As deregulation came into being in 1987, there was a rapid
expansion of the newly formed Canadian Airlines, allowing
Canadian to achieve the status of a serious rival to Air Canada.
The expansion of Canadian was achieved by the acquisition of
several airlines and their routes to the Far East. Canadian
hoped these routes would help pay the massive debt created by
the purchases of small airlines. Both Canadian Airlines and Air
Canada suffered as the economic recession set in and they found
that they were flying with empty seats. This continued to be the
case throughout the 1990s.