New Air Canada low-cost carrier
Air Canada says it is close to announcing plans for a new low-cost carrier that will fly transatlantic and leisure routes in the United States and the Caribbean.
The airline’s chief financial officer, Michael Rousseau, spoke at a CIBC investment conference on Wednesday, and said the new carrier will provide “growth opportunities,” and will be owned by Air Canada, but operate under a different name.
The new carrier’s lower-costs will be obtained by adding more seats to 20 Boeing 767s and 30 Airbus A319s, and through more flexible work rules, accompanied by smaller employee wages. Air Canada plans to make its official announcement in a couple of weeks.
Clint Eastwood gets Eastwood’ed
Five-time Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood shared the stage with a single chair three weeks ago at the Republican National Convention, and on Wednesday night, he shared it with 16.
The 82-year-old film veteran attended the Los Angeles premiere of his latest film, The Trouble With the Curve, with, unbeknownst to him, empty chairs behind where he was standing.
The chairs were allegedly set up to look like bleacher seats, and accompany the green carpet for his baseball-themed family drama, but the meme-related association gave the set dressing a whole new meaning — particularly after last Saturday’s overdue parody of Eastwood’s speech on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live.
According to the Associated Press, when Eastwood was told about the presence of 16 chairs, or perhaps, 16 Obamas, he laughed. However, it remains unknown if its presence went ahead, and made his day.
The NHL cancels its pre-season schedule
The National Hockey League has cancelled its pre-season games through Sept. 30.
The league made the official announcement on Wednesday, following the absence of a newly-drafted collective bargaining agreement between the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL itself. As a result, several games, including one Kraft Hockeyville game scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ont., have been lost or postponed until the 2013-14 season.
Now on the fourth day of the professional hockey lockout, 680 News reports both sides last sat down together on Sept. 12.
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Joanna Adams writes about news and entertainment for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at†@nowstarringTO.
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