Sunny Days in Ottawa!

 

 

This is the letter I received last night from our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.

I am sharing it with you for the strong feelings of hope  it bears . I like the father-husband touch and yet the strong commitment of Justin Trudeau for a brighter future here in Canada! I like the title of his new tenure as head of this country: SUNNY DAYS!

 

Justine, as I write to you, evening is falling outside our new home, Rideau Cottage, on the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

A few minutes from now, Sophie and I will put Xavier and Ella-Grace to bed (Hadrien is already fast asleep), but before I go, I want to share a few thoughts with you, to mark this moment.

Tomorrow, we take the next step in our journey together. I will be sworn in by the Governor General, and become Canada's 23rd prime minister. And I will announce the team of extraordinary Canadians who will serve as ministers in your new government.

This is all thanks to your support, and the support of millions of Canadians like you. Thank you.

On October 19, Canadians spoke loudly and clearly, that they want a government that will bring real change – in both the things that it does, and the way that it does them.

Our platform promised a new, ambitious plan for a strong and growing middle class. And you rightly expect us to fulfill that promise.

Which is why I am going to spend the next four years working harder than ever to deliver on what we promised.

Before the election, I also made a personal commitment to bring new leadership and a new tone to Ottawa. Sunny ways.

The new Canadian government will work together with our allies, with our provincial, municipal, and territorial partners so we can deliver the real, positive change that we promised you.

And we’ve already started. I just last week extended an invitation to provincial premiers, and opposition leaders to join me in Paris as part of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference at the end of this month.

Because being engaged on the international stage is important. It is critical for creating economic growth, good-paying jobs for the middle class, and prosperity for all Canadians. To that end – in addition to the climate change conference in Paris – I have confirmed that I will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Turkey, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in the Philippines and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.

But we’ll also be getting straight to work at home: The first bill introduced by our government will be a tax cut for the middle class so we can get started right away growing our economy, strengthening our middle class, and helping those working hard to join it.

I am deeply grateful to have this opportunity to serve you – and every Canadian across our great country. I am committed to leading an open, honest government that is accountable to Canadians, lives up to the highest ethical standards, brings our country together, and applies the utmost care and prudence in the handling of public funds.

Thank you for putting your trust in me, and our team. We will not let you down.

Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister-designate

Chronicle of a Death Foretold!

Justine Frangouli-Argyris

 

The legitimate grievances and protests of the stranded passengers of SkyGreece, the recently established, Greek-based air carrier, on the social and other media of Canada and Greece causes me deep sadness and much disappointment.

Sadness because SkyGreece failed in its efforts to establish itself as the national carrier of the Greek Diaspora in North America and in such a short period of time and even though it had even begun to even draw passengers from the Balkan countries surrounding Greece.

Frustration because the company that seems to have ceased operations as a result of financial difficulties was not able to rise to the occasion and meet its obligation to some 1,000 passengers who were left without any means of coming back to Canada. Indeed, the return of the last individuals back home would have closed, in a most dignified manner, the company's debt to its traveling public and reinforced its much ballyhooed reputation for good service, and this, through the most difficult of times.

SkyGreece began as a promising startup back in 2012 when the company’s investors acquired their first airplane. Both the Hellenic name and the Greek flag on its tail instilled a proud feeling amongst the Greek Diaspora which had been clamoring for the start of a new carrier to cover the gap left over by the demise of Greece’s national carrier, Olympic Airways.

The predominant role played by its CEO, the well-known and respected Fr. Nicholas Alexandris, in the company’s public relations was paramount in ensuring good faith as to the sincerity of SkyGreece’s intentions.

Personally, knowing some of the Greek-Canadian investors who had a solid track record of success in the tourism industry for years, I felt that, surely, the time was ripe for this Greek-centered investment to flourish.

When SkyGreece inaugurated its routes in the spring of 2015, I was convinced that the operation was on sound footing and that a positive outlook of its future development was a given. As such, on my journey to Greece this past June, I opted for SkyGreece in order to experience, firsthand, everything that had to do with the quality of the nascent airline’s services.

The trip to and from Athens was excellent. The pilots, mostly former captains of Olympic Airways, commanded the plane with deft smoothness, showcasing their exceptional flying abilities.  The flight crew was young, always smiling and ever so quick to provide excellent service. Although not an aficionado of airline fare, the menu, developed around Greek recipes, more than met all my expectations.

Suddenly, last June, very shortly after SkyGreece had begun to solidify its reputation and fill its planes, the closure of Greece’s banks as a result of the country’s prolonged negotiations with its lenders began to quickly asphyxiate the newly established company.  With its registry in Greece and, as a result, access to its funds limited and with overseas bills to pay, the end quickly approached.

Greece’s capital controls resulted in the company being late in remitting payment for its landing rights at Canadian airports and led to the eventual immobilization of the company’s single airplane at Toronto’s Pearson airport. Regardless, the company’s main shareholder, Ken Stathakis, insists that SkyGreece has not gone into bankruptcy and, that, despite its difficulties, will survive.

As a Greek-Canadian journalist, I sincerely wish that SkyGreece resumes operations by managing to overcome the obstacles of its current state of affairs and begins anew as a more stable organization.

