Airlines
ATPCO Acquires Routehappy
ATPCO has acquired Routehappy. The acquisition broadens ATPCO's value to the entire airline distribution ecosystem by enabling rich content, making it a centralized platform for both airfare data and rich content. Jerry Foran, chairman of the board of ATPCO and head of product delivery, revenue management at British Airways, said, “Airline merchandising is rapidly evolving, as rich content is more widely adopted across both NDC and traditional distribution models. As an industry, we want travellers to be able to see, and trust, the differences between flight options.” Foran...
Porter Doubles Stephenville Schedule
Porter Airlines has released its 2018 schedule for Stephenville, Nfld., featuring new spring and fall service. Fifty round-trip flights will operate between Halifax, beginning April 14 through Jan. 5, 2019, with schedules varying by season. This more than doubles service from the previous year. “We are ready to begin our fifth year of service in Stephenville with more flights than ever,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines. “This area of the province deserves more service and we believe people will respond to having options during the most popular times of...
Air Canada Goes YVR-Delhi Year-Round
Air Canada reports that its current seasonal non-stop Vancouver-Delhi flights will become year-round starting June 8. “Customer response to our nonstop Vancouver-Delhi seasonal flights initially launched in 2016 has been extremely positive, and we are very pleased to extend the only flights between Western Canada and India to year-round beginning in June,” said Benjamin Smith, president, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. “Our non-stop Vancouver to Delhi flights together with our non-stop Toronto to Delhi and Mumbai flights represent three year-round routes to India launched...
ACV Increases Winter Lift
Air Canada Vacations (ACV) is advising agents and their clients that it will offer increased winter lift on select destinations on board Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. This includes: Air Canada Rouge will offer another flight option from Montreal to Cancun on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from March 2-18; The Toronto to Cozumel route with Air Canada has been extended to April. Flights will also operate Saturdays on April 14 and April 21; The Calgary to Cancun route will now also operate on Mondays from Feb. 26 to April 23 on board Air Canada Rouge; Ottawa to Punta...
WestJet Adds Paris, London From Halifax
WestJet is adding daily direct flights between Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) and Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris and Gatwick Airport (LGW) in London, U.K. All flights will be operated on the airline's newest Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft. One-way intro fares from Halifax to Paris or London are available for $199, taxes included. “As the carrier with the most transatlantic flights from Halifax, we are thrilled to announce our first foray onto the European mainland,” said Ed Sims, WestJet executive vice-president, Commercial. “Venturing to London and now...
U.S. Virgin Islands Have A Plan
The U.S. Virgin Islands has a plan. In the wake of the two Category 5 hurricanes that hit in September, the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism has developed a 150-day rolling marketing plan to share with industry stakeholders. Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty said: “This new plan has been developed to establish priorities and a road map of activities we will pursue as our destination recovers.” Nicholson-Doty noted that the “abridged plan” will be fluid and adaptable to the current dynamic recovery environment and the Department of Tourism is committed...
Making The Leap
IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative took a “critical” leap forward last October when all three global distribution system (GDS) providers – Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport – confirmed that they will achieve the highest level of certification as aggregators by the end of this year, reports Quebec editor, Mike Dunbar in his multi-part series on IATA in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. According to NDC program director Yanik Hoyles, getting the GDSs on board was crucial, since their commitment signaled that NDC has been embraced by all...
Good News From Jamaica
Clearly, Canadians were making it Jamaica, again in 2017. The Jamaica Tourist Board's (JTB) regional director – Canada, Philip Rose told Press Today that Jamaica welcomed 405,174 Canadian visitors in 2017. And that, Rose said, represents an increase of 8.9% over the previous year. “I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate my team for all their ongoing efforts. I thank our airline, tour operator and hotel partners for their commitment to Jamaica,” observed a clearly pleased Rose, before continuing: “Lastly, I invite all mentioned above to join me in saluting our...