Why is Air Canada still offering passengers American booze?
- Despite Canadian government appeals to “buy Canadian” amid failed Canada-U.S. trade talks, Air Canada serves American bourbon (Jack Daniel’s) in business class on international flights.
- Air Canada states it features Canadian wines and spirits but includes some internationally recognized products like U.S. bourbon due to global customer preferences; Porter Airlines serves only Canadian alcohol.
- Provinces largely removed American liquor from stores in retaliation to U.S. tariffs, with some provincial leaders unwilling to lift the boycott soon, emphasizing it as a national stance.
- Experts note Air Canada operates under federal jurisdiction and uses duty-free imports for international flights, limiting the airline’s ability to easily join the boycott, though applying it on domestic flights remains an option.
While provincial and federal ministers this week revived pleas for the nation’s citizens to “buy Canadian” in the fallout of torpedoed Canada-U.S. trade talks, the country’s largest airline is offering business class passengers American bourbon.
As reported by Global News, a subsequently removed social media post Monday claimed Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey was being served to those seated in business class during an Air Canada flight out of Montreal.
Air Canada told National Post in a statement that, “As a global airline transporting international customers including to and from the U.S, Air Canada carries a range of onboard products that reflects our customer preferences.”
At least one Canadian wine is featured on every international flight, “and we’ve made a deliberate shift toward Canadian spirits and Canadian producers,” Air Canada said. “In addition to the range of Canadian products we proudly feature, we also carry some internationally recognized products that are particularly important to our global customer base, including U.S. bourbon, which is available in Business (Signature) Class only.”
In a statement to National Post, Porter Airlines said it “emphasizes partnering with high-quality Canadian brands whenever possible,” such as Jackson Triggs wine from Niagara and Alberta-based Tumbler & Rocks cocktails, but that no American alcohol is served on board.
Porter has flights to destinations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
Most provinces removed American liquor from government-run shelves last year in retaliation to the first batch of Trump-imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.
Prime Minister Mark Carney asked provinces to restock American alcohol when a trade agreement appeared near last week. But Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said he has no plans to instruct Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets to do so anytime soon. While wholesale customers like grocery and convenience stores, bars and restaurants are no longer able to place orders for U.S. products, “it is at their discretion to sell existing inventory,” the LCBO notes on its website, explaining why the boycott is for “the good of Ontario. The good of Canada.”
Some online commentators said Air Canada’s decision to keep a stock of U.S. bourbon on board seems “a bit tone deaf” given the escalating trade war. Why not buy into the boycott strategy, others asked.
Air Canada is under federal and not provincial jurisdiction, said Charles-Étienne Beaudry, a teaching professor of political science at the University of Ottawa and author of the independently published book, Radio Trump: How he won the first time.
“This private company does not buy its alcohol at the liquor store. It buys directly from global distributors like Diageo, moving the product via carriers directly into warehouses located on airport grounds,” and all under federal jurisdiction under the federal Customs Act, Beaudry said in an email.
“There is a ‘duty-free’ loophole in this: for international flights, Air Canada pays no taxes or tariffs on the alcohol in the airport warehouse,” Beaudry said. It only applies for in-Canada flights. “The situation is the same for Porter, WestJet, Flair, etc.”
It could be “commercially very costly” for Air Canada to boycott U.S. alcohol, he said.
On the other hand, the airline could choose to apply the boycott on flights inside Canada only, he said. “It would be showing some efforts to participate in the Canadian trade struggle.”
Alternatively, “the federal government can amend the Customs Act to ban U.S. alcohol in all air transportation.”
WestJet and Air Transat did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.
National Post