Airlines
Club Class Now Available On All Transat Sun Flights
Air Transat is advising agents that its Club Class is now available on all of its flights aboard Boeing 737s, enabling passengers travelling to Sun destinations to obtain the exclusive benefits and priority services of this upgrade. Passengers who book Club Class are entitled to priority services prior to departure and at the airport; complimentary seat selection; a generous baggage allowance, including two pieces of checked baggage of 25 kg each and a 15 kg carry-on; a choice of gourmet meals (depending on flight duration); and small inflight extras. Club Class seats on the Boeing 737...
Amadeus, Finnair, Skyscanner Join Forces
Amadeus has partnered with Finnair and Skyscanner to allow travellers purchasing Finnair flights from Skyscanner to complete their purchase without leaving the Skyscanner platform, offering a seamless process from search to booking. Finnair is working with Amadeus to launch a new solution, Amadeus Altea NDC, which is based on IATA's NDC (New Distribution Capability) XML-based messaging standard. Finnair is piloting the solution with Skyscanner, one of the world’s leading metasearch sites. This new NDC API from Amadeus offers an additional distribution option for travel retailers...
Air France Goes Michelin-Star
From March 1 until the end of February 2018, Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud will be creating new dishes for Business class passengers on Air France flights out of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. In a move designed to surprise its customers and confirm its role as an ambassador of fine French dining in the sky, Air France has asked French chef Boulud who’s settled in New York and creator of the Café Boulud at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and Maison Boulud at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal to create dishes for its Business class menu. Every month, a new dish will be...
Ancillary Revenue Goes Mobile
The latest report from IdeaWorksCompany applies the rise of the mobile age to the ancillary revenue revolution. IdeaWorksCompany researched the in-path booking capabilities of the mobile applications offered by the world's largest 25 airlines. It's a varied list which includes traditional global network airlines and eight low cost carriers. Here are a few top line observations from the report: 24 of the 25 airlines reviewed offer Android versions of mobile applications. Mobile apps are becoming adroit a la carte retailers. In particular, the apps offered by AirAsia, Delta,...
Travelport, Emirates Extend Partnership
Travelport and Emirates have today announced the ability to select and pay for seats in advance according to the Emirates Fare Brand chosen - available for the first time to book on Travelport's Travel Commerce Platform. The launch of advanced paid seating options for certain economy fares on Travelport continues to promote Emirates' ongoing investment in inflight customer experience which includes numerous new and innovative products. Previously only available on Emirates' website, the enhancement allows over 68,000 Travelport-connected online and offline travel agencies and travel...
Ethiopian Expands Network
Ethiopian Airlines is adding Antananarivo, Madagascar to its network, beginning March 28. Madagascar joins the carrier's expanding network of 95 worldwide destinations. Antananarivo is the capital and the largest city of Madagascar. The island nation has been classified as a “biodiversity hot-spot.” Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are unique, including the lemurs (pictured). Some ecologists have referred to it as the “eighth continent.” Other Ethiopian Airlines' destinations include Conakry Victoria Falls, Moroni and...
Sunwing Renews Cadet Program At U of W
Sunwing Airlines has announced that it's renewing its cadet program with the University of Waterloo. Established last year, the degree program resulted in the successful hire of four graduates as First Officers by Sunwing Airlines in July 2016. The news was shared last week by Captain John Hudson, Manager of Standards for Sunwing Airlines, during an event at the Region of Waterloo International Airport to mark the first commercial flight operated by one of the recently-hired cadets, First Officer Chelsea Anne Edwards, under the supervision of Captain Hudson; flight number Sunwing flight...
Air Canada Transformed
Air Canada is in the process of transforming itself into a ``global champion,” willing and able to take on all-comers in the super-competitive worldwide market, reports Montreal editor, Mike Dunbar in this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press. That was the lofty goal outlined by AC passenger airlines president Ben Smith to the investment community last week after his boss Calin Rovinescu reported unprecedented financial results for 2016. Revealing net income of $876 million - up half-a-billion dollars from 2015 - CEO Rovinescu stated: “We achieved outstanding...