Airlines
IATA By The Numbers
IATA reports that global passenger traffic results for May showed that demand – measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs – rose 7.7% compared to the same month in 2016. That was slower than the 10.9% growth recorded in April, however, IATA notes that this was still well ahead of the 5-year and 10-year average growth rates. Capacity climbed 6.1%, and load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 80.1%, which was a record high for the month. All regions, excluding the Middle East and North America, posted record-high May load factors. After adjusting for inflation, airfares...
Record Setting Results
Air Canada carried close to one million customers throughout the six-day holiday period, during which it achieved a single-day record for passengers carried. On Thurs., June 29, AC welcomed aboard 166,850 customers – a record for Canada's flag carrier – and from June 29 to July 4 over 930,000 customers took flight with Air Canada. Calin Rovinescu, president and chief executive officer of Air Canada, observed: “As Canadians celebrated our country's 150th birthday, Air Canada was hard at work safely transporting record numbers of customers to their destinations. This continues...
Off The Beaten Path In Germany
The German National Tourist Office, Lufthansa and the state of Bavaria teamed up to host a group of top travel executives from Canada late last month. The group included Kim Clarke, director of sales, Globus family of brands; Mike Foster, president, Nexion Travel; Franca Iuele, director of marketing Canada, Ensemble Travel Group; Penny Martin, vice-president, The Travel Agent Next Door; Brett Walker, general mManager, Collette Vacations; and Antje Splettstoesser, director, German National Tourist Office. Splettstoesser provided Press Today with a first hand report on the trip and what...
WestJet Stampede Partnership Bigger Than Ever
During this year's Calgary Stampede, July 7-16, WestJet invites all cowboys and cowgirls to come and check out the new and expanded “WestJet Destination Derby” featuring the biggest prize giveaway yet. The Derby brings an all-new, interactive gaming experience to the midway, where guests can play complimentary “skee-ball” for a guaranteed prize, which may include flights and rodeo tickets. Other prizes include: flights to anywhere WestJet flies; tickets to the day's Stampede rodeo event; WestJet adult “capes”; rain ponchos; a variety of inflatable aircraft; aircraft...
San Antonio Sizzles
Home to Texas' top two attractions – the Alamo and the River Walk – San Antonio, like the rest of the Lone Star State, is proving to be a popular vacation destination for Canadians, attracting about 60,000 a year, reports assistant editor, Greg Coates in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. And getting there has never been easier, with Air Canada launching new daily direct service from Toronto to San Antonio just in time for the busy summer season. A delegation of San Antonio tourism officials recently visited Toronto to promote Texas’ “City of the Alamo” and...
Porter Opens The Door For Aspiring Pilots
Porter Airlines welcomed aspiring pilots from as far away as Calgary and Yellowknife to its annual Destination Porter Open House at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Destination Porter is a mentorship program introduced to students early in flight training through outreach sessions. The open house, an exclusive event for students who are accepted into the program, provides opportunities to meet experienced pilots and executives, and learn about the culture and benefits of working at Porter. In June, Porter pilots volunteered their time to facilitate tours, provide mentorship advice...
Air Canada Responds to CBC Story on Skytrax Awards
The naming of Air Canada as the winner of Best Airline in North America by Skytrax World Airline Awards was cause for celebration at the airline, but a review of the award by the CBC did not go down well with airline management. Air Canada has won the title six times in the past eight years, lending even more credence to the celebrations. It was achieved through surveys of almost 20 million air travellers, and the title was unveiled during the 2017 International Paris Air Show. “This award is a significant milestone in the transformation of Air Canada into one of the world's...
Air Canada Rouge Marks Four Years
Along with Canada, Air Canada Rouge celebrated its birthday July 1, marking four years of service. From its first flight on Canada Day 2013, Air Canada's leisure carrier has grown to 49 aircraft from four, created 1,800 incremental jobs and flown more than 16 million customers. “Air Canada Rouge has proven itself to be tremendously popular with customers, as shown by steady growth that today has it operating more than 100 routes, up from an original 14,” said Benjamin Smith, president, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. “It has also been a key driver of Air Canada's strategy,...