Obama Administration To Blame?

Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy has some really good explanation of the exact circumstances surrounding this issue. The most interesting theory is that this is a direct result of the Obama Administration instituting sweeping changes from when Bush was in office.

The D.C.-based Air Line Pilots Association initiated this action from the Obama Administration by complaining that Air Canada charter flights were transporting passengers to and from U.S. cities who weren’t also transported to or from Canada, according to these findings from the U.S. Department of Transportation (.pdf). The ALPA claimed this practice was a violation of U.S. Code Title 49, which “prohibits the transportation of persons ... between points of the U.S. in a foreign civil aircraft.“He goes onto explain exactly what was happening that led to this change (or more concisely, actual enforcement of the law).

For example, an NHL team would charter an Air Canada flight to a U.S. city, pick up more passengers in that city for whatever reason, and then fly to the next U.S. city where the team would play. The U.S. DOT said it found instances of that occurring after an audit of Air Canada charter programs from the Boston Bruins and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. The Bush Administration last year allowed the Bruins to fly Air Canada charter flights for the 2008-09 season.While this seems a bit sinister from the outside, Wyshynski does some in-depth research into ALPA message boards and various transportation forums that seems to uncover this is solely a business decision. The original rule is in place to prevent foreign airlines from taking business from domestic carriers, which is essentially what happens when an Air Canada charter picks up passengers in Boston and takes them to San Jose.
With the NHL season less than a month away, its uncertain just how much this will affect teams across the league. Organizations are already scrambling for alternate plans, but there is hope that something can be negotiated between the U.S. and Canada before the season starts.