Air Labrador remplace le Dash par un Beech et quitte YUL

Layoffs coming at Air Labrador, about 100 jobs lost
Last Updated: Sunday, March 22, 2009 | 11:14 AM NT Comments3Recommend21CBC News
About 100 positions will be lost when Air Labrador discontinues its Dash 8 regional service at the end of April.

Company vice-president Philip Earle said the airline, which operates flights between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec, is a victim of the global economic downturn and a decrease in passenger traffic.

"It's largely brought on by the slowdown in the economy and not being able to make a business case for the type of service and the type of network we were operating," Earle said.

Air Labrador will continue to operate a Beech 1900 aircraft service to the Quebec North Shore and a Twin Otter service to coastal Labrador.

Earle insists the loss of the Bombardier Dash 8 twin-engined turboprop service is not a sign that Air Labrador is going out of business.

"I think it's important to point out we're certainly not going out of business. We're shutting down a particular part of our business as it is right now," Earle said.

Some of the laid-off workers will be transferred to other parts of the company, but Earle couldn't say how many.