After PWA bought Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1986 and renamed
it Canadian Airlines International, the company continued to
prosper and made a profit of $30.3 million in 1988. Rhys Eyton
saw an opportunity in attaining Wardair, which was showing signs
of poor fiscal performance.
Max Ward, the president of Wardair, had expanded his airline
too aggressively. Even though his company had been declared the
best airline service in 1986 and 1987, Wardair had not gained
the loyalty of travel agents, nor had it been able to get the
best gates at the airports. Travellers had to walk long
distances to get onto his airline and - in some cases - did not
have the use of air bridges.
Even though Wardair was able to schedule regular flights to
Puerto Rico, Britain, and across Canada, the debt for purchasing
aircraft was not covered by the number of passengers flying on
the airline.
Early in 1989, Wardair was purchased by Canadian Airlines
International, which made Canadian as large as Air Canada. |