Tales from the Airline Supply Chain with Peter Wallis

Zebras to Apples

Host Bryndis Whitson welcomes former transportation and airline executive Peter Wallis to the show to discuss the logistics of the airline supply chain. Peter talks about his work with Pacific Western Airlines and how his legal background and expertise in aviation law enabled him to handle regulatory and legal matters, such as aircraft sales and government relations. Bryndis’ discussion with Peter highlights the unexpected challenges in airline operations and the importance of vigilance and due diligence.

Peter Wallis shares how Pacific Western Airlines, in a move to reach underserved communities, sought approval to provide air service between Brandon, Manitoba and Toronto, Ontario, which required them to overcome opposition from Air Canada. Through community engagement and strategic arguments, the airline successfully demonstrated the necessity of the service which benefited the local economy. Bryndis and Peter also explore the broader challenges of navigating the competitive airline industry, including partnerships, rivalries, and expansion strategies. Peter’s experience and insight illustrate the dynamic nature of the aviation sector, as well as the challenges and successes of managing the airline supply chain.

About Peter Wallis:

Peter Wallis studied aviation law for a number of years and has a degree from the University of London in aviation law. He worked for the Canadian Transport Commission as a legal counsel in all modes of transport. He was seconded as chief of staff to two federal ministers of Transport. He also worked for Pacific Western Airlines, which subsequently became Canadian Airlines, which in turn acquired CP Air and Wardair to form the major airline Canadian Airlines.

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Contact Bryndis Whitson:

• Website: ZebrasToApples.com
• Instagram: @ZebrasToApples
• LinkedIn
  
  

Contact Peter Wallis:

• Peter Wallis on LinkedIn

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Transcript

Bryndis Whitson: [00:00:03] Hi, my name is Bryndis Whitson, and you're listening to the Zebras Apples podcast. The fun and fascinating stories of supply chain logistics. Planes and airlines take us around the world. They take us on vacation. They take us to meetings and to see family and friends. They also deliver cargo and our beloved pets. In this podcast episode, my friend and former boss at the Van Horne Institute, Peter Wallis, shares stories about his time with the Government of Canada and Canadian Airlines. And if you've ever had a passion for the aviation industry, or you just really like a good story with a surprising twist or two, then this episode is for you. Please join me in hearing Peter Wallis talk about the airline sector.

Bryndis Whitson: [00:00:48] Okay, so I'm here with Peter Wallis, who has had a very distinguished career in a lot of areas in transportation and supply chain. Let's start off with telling us a little bit about your career history.

Peter Wallis: [00:01:04] Sure. Well, thanks for having me, Bryndis. I'm delighted to be part of this chain of podcasts that you've been putting together. I spent a number of years in the aviation industry, directly and indirectly, and I started off my career in Ottawa as a legal counsel for the Canadian Transport Commission. It's now known as the Canadian Transportation Agency, but it was founded in the last century to be the overall regulator of transportation in Canada. Prior to that, there were a number of regulatory boards. The Railway Transport Board, for example, regulated railways. Also, regulated telecommunications, which may sound a little anomalous, but the fact is that the telephone lines were hooked up to the poles that ran alongside the railways. So that's why they had jurisdiction over not only railways, but also telecommunications. Now we have the CRTC, which has more than a bag of issues related to, other than wired communications, but that's another story. The other boards were the Air Transport Board, and there were a couple of others, and they all came together in the Canadian Transport Commission. I had the opportunity to join that organization as a legal counsel after I returned from the UK, where I had taken a master of laws degree, primarily focusing on aviation at the London School of Economics.

Peter Wallis: [00:02:34] Interestingly enough, I joined the same day that the appointment to Edward "Eddie" Laborde, a very prominent oil man in the Calgary community. He's now passed away, but Eddie was appointed by Jack Pickersgill as a member of the Canadian Transportation Agency. Jack Pickersgill subsequently became the president of the agency. One of my first tasks with the agency, because it was responsible for determining the success or failure of any application to provide an air service in Canada. From the large operators for the large airplanes down to the bush planes, they all had to be licensed by the Air Transport Committee of the Canadian Transportation Commission, the CTC. As legal counsel, I would go out on these hearings and assist the commissioners in the development of the evidence, which was primarily the responsibility, of course, of the applicant, or indeed the opponent, because these were full blown hearings in which an entrepreneur could apply to operate an air service in a certain area. But there would be the incumbents who would clearly argue that there was enough capacity provided by them and that no competition was required, and the agency had to make a decision on whether there could be more competitors based on the simple premise of public convenience and necessity.

Peter Wallis: [00:04:14] If you can have a definition of public convenience and necessity, you'll probably find many of them if you go into the textbooks and the dictionaries. But some people described it as an exercise in determining how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. One of my first hearings was actually with Mr. Pickersgill, and it was a hearing in Newfoundland. In fact, it was in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. As legal counsel, part of my role was to swear in witnesses because they were appearing before a quasi judicial tribunal. You were obviously under oath with the penalties of the Evidence Act to follow if you were found to have committed perjury. One of the witnesses that came forward in this hearing, I can't remember the exact details of the matters that were before us, but the subsequent witness to the applicant was a local member of Parliament. Jack Pickersgill, who some of your listeners may or may not know so let me just give a quick, brief thumbnail there. Jack Pickersgill had a very illustrious career as a Liberal in the government of Mackenzie King and subsequently Louis St. Laurent. He was initially a bureaucrat and rose to the position of the senior bureaucrat in the Privy Council, the clerk of the Privy Council. Then he was persuaded to go into politics by, I believe it was Mr. St. Laurent, and go into politics he did. The writing that was chosen for him was one that he was obviously not a citizen of at the time. Quickly though, picked up the language, cadence, the community spirit, and indeed the characteristics of a Newfoundlander because his writing that he was parachuted into was a Newfoundland writing. Bonavista-Twillingate.

Peter Wallis: [00:06:27] Mr. Pickersgill therefore, and he act...