I believe that the significant sums invested in securing the company's itineraries should not go to waste but must be exploited to the benefit of all Greek expatriates and, in turn, the Greek tourism industry at large.

I, who has witnessed the shuttering of other major air carriers plying the non-stop route to Greece every summer, confess that SkyGreece, albeit during its brief period of operation excelled and, this, under intense pressure from a slew of competitors. Undoubtedly, the capital controls along with the instability of Greece’s economy and the political uncertainty surrounding the country did not help the promising company.

Regardless, I am hopeful that the carrier is able to compensate its weary passengers and learn from its missteps. I, for one, hereby declare that I will reboard SkyGreece once again next year should operations resume!

Across the Atlantic “à la Grecque” With SkyGreece!

Justine Frangouli-Argyris

A new airline, funded by Greek-Canadian entrepreneurs and proudly bearing the name “SkyGreece,” was inaugurated in May with the aim of servicing the transatlantic route connecting Athens to the Canadian metropolises of Toronto and Montréal.  As of June 19^th, SkyGreece will be adding the city of New York to its destinations, with the initial flight to be launched in the presence of the Greek Deputy Minister for Tourism, Elena Kountoura.

 With the Greek flag adorning the tail of its aircraft, “Taxiarhis,” SkyGreece causes waves of emotion whenever it lands at Toronto’s “Pearson” and Montreal’s “Trudeau” airport as Canada’s expatriate Greeks openly display their excitement that a Greek carrier has come along to solidify their ties with the homeland.

 

The administration of SkyGreece has presented their ambitious plans for the new airline which aims to link the diaspora of North America with Greece. Thoroughly Greek in their approach, SkyGreece’s direct flights enable passengers to indulge in Greece’s famous hospitality, sampling tasty Greek cuisine and enjoying a variety of Greek music. Furthermore, pamphlets with tourist information about Greece are available inside the aircraft with the goal of informing and promoting Greek tourism at large.

 

The launch of the flights have come none too soon, filling a deep void that has existed since 2009 when Olympic Airways ceased transatlantic operations. "We were the only ones who came from North America to invest in Greece.  If the outcome is successful, it will be seen as a pilot project for potential investors,” stressed SkyGreece’s chairman, Fr. Nicholas Alexandris, recently.

 

It is no coincidence that SkyGreece selected former Olympic Airways pilots to anchor its team. It was on September 29, 2009 when Captain Basil Dorizas landed an Olympic A340 Airbus at Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos airport, marking the airline’s last flight from Canada. On May 17, 2014 Dorizas joined SkyGreece, wanting to contribute to the development of a new Greek air carrier whose planes bear the Greek flag.

 

"Greeks in Canada, where I have lived for the last thirty years, were left out once Olympic Airways severed the umbilical cord between Canada and Greece," says Father Alexandris.

 For the time being and to no one’s surprise, Father Alexandris bases his expectations for the success of SkyGreece on the large Greek expat communities in New York, Montreal and Toronto that were suddenly left wanting when Olympic suspended service.

 Greece’s Deputy Tourism Minister, Elena Kountouras, has expressed her government’s support for SkyGreece Airlines, noting that it is a worthy project that aims to connect Greek expatriates with their Motherland. Ms. Kountouras also did not fail to mention that the Greek flag adorning SkyGreece’s fleet is a picture that evokes emotion.

 

The airline is based in Markopoulo, outside Athens, and was founded in 2012 by Greek-Canadian expatriates. Today, it boasts offices in New York, Montreal and Toronto and has a total of 150 employees, 100 of whom are based in Greece. This is not simply another airline, but, rather, a company that hopes to add to the development of Greek tourism and create more jobs in the sector.

  

SkyGreece is launching a route between Toronto, Budapest and Thessaloniki in order to serve the expatriates from northern Greece, while at the same time filling a gap in the Hungarian airline industry that does not provide a direct connection with Toronto.

 The immediate plans are to inaugurate another flight linking Toronto with Zagreb (via Athens) in order to embrace the growing tourist destinations of the Dalmatian Coast in conjunction with those of Greece.

 The company wants to become a protagonist in the airline industry by unlocking “new” markets, offering competitive pricing and growing its network with the addition of flights to Chicago, Boston and South Africa as well as other European cities beyond 2016. As administration officials stressed, the initial capital invested is in the range of 45 million dollars and expectations are for profitability to be attained within two years.

 Ticket prices range from $850, including all taxes, with passengers having the added luxury of bringing along two suitcases (each weighing 20 kg) at no additional cost.

 Foremost, SkyGreece’s flights are manned by senior pilots with years of transatlantic experience, the majority of whom worked for Olympic Airways. Captain Dorizas, SkyGreece’s director of flight operations, explained that the measures undertaken by the company concerning the issue of security are much more stringent than those required by existing regulations, one aspect being that SkyGreece’s cockpits have two pilots along with a co-pilot instead of the usual pilot/co-pilot requirement.

 SkyGreece has been approved by the major licensing agencies of EASA, the CTA and the FAA, ensuring flight licenses in Europe, Canada and the United States respectively.