Airlines
Air Canada, Transat Deal Is Off
Air Canada and Transat A.T. Inc. ("Transat") have mutually agreed to terminate the Arrangement Agreement for the proposed acquisition of Transat by Air Canada. Air Canada and Transat had originally agreed in June 2019 on the acquisition, the terms of which were subsequently amended in August 2019 and then revised in October 2020 as a result of the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As previously disclosed, the acquisition was conditional on the approval of various regulatory authorities, including the European Commission ("EC"). In order to meet that key condition,...
Carriers Taking Off To USVI
The U.S. Virgin Islands are gearing up to welcome more airlift this summer. Following a meeting with American Airlines in Dallas, Texas on Friday, U.S. Virgin Islands Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte announced that the nation’s largest carrier will expand its service to the Territory to meet increased demand for summertime travel. Beginning on June 3, 2021, passengers in Dallas or connecting from Western and Midwestern cities will have not one but two daily flights from which to choose when traveling to St. Thomas, while Charlotte, North Carolina-based travelers will benefit...
Walsh Takes Over As IATA’s DG
It’s official. Willie Walsh is the new Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) succeeding Alexandre de Juniac. Commenting on his new role, Walsh said: “I am passionate about our industry and about the critical work that IATA does on behalf of its members, never more so than during the COVID-19 crisis. IATA has been at the forefront of efforts to restart global connectivity, including developing the IATA Travel Pass. Less visible but of equal importance, airlines continue to rely on IATA’s financial settlement systems, Timatic and other vital...
Swoop Gears Up For Summer
Swoop is expanding its summer schedule, adding new routes and more ultra-low fares to British Columbia. The airline's expanded summer operations will bring new service to Victoria and celebrates the return and addition of new routes from Kelowna. Charles Duncan, President of Swoop, said: “Our summer schedule expansion is in response to strong advance sales and in anticipation of demand from Canada's most price-conscious travellers as they look towards the accelerated pace of vaccine rollouts across the country.” Duncan added: “We are thrilled to be offering Canadians even...
Wrestling With The Issues
Those eager to kickstart this country's tourist trade must do more than convince potential tourists that it's once again safe to hit the road, a March 30 TIAC webinar was told. Joe Naaman of consulting firm Twenty31 wondered how those in tourism can “unscare” people who may be nervous that it's safe to again explore this country but also cautioned that those who do vacation in Canada must be received well on their vacations. Those in the hospitality trade must “make sure people (in hosting communities) are enthusiastic about tourism and are welcoming to visitors,” he...
Loyalty Is A Two-Way Street
Air Canada is updating Aeroplan Elite Status members to let them know that it is ensuring their status remains in effect and to give them flexibility and certainty. The changes include the extension of current Elite Status until the end of 2022, in addition to a previous extension through 2021, as well as the possibility to accelerate their status qualification in the years ahead. Mark Nasr, Senior Vice President, Products, Marketing and eCommerce at Air Canada, said that: “Loyalty is a two-way street, and we understand and appreciate why so many of your travel plans are interrupted...
Flair Lands In Montreal
Flair Airlines is expanding service to include Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) starting July 1, 2021, with direct flights to Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax and Abbotsford. The addition of Flair’s service to Montreal marks a milestone for the airline as it brings the first domestic ULCC service to the region. Flair’s network continues to grow within Canada as new aircraft are added to their fleet and preparation continues for the safe restart of travel. Flair’s ambitious expansion focuses on domestic markets first, ensuring all Canadians are connected with affordable...
IATA Research Backs Rapid Testing For Restart Of Travel
IATA is urging governments to accept best-in-class rapid antigen tests in fulfillment of COVID -19 testing requirements following the publication of new research by OXERA and Edge Health. The OXERA-Edge Health report, commissioned by IATA, found that antigen tests are: Accurate: The best antigen tests provide broadly comparable results to PCR tests in accurately identifying infected travellers. The BinaxNOW antigen test, for example, misses just one positive case in 1000 travellers (based on an infection rate of 1% among travelers). And it has similarly comparable performance to...