Airlines
Star Alliance Celebrates 20 years
Star Alliance returned to Frankfurt, the place of its birth, over the weekend to celebrate 20 years of “Connecting People and Cultures.” For the next decade, the Alliance announced a strategy of harnessing digital technology to further enhance the travel experience of Alliance customers. The Alliance’s chief executive board, comprising the CEOs of all 28 member airlines, held its summer board meeting in Frankfurt on May 14, during which the CEOs were briefed on the progress of the Alliance’s current business plan and future strategy. The meeting fell exactly 20 years to the...
WestJet Returns to Phoenix-Mesa
WestJet reports it will once again operate flights to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport from Alberta this fall. After a successful inaugural season, twice-weekly non-stop flights from Calgary will begin Nov. 9 and a weekly flight from Edmonton begins Nov. 11. Seats are available for purchase now on WestJet.com. “The Phoenix East Valley has proven to be a popular market for Canadian air travellers. The new Gateway Airport service complements our existing schedule at Phoenix Sky Harbor and provides air travellers with exceptional connectivity between the entire Valley and many Canadian...
Staying In Touch With AC Rouge
Staying in touch... Air Canada Rouge has begun offering high-speed, satellite Internet aboard its Airbus A319 aircraft. According to officials, Rouge passengers now have access to the fastest Internet service available on a Canadian airline, giving them the ability to e-mail, stream video and music, surf the web and more while flying. “Air Canada was the first Canadian carrier to offer customers in-flight connectivity and today, we are pleased to extend this service on Air Canada Rouge,” said Benjamin Smith, president, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. “High-speed Internet is...
WestJet Pilots Vote to Join ALPA
The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) reports that the more than 1,400 pilots at WestJet have voted for representation by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). With 97% of eligible pilots participating in the election, 62% voted in favour of joining the world’s largest pilot union. “WestJet pilots told us that it’s time for a certified union, and the Organizing Committee worked hard to build unity within their group,” said ALPA president, Capt. Tim Canoll. “With ALPA representation, pilot unity plays an integral role in supporting the process of...
Air Canada Takes Off To Berlin
Travel trade types in Toronto celebrated with Air Canada and representatives from the German National Tourist Office and Visit Berlin as the airline added Berlin to the destinations that its “ever-expanding” route network now serves. AC's vice-president, global sales, Duncan Bureau told an audience of about 120 that with the launch of Berlin service – beginning June 3 and operated four times a week by Air Canada rouge – the airline has now introduced 20 new destinations to its route network so far in 2017. Last year, Bureau pointed out, Air Canada launched service into 28...
Believe It Or Not: Airline Customer Satisfaction Improving
Despite plenty of recent bad publicity, it seems lower fares, better on-time performance, fewer lost bags and the lowest bump rate ever recorded have contributed to steady improvement in customer satisfaction with North American airlines, according to a J.D. Power 2017 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. In fact, according to the survey, overall customer satisfaction with airlines has reached its highest level ever, continuing a trend that now stretches five consecutive years. “It’s impossible to think about airline customer satisfaction without replaying the recent images...
The Right Decision For Everyone
Air Canada will launch its own loyalty program in 2020 when the airline's commercial agreement with Aimia – the operator of Aeroplan – expires. Effective June 30, 2020, Aeroplan will no longer be the loyalty program for Air Canada. Aeroplan has been independently owned and operated by Aimia for almost a decade. By operating its own loyalty program, Air Canada will be better able to strengthen its customer relationships and deliver a more consistent end-to-end customer experience. Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, said: “Our relationship with our more than...
SunExpress Makes The Switch
SunExpress – which is the joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa – has made the switch over to IBS Software's PSS platform, iFly Res, to power its passenger reservation, ticketing, and departure control operations. The carrier has a fleet of over 70 aircraft and it carried 8 million passengers in 2016 to more than 80 destinations across Europe, Turkey and Northern Africa. iFly Res enables a strongly enhanced general communication between SunExpress and its important distribution network, the European travel agencies. The new system contains the distribution standard...