Montie Brewer Ousted as CEO of Air Canada

For the last few years, Air Canada has been a true pioneer in making the booking process better. Under CEO Montie Brewer, it was the first airline to create fare categories, each of which contained a certain set of benefits and frills. You could also add or subtract different pieces at the time of booking. Now, Brewer is out, but my guess is that it’s the other side of the house that prompted this change.

Technically, Brewer resigned, but it’s clear that this wasn’t his choice. In his place, Air Canada has brought in Calin Rovinescu, the airline’s previous restructuring officer during bankruptcy. So why is he back? Well, the airline is low on cash and it’s trying to stave off yet another bankruptcy filing. The Board apparently feels Rovinescu is the right person to deal with the airline’s low cash position.

To be clear, it’s not Brewer’s fault that the airline sees itself in this position. Holly Hegeman of PlaneBuzz has been following this airline ever since it last exited bankruptcy and she puts the blame squarely on the head of former chief Robert Milton.

I don’t blame Montie for the position Air Canada finds itself in today. I blame Robert Milton, the former CEO of Air Canada, and all the rest of that airline’s top executives who made off with a s%^* load of money when the airline came out of bankruptcy in 2004. It was this group, along with the various banks and hedge funds that fueled the airline’s exit, all wrapped around a nice new holding company, ACE Holdings, that is to blame for the situation Air Canada is in today.

Let’s see. If an airline is in trouble, would you go back to the group that put it there in the first place? Apparently, the answer is yes. Lots of other execs have been let go as well, so this is a thorough house-cleaning. We’ll see if they can, in fact, avoid bankruptcy this time around.