Airlines
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...
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...