In article <2649@watcgl.UUCP> jchapman@watcgl.UUCP (k.j. chapman) writes:
> >
> > I don't see how Canada could help but benefit from a stronger
> >national identity and it certainly is necessary to be able to travel
> >to and/or communicae with your (national) neighbours to feel a sense
> >of unity.
> 
> Deregulation of air fares resulted in substantially lower ticket prices
> in the US. Taking a similar approach here in Canada would make a
> lot more sense to me than having the gov't subsidize (with bucks that
> it simply doesn't have) yet another non-necessity.
> 
> J.B. Robinson

As (I think) I said airfares are already fairly low.  A return flight
between Vancouver/Toronto can be had for $250 (if only they would do
away with the 30 advance booking and have similar one-way flights).
The major costs of flying are in the takeoff/landing phase rather than
the actual travelling.  I was talking to a Braniff employee late one
night in Honolulu a few years ago and he told me that a fully loaded
747 would break even on a flight to Vancouver if they charged $100
each (this was the return fare!, of course Braniff went bust :-) ).
Deregulation has it's dangers as well.  It is in our national interest,
both social and economic, to keep a population over the entire country.
This is going to be harder to do if living in the boonies is going to
cost a lot more.