Airlines
Clearing The Air
Air Canada says that there has been “no update” since its Feb. 12 earnings release which “clearly says that discussions are ongoing and that is still the case. There is nothing new since we issued this release.” The carrier’s comment came following multiple media reports that said that Air Canada had agreed to the carrier had agreed to provide refunds to travellers who had flights cancelled due to the pandemic as part of a possible federal government financial support package. In its Feb. 12 release, the carrier stated: “In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Canadian...
Demand Falls Further In January: IATA
IATA reports that passenger traffic fell in January 2021, both compared to pre-COVID levels (January 2019) and compared to the immediate month prior (December 2020). The airline industry association notes that because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to January 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern. Total demand in January 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was down 72.0% compared to January 2019. That was worse than the 69.7% year-over-year...
Tell Your Story, ACTA Urges Members
ACTA is urging travel agents to take their concerns about the state of the travel industry directly to their MPs as a federal government budget draws closer. "We need to continue to raise our voices," ACTA's Maggie Santos said during a Tuesday ACTA webinar. ACTA president Wendy Paradis in turn stated that, "You (agents) can help us help you." Webinar viewers were earlier told that ACTA has been meeting with government and opposition officials, relaying its concerns on such issues as extending CEWS. Viewers were told to take their travel industry concerns to their MPs, being...
Air Canada Amends CPA With Jazz
Air Canada unveiled details of an agreement to amend the Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Jazz Aviation LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Inc., under which Jazz currently operates certain regional Air Canada Express flights. Through the revised agreement, Air Canada will transfer operation of its Embraer E175 fleet to Jazz from Sky Regional and Jazz will become the sole operator of Air Canada Express services. The revisions to the CPA are subject to Jazz reaching an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, International. If this condition is satisfied,...
Happy Birthday, WestJet
Happy 25th, WestJet. Talking of the two and half decades of offering Canadians low fares, vigorous competition and great service, WestJet's president and CEO, Ed Sims, observed: “A quarter century ago, WestJet provided Canadians with a choice in airlines; since that time, we have invested across the country to bring more options and competitive fares to millions of Canadians who couldn't afford the price of air travel prior.” Sims continued: “We are thankful to the thousands of WestJetters who have dedicated themselves to building our airline and to the more than 300 million...
WestJet, CUPE Reach Tentative Deal
WestJet has reached a tentative agreement with CUPE Local 4070 – which represents the WestJet Inflight (Cabin Crew) group. Both parties now await the ratification vote to be put forward to membership. Ed Sims, WestJet president and CEO, said: “I am pleased that we've tentatively come to terms on the first collective agreement with CUPE Local 4070.” Sims added: “Our Cabin Crew Members are a valued and integral part of the WestJet team and it is our goal to continue supporting them as they continue the safe, caring service our guests expect of...
Porter Pushes Restart To May 19
Porter Airlines says that its new target date for the resumption on its service will now be May 19. Michael Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines, said that: "The implementation of more restrictive travel rules by governments since our last update makes an early spring restart unsustainable." Deluce continued: “Even though there are signs of progress in containing the pandemic, there is a need to refocus our forecasts based on changing conditions. We remain optimistic that things are moving in the right direction, but this tentative date may also need to be changed if...
IATA Pass May Spark Recovery
With the recent announcement that IATA’s COVID-19 digital travel pass could be ready ‘within weeks,’ data and analytics firm, GlobalData says that the new pass “could spark meaningful recovery of international travel.” Ralph Hollister, analyst, travel & tourism at GlobalData, observes that: “IATA’s Travel Pass is not the golden ticket to an instant recovery for the global travel sector, but it will no doubt help.” According to GlobalData, international air arrivals decreased by 48.1% YOY (Year-Over-Year) in 2020. Due to this unprecedented drop in demand, which...