Airlines
Delta, Travelport Sign New Deal
Delta Air Lines and Travelport have unveiled the details of what they’re describing as “a transformative global distribution agreement, designed to further enhance value-generation for the entire travel retailing ecosystem, including travel management companies, agencies, corporations, and travellers. The multi-year content distribution agreement gives Travelport-connected travel buyers simplified access to Delta’s enriched content through the Travelport+ platform with enhanced retailing capability to better understand, compare and customize offers for travellers. Jeff Lobl,...
WestJet Restarts Calgary-Paris Service
WestJet has restarted its non-stop route between Calgary and Paris using 787 Dreamliner aircraft. With the restart of service to Paris, WestJet becomes the airline serving the most European destinations, direct from its global hub in Calgary. WestJet introduced twice-weekly, non-stop, service between Calgary and Amsterdam on August 5 and is currently serving London (Gatwick) two times weekly, with both markets increasing to three-times weekly in September. John Weatherill, Chief Commercial Officer for WestJet, said: “We are thrilled to bring back this historic route between...
IATA Travel Pass Recognizes EU, UK Digital Certificates
IATA has announced that the EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) and UK NHS COVID Pass can now be uploaded into the IATA Travel Pass as verified proof of vaccination for travel. Travellers holding an EU DCC or UK NHS COVID Pass can now access accurate COVID-19 travel information for their journey, create an electronic version of their passport and import their vaccination certificate in one place. That information can be shared with airlines and border control authorities who can have the assurance that the certificate presented to them is genuine and belongs to the person presenting...
Blocked Funds Could Slow Recovery, IATA Says
IATA is urging governments to abide by international agreements and treaty obligations to enable airlines to repatriate close to nearly $1 billion in blocked funds from the sale of tickets, cargo space, and other activities. Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, observed that: “Governments are preventing nearly $1 billion of airline revenues from being repatriated. This contravenes international conventions and could slow the recovery of travel and tourism in affected markets as the airline industry struggles to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.” Walsh continued: “Airlines...
Aeroplan, LCBO Launch New Loyalty Partnership
Aeroplan and the LCBO have announced a new strategic partnership allowing Aeroplan members to earn points when shopping at LCBO stores across Ontario. The new partnership is expected to launch in late 2021. Mark Nasr, Senior Vice President, Products, Marketing and eCommerce at Air Canada, said: “We're thrilled to come together with the LCBO to offer our members a new way to earn and redeem Aeroplan points in Ontario. When we relaunched Aeroplan last year, we made a commitment to earn our way into consumer's everyday lives. Marquee partnerships like the LCBO and other...
Catalyzing A Quicker Recovery
GlobalData says that Air France’s bet on leisure routes could catalyze a quicker recovery for the carrier as outbound leisure travel in France increased to 74.3% in 2020, despite restrictions severely reducing the total number of outbound trips. The data and analytics company points out that with business travel demand suppressed, the airline must focus on serving high volume leisure routes and upsell premium cabins to high budget travellers to support a strong recovery. Gus Gardner, associate travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, said that: “Pre-pandemic, outbound leisure...
Porter Mandates Vaccinations, Testing For Staff
Porter Airlines’ new COVID-19 Vaccination Policy will require its team members to be fully vaccinated or present a negative COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of the start of their shift. The new policy aligns with Porter’s restart of service on Sept. 8, 2021 and is designed, the carriers says, “to support a safe and healthy workplace for employees and passengers.” Following the federal government’s recent announcement of its intention to mandate vaccination for federally-regulated employers and workers, Porter has become the first Canadian airline committed to...
Stopover In Panama With Copa Airlines
A cosmopolitan city along with “gorgeous coffee farms, abundant biodiversity and pristine beaches” can now be discovered at no additional airfare with Panama and Copa Airlines’ relaunch of the attractive Stopover in Panama program. The initiative seeks to encourage passengers that travel to any of the airline’s destinations through the “Hub of the Americas” in Panama to schedule time for a stop in the country at the time of ticket purchase, without additional cost in air fare. In doing so, tourists can enjoy two destinations for the price of one. Visitors now have the...