Air Canada rapped for ending India service

TORONTO, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Air Canada's decision to end flights to India so it can boost service to China was criticized by Indo-Canadian business leaders in Toronto Friday.

"It's a lousy decision," Canada-India Business Council President Kam Rathee told The Toronto Star, noting India's economy is growing at a rate second only to that of China.

Rathee sent a letter of protest to Air Canada President Montie Brewer urging him to reconsider.

Air Canada will discontinue daily service to New Delhi May 1 because the route "didn't meet our financial performance objectives," spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.

He said traffic to New Delhi was high in winter but low in summer, making flights hard to fill year-round.

By contrast, China "is a very lucrative market for us," Fitzpatrick said. "There's a lot of demand there. There's a lot of business that gets conducted with China."

Air Canada will offer five daily Boeing 767 non-stops to Shanghai and Beijing from Toronto, up from three, starting this summer.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce spokesman Atul Ahuja said Canada would now be the only Group of Seven nation without a national airline serving India.