GREYHOUND IGNORES FEDS
By Adnews Staff
Greyhound Lines of Canada will continue advertising its new airline and selling tickets even though the National Transportation Agency has advised the bus company to stop doing this until it obtains an airline licence. Greyhound executive vice-president John Munro told Adnews this week that Greyhound is appealing a ruling that it must obtain a domestic licence to operate Greyhound Air. He said his company is hoping to have the problem cleared up by the end of the month. Greyhound says it doesn't need a license because the airline is being operated by Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter, which already has a licence. The NTA decided to ground Greyhound after Canadian Airlines International and WestJet Airlines, both based in Calgary, complained that Greyhound Air isn't 75% Canadian-owned, as is required by law. Greyhound, which is 68.5%-owned by Dial Corp. of Phoenix, Arizona, is attempting to circumvent the ownership problem by calling itself a tour operator hiring Kelowna Flightcraft as a charter carrier. In late March Greyhound Air began running TV and print advertising created by Palmer Jarvis Advertising in Vancouver. The company began accepting reservations on April 8. Greyhound is offering to give a refund to anyone who has paid for a ticket, and to hold the reservation. The company is continuing to take bookings.