Airlines
Air Update: IATA, Nanaimo, Air France, KLM & More
IATA says that while it supports the wearing of face coverings for passengers and masks for crew on board aircraft “as a critical part of a layered approach to biosecurity to be implemented temporarily when people return to traveling by air, it does not support mandating social distancing measures that would leave ‘middle seats’ empty. The global airline industry association argues that evidence suggests that the risk of transmission on board aircraft is low, pointing out that mask-wearing by passengers and crew will reduce the already low risk, while avoiding the dramatic cost...
Air Canada Takes Off With CleanCare+ Program
Air Canada has launched Air Canada CleanCare+, a comprehensive program for personal safety and enhanced aircraft grooming to provide customers greater peace of mind during all stages of travel. The new program is designed to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 through such measures as mandatory pre-flight customer temperature checks in addition to required health questionnaires, seat assignment policies to allow for more personal space in Economy Class on all flights until June 30, 2020, and by providing all customers with care kits for hand cleaning and...
A Beacon Of Hope
Travel and analytics company, Cirium is reporting that domestic airline capacity in China is beginning to recover, with over 30% of its domestic capacity returning in the past two months. Cirium’s data indicates that China’s domestic capacity has recovered from a peak year-on-year drop of 71% on Feb. 24 to down being down just 33% on April 22. As many countries in Asia have passed what is hoped to be the peak of the pandemic, Cirium’s data shows trends of increased air travel capacity for the region, with intra-Asia capacity improving by 10% between April 14 and April...
Farelogix Helping Carriers With Social Distancing
Farelogix reports that many of its airline customers – including a tier one U.S. carrier – are using the FLX Merchandise offer engine to support in-flight social distancing. The solution dynamically adjusts seat maps to ensure individual travelers are seated apart while on board a flight, while enabling flexibility for families traveling together. Jim Davidson, CEO of Farelogix, said: “With our FLX Merchandise rules engine, we have always said ‘if you can dream it, you can build a dynamic rule for it’ and once again this is proving true.” He pointed out that: “To...
Air Canada Reports Q1 Results
Air Canada reported first quarter 2020 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $71 million compared to first quarter 2019 EBITDA of $583 million. The airline reported an operating loss of $433 million compared to operating income of $127 million in the first quarter of 2019. At March 31, 2020, unrestricted liquidity amounted to $6.523 billion compared to unrestricted liquidity of $7.380 billion at December 31, 2019. Commenting on the results, Air Canada president and chief executive officer, Calin Rovinescu said: “Our first quarter...
WestJet, ALPA Deal Saves More Jobs
WestJet has reached an agreement with the Airline Pilot Association (ALPA), to save more than 1,000 pilot jobs at WestJet, WestJet Encore and Swoop amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Previously, WestJet had confirmed that 1,700 pilots across WestJet, WestJet Encore and Swoop had received layoff notifications, effective either May 1 or June 1, 2020. Jeff Martin, executive vice-president and chief operating officer for WestJet, commented: “I'm pleased that ALPA and WestJet, through robust negotiations and collaboration have come together to minimize the impact of the...
Guyana Makes History With Director Pick
Carla James has been named director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and will assume her new responsibilities on May 1, 2020. James’ appointment is historic as she becomes the first indigenous woman to hold the director’s position. She succeeds the GTA’s current director, Brian T. Mullis, following the conclusion of his two-year contract on April 30, 2020. The GTA’s new director is a proud Akawaio and native of Kamarang Village in the Upper Mazaruni Region (Region 7), and was unanimously identified as the superior and most suitable candidate at the end of a rigorous...
IATA Releases New AGM Dates, March Results
Good news, bad news from IATA. The global airline industry association advised the dates for its rescheduled annual general meeting, moving it to November in Amsterdam, but it also reported passenger traffic demand results for March, revealing that government travel restrictions had taken hold, with traffic demand dropping by over 50% for the month. IATA reported that global passenger traffic results for March 2020 showed that demand -- measured in total revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs -- dived 52.9% compared to the year-ago period. That drop marked the largest decline in...