Airlines
Swoop Takes Off With Loonie Sale
Swoop has launched “The Loonie Seat Sale” offering 100,000 seats for a base fare of just a loonie, before taxes and fees. With one-way fares from Abbotsford to Hamilton, London, ON, Edmonton or Winnipeg for as little CDN$12 all-in, Swoop's Loonie Seat Sale emphasizes its commitment to transparency, breaking down the fees and taxes associated with Canadian airfare and giving travellers more visibility into where each dollar of their airfare goes. Steven Greenway, president of Swoop, said: “This sale not only gives Canadians more opportunities to explore North America, but also...
Agents’ Choice Is Back
Are you ready to pick your favourites? Well it's that time again as Baxter Media launches the 2020 Agents' Choice Readership Survey this week. Agents' Choice is Canada's original, authoritative and most popular travel industry poll and each year it asks Canadian travel agents to pick their favourite suppliers in over 40 different categories – ranging from airlines to tour operators; cruise lines to destinations; coach operators to car rentals; and a whole lot more. How popular you ask? Well in 2019, 6,512 Canadian travel agents voted for their favourite suppliers in the annual...
Something Special From Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines believes that a picture is worth a thousand words and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its operations out of Canada, the carrier has commissioned a commemorative book. The 10x10, 100-page photography book is a unique gift for diplomatic and travel partners to celebrate this milestone and highlight the unity and similarities between Turkey and Canada. “Take Your Seat” uses a director’s chair that can be found in every featured photograph. “It is a symbol to inspire us to foster a sense of oneness with people, planet and life,” said Randy VanDerStarren,...
Swoop Grows In The East
Swoop is expanding its East Coast network, with its summer 2020 schedule featuring flights between Hamilton, Ontario and St. John's, NL; Moncton, NB; and Charlottetown, PEI. The new service will begin in June as Swoop receives its tenth aircraft. Steven Greenway, president of Swoop, said: “The growth of our fleet means more opportunities for Canadians as we continue our mission of making air travel simple, affordable and accessible for every traveller. Our growth in Eastern Canada is an exciting milestone for Swoop, proving our ability to develop our network domestically, while also...
IATA Reports November 2019 Traffic Results
IATA reports that global passenger traffic – measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs -- for November 2019 grew by 3.3% compared to the same month in 2018. This was unchanged from October’s result and below the long-term trend. Capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 1.8%, and load factor climbed 1.1 percentage points to 81.1%, which was a record for any November. All regions saw annual increases in traffic. Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, commented: “November’s moderate result reflects the continuing influence of slower...
Walsh Stepping Down As IAG Chief Executive
Willie Walsh is stepping down as the chief executive of IAG. He will stand down from the role, and from IAG's board of directors, on March 26, 2020 and will retire on June 30, 2020. Luis Gallego, currently Iberia chief executive, will succeed Walsh. Antonio Vázquez, IAG chairman, said: “Willie has led the merger and successful integration of British Airways and Iberia to form IAG. Under Willie’s leadership IAG has become one of the leading global airline groups.” Vazquez continued: “Willie has been the main driver of this unique idea that is IAG. I hugely admire his...
Optimistic Outlook For 2020
According to ForwardKeys, growth in international air travel – as measured by passenger journeys – grew by 4.5% in 2019. That's ahead of global economic growth, but it is significantly slower growth than last year, 6.0%; and it is slower than the trend over the last decade, which averages 6.8% per annum. However, ForwardKeys' latest data indicates that the outlook for the coming three months is considerably more optimistic, with international flight bookings, as of Jan. 1, 2020 standing 8.3% ahead of where they were at the start of 2019. Olivier Ponti, VP Insights,...
Swoop Tops Two Million Mark
Swoop reports that it has now carried two million travellers since its first flight took off in June 2018. To mark the milestone, Swoop presented an unsuspecting guest with a round-trip flight to anywhere Swoop flies. The lucky traveller, Travis Pickering, was surprised by Swoop on-board a flight from Edmonton International Airport (EIA) to McCarran International Airport with his wife and two children. Shane Workman, head of flight operations for Swoop, said: “Reaching this milestone of having flown two million travellers in this short timeframe affirms the need for Canadians to...