Competition Bureau gets court orders against Air Canada, WestJet for market info

The Competition Bureau has obtained court orders requiring Air Canada and WestJet to hand over information for the watchdog’s market study into airline competition.

Granted by the Federal Court last month, the rulings require the country’s two biggest airlines to produce records and answer questions around barriers to entry into the field, performance metrics, and agreements with airports and other airlines.

The bureau says the information will give it a better understanding of competition in the domestic airline sector. Air Canada and WestJet commanded roughly three quarters of that market last year, a bureau director said in court filings.

In July, the Competition Bureau launched a market study of domestic airline service amid ongoing…