Air Canada's No. 2 executive resigns = = = = Wednesday April 7, 4:42 PM EDT = (Adds details, background) MONTREAL, April 7 (Reuters) - Air Canada's (AC) No. 2 executive, Calin Ro= vinescu, resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday for undisclosed reasons, mark= ing another setback in the insolvent airline's last-ditch efforts to emer= ge from bankruptcy protection and avoid liquidation. Rovinescu, a lawyer, headed up Air Canada's restructuring under bankruptc= y protection, a role that is now taken up by chief executive Robert Milto= n and Paul Brotto, vice-president for planning and cost management. Analysts said that the departure of Rovinescu suggests that the $650 mill= ion ($500 million) rescue offer by Hong Kong magnate Victor Li is definit= ively off the table. Rovinescu, like Milton, had been enticed to stay on board by a C$20 milli= on bonus scheme offered by Li for a successful restructuring of the airli= ne. "This is not a good signal," said Douglas Reid, an airline economist at Q= ueen's University School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. "He is an essential part of Milton's executive team and to have him resig= n for no given reason is surprising to say the least. To be fair, he is p= robably exhausted. He had to carry the bulk of this restructuring," Reid = said. ($1=3D$1.31 Canadian) = =A92004 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS