Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 19, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba Fob details a Kiai hates Hay apply to s0hms certain Winnipeg free press january 1990 pages 1728 Philip business editor business soar a fond memory f by Paul Samyn one year ago Max wards dream that began in 1946 with a one air plane outfit in Yellowknife and grew to become Canadas third Lar Gest Carrier came crashing and on the anniversary of the marketing Mavericks Sale of Ward air to pea Canadian airlines International and air Canada Are bumping Domestic air fares up by per this latest increase third in a year exactly what con Sumer groups feared would happen with the departure of Ward air which they said had been keeping the other two major airlines Hon last ticket prices went up four per cent and May saw an other four percent Canadian also brought Ward airs fares in line with a 15percent increase immediately after its pea purchased for million the Price cutting airline that was Haemorrhaging in a sea of red theres not As Many seat sales As says Kathy manager of Lawson travels Winnipeg Square unrealistic pricing Loewen says the airlines used to offer Winnipeg Toronto return fares for As Low As now that Ward air is she says the lowest Price you can get is about a Toronto airline who asked not to be says fares would have been two or three per cent lower had Ward air still been and had there not been a softening of the Canadian and air Canada would have Likely pushed fares even he but he quickly adds that War Dairs bargain basement pricing style was unrealistic and that fare increases were from a Consumers perspex 1989 and 1988 were real Bonus years because the airlines were subsidizing air he Gavin president of holidays in agrees Ward airs discounting was living on borrowed Ward air was forcing All three to give away the Scott the airlines could not keep operating flights to Toronto it would have been a but a Rise in air fares is not the Only fallout from the Sale of War unions representing Ward air and Canadian employees have All suffered significant Job when Ward air closed its Winni Peg office last 35 passenger agent and ticket agent positions were and Cai announced plans in november to slash full time and Par time jobs from both management and Union positions As part of the corporate reorganization that saw the operations of Canadian and Ward air merge in Canadian airlines Are ruthless Bot Tomline says Richard Cupes airlines rep two different things initially when pea took Over it indicated Ward air would continue to operate As a separate critics doubted the sincerity of this pledge which was particularly trumpeted prior to the Federal Competition bureaus approval of the everyone knew that was non says William a York University economist who appeared before the Competition tribunals hearing into the Sale last what they said and what they did were two different Bruce an air line analyst with Nesbitt Thomson Deacon in believes pea would have loved to keep the airlines separate and Cash in on Ward airs reputation for impeccable Murray says air Canadas Refus Al to follow a four percent Price increase the Canadian airlines air travellers enjoyed lower prices when Max wards dream was Ward air Alliance proposed in a gust grounded plans for two Sepa rate and Ward air is Ever closer to becoming nothing but a fond memory for this past week its Bright red signs came tumbling Down at airports through out the country and Ward air is no longer listed in computerized Reser vation Ruth corporate communications manager for says the Premium level of service Ward air was renowned for will remain and Canad an is in the process of upgrading both its menus and staff that was one of the Strong assets pea got when they bought Montgomery was Bot Tomline has not been nearly As Strong in the past was 1989 earnings per share will be Down 50 Wood Gundy air on the other will Likely show earnings per share of Murray says air Canada has roughly 53 per cent of the Market and Canadian 47 per one year he says those positions were filling void the senates transport commit tee has voiced concern the dogfight for passengers Between air Canada and Canadian has led to a preventing other companies from entering the Jordan disputes this he maintains Canada can support around 12 airlines and notes there Are currently about 11 companies that have Jet service in the Scott says the emergence of the charter service provided by Canada which has flights out of is an example of an air line moving in to fill the void left by but others say Canada Only has room for two major carriers in what remains an extremely competitive Murray predicts future Battles Between air Canada and Canadian will Centre on ways to differentiate the two products that Are essentially the Treyve got to compete like Coke and Pepsi do in Advertis Manitoba housing starts slump by Murray Mcneill Manitoba housing starts hit a seven year Low last leaving the province with second worst housing construction record in the according to figures released yesterday by the Canada mortgage and housing Cor the figures show that total hous ing starts in the province fell to units from units in 1988 drop of 25 per the Only province that fared worse was which recorded a 51percent Chc noted that it was the first time since the 1982 recession that Manitoba housing starts failed to surpass the it blamed the poor performance on High mortgage weak consumer a continued High net out migration of and an oversupply of apartments in Winni local Chc official Richard Goatcher predicted in an in Tepiew later yesterday that the Manitoba housing construction Market should begin to Bounce Back this albeit senior Market analyst for a macs Winnipeg said an expected decline in mortgage rates should result in a five to 10percent