Airlines
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...
IATA Renews Call For Urgent Action For Aviation
IATA continues to call on regulators to take urgent action to help civil aviation operate seamlessly and safely between states during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to help facilitate the restart when the virus is contained. The global airline industry association is asking states to: Work with the aviation industry to find temporary measures to ensure that licenses and certificates critical to managing aviation safety are extended to remain valid. File their temporary measures with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); Recognize the measures of other...
Air France, KLM Maintain Canadian Flights
The Air France KLM Group reports that it’s continuing to operate flights to Canada from both the Netherlands and France. Currently, it’s serving Canada 7 times a week – 3 flights to Montreal with Air France and 4 flights to Toronto with KLM. The flights are open to passengers and freight. Connections to other Canadian cities are also available through Group partner WestJet. Vincent Etchebehere, general manager Air France KLM Canada, commented: “We are continuing to provide a safe and healthy flying experience for our customers. Our Canada-bound flights make it...
Porter Airlines Shifts Restart Of Flights To June 29
Porter Airlines will be extending its temporary suspension of all flights due to COVID-19 by four weeks until June 29. The airline stopped flying on March 21, as travel restrictions and public health measures were increasing in North America. Michael Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines, explained: “Our initial restart date of June 1, was something we believed was reasonable at the time.” However, he continued: “While there are many promising signs about how COVID-19 is being contained, it is also clear that border restrictions, government-imposed stay-at-home...
Sunwing Will Use CEWS To Bring Back Staff
Sunwing Travel Group is bringing 1,800 employees back onto its payroll through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program. The move provides Sunwing’s Canada-based employees with additional financial support for the duration of the wage subsidy’s term. Stephen Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, said: “Sunwing was formed on a vision of not only being a high-quality vacation company, but also providing high-quality jobs for Canadians. Unfortunately, during these unprecedented times we had been forced to reduce our workforce.” Hunter continued: “Throughout this...
Revenue Losses Mount, More Jobs At Risk: IATA
A growing number of jobs are at risk as European airlines report increasing revenue losses as passenger traffic continues to drop. Calling for urgent government action to preserve air services, IATA says that the potential revenue loss by European carriers in 2020 has grown to $89 billion and passenger demand (measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers) is projected to be 55% below 2019 levels. Previous estimates by IATA – released March 24 – showed revenue losses of $76 billion and a passenger demand drop of 46%. Overall, IATA is estimating that the present 90% collapse in air...
A Lasting Impact
It is not a pretty picture for the travel and tourism industry, but there is hope. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), up to 50 million jobs in the sector are at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic and global travel could be adversely impacted by up to 25% in 2020 -- equivalent to a loss of three months of global travel. Zongqing Zhou, PhD, professor at the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management of Niagara University, says that “the impact of COVID-19 is going to be more lasting and game-changing for the country's airlines than even 9/11 and the...
WestJet Makes More Domestic Flight Changes
WestJet is making further changes to its domestic flight schedule, removing about 4,000 weekly flights -- or 600 daily flights -- from May 5 through June 4, 2020. The carrier says the changes are needed to address significantly reduced guest demand during the COVID-19 crisis. While some city pairings have been temporarily removed, WestJet continuesto serve the 38 Canadian airports to which we currently operate, ensuring that those with essential travel requirements can get where they need to be and that cargo goods like blood, medical products and food supplies can continue to...