Nav Canada Cuts User-Fee Rates

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Key Takeaways:

  • Nav Canada, a private, not-for-profit company managing Canada's airspace, is implementing a 3% rate reduction for its services, effective September 1, due to unexpected profits.
  • This rate cut follows a 1.8% reduction made the previous September, with the profits attributed to increased air traffic (up 5%) and continued cost control.
  • CEO John Crichton stated the reductions are possible while maintaining safety and service obligations, noting that higher traffic makes operations more efficient.
  • The company has also established an $86 million reserve fund to prepare for potential future downturns in air traffic or the economy.
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Nav Canada, the private company that runs Canadas airspace system, is making money, and since it isnt supposed to its giving the profits back in the form of rate reductions. Effective Sept. 1, rates charged for its services will be cut by 3 percent, which is in addition to the 1.8 percent cut made last Sept. 1. “Increased traffic growth together with the company’s continued focus on cost control, provide the opportunity to offer lower service charges to our customers while meeting our essential safety and service obligations,” CEO John Crichton said in a news release. Nav Canada took over air traffic services 10 years ago and rates have fluctuated according to traffic levels. They took a significant jump in the doldrums following 9/11, but traffic is up about 5 percent this year and that makes the whole operation more efficient. The company has also built an $86 million war chest in case theres another unexpected downturn.

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