Airlines
Air Canada Rolls Out Its Refund Plans
Air Canada has moved quickly to roll it is refund plans, advising that eligible customers who purchased a non-refundable ticket for travel on or after Feb. 1, 2020 but did not fly can now obtain a refund from the carrier by submitting a request online or with their travel agent. The revised COVID-19 refund policy covers tickets and Air Canada Vacations packages purchased before April 13, 2021 for flights cancelled either by the airline or by the customer for any reason. Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada, explained: “Air...
Flair Adds Ottawa-Kelowna Lift
Flair Airlines is adding a new, non-stop route between Ottawa International Airport (YOW) and Kelowna International Airport (YLW) beginning Aug. 4, 2021, with flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The carrier is expanding its network to include 19 destinations by summer; and it is will be adding 13 new aircraft to its fleet in 2021 in preparation for the safe restart of travel. Stephen Jones, president & CEO of Flair, said: “Growing our service by connecting two iconic destinations on each side of the country is an important step in our bringing low fares and affordable travel...
We Have Been Heard
The agency community is celebrating today following the announcement that the financial relief package agreed to by the federal government and Air Canada protects travel agency commissions. “Our messages have been heard,” was the reaction of ACTA president, Wendy Paradis as details of the agreement were announced. Said Paradis: “We are very pleased that the government has heard our messages loud and clear about commission recalls -- and that it has recognized the integral and important role that travel agents play in the industry.” The federal government’s massive...
Lucie Guillemette Named ACV President
Lucie Guillemette is the new president of Air Canada Vacations. The new role is in addition to her current responsibilities as Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Guillemette replaces Craig Landry as ACV’s president effective immediately. Landry has been president of the group since December 2015 and will remain Executive Vice President, Operations at Air Canada. During his tenure as president, he has successfully led the team in growing its business and reinforcing its position as a key player in the leisure market. The change in...
Porter Moves Resumption Date To June 21
Porter Airlines says that it is moving its tentative resumption of service date to June 21. In a statement, Michael Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines, said: “Over the past few weeks, government officials have openly discussed the relaxation of travel restrictions based on expectations that immunization programs will be well advanced in the United States and Canada by the start of this year. Deluce continued: “We recognize that short-term public health measures have been tightened recently in some jurisdictions. At the same time, we look to summer and prepare for the...
Singapore Accepts IATA Travel Pass
IATA is welcoming Singapore’s acceptance of pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test results on the IATA Travel Pass. From May 1, 2021, passengers travelling to Singapore will be able to use IATA Travel Pass to share their pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test results upon check-in with their airline, as well as on-arrival at the immigration checkpoints at Changi Airport. This is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and IATA to facilitate seamless and efficient travel through digital certificates of COVID-19 tests. Willie Walsh, IATA’s...
Negative Passenger Demand Continues
IATA is reporting that passenger traffic fell in February 2021, both compared to pre-COVID levels (February 2019) and compared to the immediate month prior (January 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 February 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern. IATA reports that: Total demand for air travel in February 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 74.7% compared to February...
TAP Launches Summer Network
TAP Air Portugal is gradually restoring its pre-COVID-19 flight operations with plans to operate 879 flights per week, on 100 routes, by August. The carrier will operate 51 flights a week from North America, with service to Lisbon from Boston, Newark, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Toronto, and Montreal. As well, TAP is adding eight new routes to Europe and Africa this summer: Fuerteventura, Ibiza, and Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Zagreb, Croatia; Djerba and Monastir, Tunisia; and Oujda and Agadir, Morocco. In total, TAP will operate 555 flights each week to European...