加拿大竞争机构表示，美国联合航空控股公司与加拿大航空计划通过增加更多美加航线来扩大现有合资企业，此举将推高票价并损害竞争。
Airlines Holdings Inc. and Air Canada’s plan to expand their existing joint venture by adding more US-Canada routes would drive up fares and harm competition, Canada’s competition agency said.
加拿大竞争局周三在一份新闻稿中表示，在这两家航空公司希望纳入合资企业的10条航线中，有5条目前的所有直飞客运业务均由加航和美联航包揽。该安排允许两家公司在票价、营销和航班时刻方面进行协调。
Air Canada and United currently account for all nonstop passenger traffic on five of the 10 routes the two airlines want to add to their joint venture, the Competition Bureau said in a news release Wednesday. The arrangement between the carriers allows them to coordinate on ticket prices, marketing and flight schedules.
加拿大竞争局表示：“竞争局的分析发现，该提议可能导致大多数受影响航线的价格上涨，每年给消费者造成数百万加元的损失。”
“The Bureau’s analysis found that the proposal would likely result in higher prices on most affected routes, resulting in millions of dollars in consumer harm each year,” the Competition Bureau said.
该局还补充说，拟议的安排还“将在多条航线上造成或强化垄断或近乎垄断的局面”。
The proposed arrangement also “would create or reinforce monopoly or near-monopoly conditions on several routes,” it added.
两家航空公司表示，他们希望将10条美加航线纳入自2022年起存在的合资企业，包括蒙特利尔-芝加哥、蒙特利尔-华盛顿、渥太华-纽约、多伦多-旧金山和温哥华-旧金山。
The two carriers have said they want to add ten US-Canada routes, including Montreal-Chicago, Montreal-Washington, Ottawa-New York, Toronto-San Francisco and Vancouver-San Francisco, to their joint venture, which has existed since 2022.
这一加强协调的计划出台之际，美加之间的旅行正受到地缘政治压力的严重冲击。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普已对加拿大商品加征关税，并多次谈到加拿大应成为美国第51个州。
The plan to beef up coordination comes as travel between the US and Canada has been hammered by geopolitical pressures. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and has frequently talked about Canada becoming the 51st state of the US.
据新闻稿称，竞争局已将载有调查结果的报告提交给加拿大交通部长，后者将在审查过程中考虑这一分析。
The Competition Bureau delivered a report with its findings to Canada’s Minister of Transport, who will consider the analysis as part of the review process, according to the news release.