increase in total housing starts in but not much More than he because the provincial Economy is going to Cool Goatcher said the increase in construction should be evident in both the and the Multi he said it appears that single fam ily unit which have been de Clining each year since have finally bottomed shrinking inventory As the inventory of vacant apartment and condominium units has been shrinking steadily Over the past year in most areas of he although it remains High in the downtown that should spark some new multiple family unit construction in those areas where the inventories Are he were not expecting a big in he but some in any kind of increase would be an improvement Over last when starts in Manitoba declined by per cent to and multiple family unit starts fell by per cent to in where most of the provinces new housing construction takes starts were Down 16 per cent to while starts plunged 46 per the Chc Fig ures at the National total housing starts last year in Canada topped for the third straight although the total units was Down three per cent from 1988s level and Down 12 per cent from Chc British new new and Nova Scotia All recorded higher Levels of Prince Edward is and Quebec were the other provinces to record the Agency israeli Security expert plugged into better computer Protection Arie Stern is the chief of Security for the largest Bank in probably the most Security conscious nation in the his Forte is computer data Security and his which is one of the 100 largest in the world with assets around is a Leader in the Stern was in Winnipeg this week for a data crime seminar sponsored by Winni Peg computer manufacturer mind computer it was his first and Only appearance in although Stern does not have to convince a lot of people in Israel about the need for Security it is a competitive marketing advantage there says awareness is the key to increasing the practice of data Security in in Canada and North it is usually perceived that the threat of vandalism or piracy is marginal and without wishing any ill will on american Telephone Telegraph a nine hour Lon distance ser vice disruption throughout its network this week May go a Long Martin Cash Way towards encouraging Large corporations to take precautions to ensure its data does not get manipulated or although it is not certain How the computer problem occurred that prevented about 30 million Calls from getting through on sabotage or a computer virus have not yet been ruled controls about 70 per cent of the deregulated Long distance Market in the Stem says if awareness does not then it takes some kind of loss to inspire a company to spend Money on data not us the latter is More effective and that is whats happened in Israel and maybe now at Sterns reasoning for advocating spending Money on data Protection is that most businesses would regularly spend Money protecting their More traditional bricks and mortar electronic data is also an asset that should be Worth protect rapidly increasing dependence on computers in business has really Only been occurring for the past 10 it was in the Early 80s that computer hackers started breaking codes and getting into sensitive data creating a need for data Secu at that time there really want any Market for data now there Are commercially available solutions like Access control soft encrypting systems and automatic callback programs for a Cess to data Banks though the Telephone another aspect of prevention that has As much to do with common sense As it does with is to have adequately trained staff work ing with the once a strategic business consideration comes Down to human add this week the Winnipeg society of financial analysts heard a couple of North americas leading equity Market strategists give their fore casts for the next 25 and it want very Abby chief strategist for Drexel Burnham Lambert of new and Donald Cohens counterpart at Gordon Capi Tal the powerful Canadian in vestment banking told close to 150 people from the Winni Peg investment Community that the Short term future of the Market is Cohen predicts corporate profits will be flattening out or per haps we used to be Bull but the message now is that there Are grave concerns about the direction of the equity mar she says that three factors that helped push Stock prices up have All lost their Energy 1 while corporate profits were above expectations Over the past two they peaked in the first Quarter of 1989 and she Doest think the decline has stopped 2 the merger and acquisition and leveraged buyout activity has slowed and stocks Arent so intrinsically cheap anymore and 3 Stem awareness the huge influx of foreign Money on the equity Market will slow though foreign investors seem very she Calls them momentum and says the momentum is tapering the grass is no longer Greener in the Coxe agrees with Cohens Pessi mistic View of the Short term and thinks that in whose currency he thinks is the most overvalued in the world with the Dollar a close there will be a recess Ion within the year if the Dollar is not he also believes the equity Market will decline Coxe takes a fairly realistic View of the globalization of Commerce in pointing out that three major trading zones will set the stage for the next 15 years North Europe and the japanese Pacific one of the most noteworthy aspects of the evening was the record turnout to the annual forecasting since the departure of Richardson greenshields head office to the investment Community in Winnipeg has had a hard time presenting a Strong such a Large turnout could help turn things Odd in wednesdays column about the Purchase of the old investors build ing on it was mentioned that the building has been empty since investors moved to its new head All of the offices Are but in there has been one surviving tenant the Royal Bank outlet on the first ;