Airlines
Sunwing Set To Take Off From Thunder Bay
For the 16th consecutive year, Sunwing will be back offering vacation packages to Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic from Thunder Bay in 2021. Flights begin in December 2021 and will run weekly until the middle of April 2022. Andrew Dawson, president of tour operations for Sunwing, said: “Supporting regional airports and providing Canadians across the country with more convenient ways to head to the tropics has always been important to us here at Sunwing.” Dawson continued: “Our seasonal flight service from Thunder Bay has been consistently popular over the years and...
Budget 2021: Industry Welcomes Support But More Will Be Needed
For the travel trade, let’s call the first federal budget in two years a further reprieve. The industry asked for the extension of a number of key support programs like the wage and rent subsidy and the lockdown support programs and all of them are being extended until Sept. 25, 2021. However, the budget papers state that the government will “gradually decrease the subsidy rate, beginning July 4, 2021, in order to ensure an orderly phase-out of the program as vaccinations are completed and the economy reopens.” Not surprisingly, ACTA’s initial response indicated that it...
NACC: Budget Takes Positive Steps, But Work Remains
While the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) welcomed measures supporting aviation and the travel and tourism sector in today’s federal budget, it also cautioned that much work still remains to address the devastating impact of COVID-19. Mike McNaney, president and CEO of the NACC, said: “As the government has repeatedly stated, a healthy aviation sector is critical to our economy and our overall recovery from the pandemic.” He pointed out: “Today’s Budget has taken steps to assist the sector during the immediate crisis. But more work is required, in particular the...
Air Canada, ACV Brief Trade On Refunds, Commissions
Following the news that a long awaited deal between Air Canada and the Canadian government had been reached, the airline and Air Canada Vacations executives held a virtual travel trade town hall yesterday (April 13). Lucie Guillemette, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer — and the newly announced President of Air Canada Vacations — kicked off the meeting outlining several key takeaways for travel advisors. Notably, the scope of refunds also applies to customers who voluntarily chose to cancel non refundable tickets, not just flights cancelled by Air...
WestJet Suspends Mexico, Caribbean Flights To June 4
WestJet is extending its temporary suspension of its international sun flights to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean to June 4, 2021. Ed Sims, WestJet president and CEO, said: “We are extending our suspension with the clear expectation that as more Canadians are vaccinated, government policy will transition.” Sims stated: “We continue to advocate for the replacement of mandatory hotel quarantines with a testing regime that is equitable and consistent with global standards at all points of entry into our country. Alongside an accelerated and successful vaccine rollout,...
TPI Welcomes New AC, Government Deal
Following the announcement this week on the agreement between Air Canada and the Canadian government, TPI is in the mood for celebration. TPI CEO, Zeina Gedeon observed: “It’s been a long haul. It’s been a time of angst and frustration for travel advisors and agency groups over the past 14 months, and the recent announcement from the government and Air Canada regarding their enhanced policy for refunds has allowed our advisors to breathe a little bit, knowing that their clients can receive their anticipated refunds and the advisors can retain their hard-earned...
Get Ready For Take Off
Finally, some good news. And it comes with the expectation that there will be more ahead. The conclusion of the long-awaited deal between the Canadian government and Air Canada has this country’s travel industry celebrating – virtually, of course – as the industry now looks ahead for announcements on further agreements with WestJet, Transat and Sunwing. Hopefully, those announcements will come soon. In announcing that it had reached an agreement with Air Canada, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of...
WestJet, Government Continue Discussions
All eyes on WestJet. With yesterday's deal between Air Canada and the federal government done, the industry is now turning its attention to where things stand with WestJet's talks with the government. In a statement released last night (April 12), the company said: "The WestJet Group of Companies continues discussions with the Government of Canada on a safe travel-restart framework. We remain focused on a long-term solution that will serve the best interests of Canadians.” And it indicated that: “We will provide updates on our discussions with the Government of Canada at the...