Airlines
Say Cheese, Say Hello to France!
Air France has launched a “Say cheese, Say Hello to France” contest for Canadian travel agents and to celebrate France’s National Holiday on July 14. Agents can win a pair of Economy tickets from Canada to France on Air France. Participation is easy: entrants have to post an original picture illustrating France and its “Bleu, blanc, rouge.” The contest is online at http://www.14july.ca until July 21. The prize will be awarded by an all French jury of Air France...
Air Transat Gets Renewed Level 3 – Performance Certification
Air Transat has once again achieved the highest level of certification, Level 3 – Performance, from ICI ON RECYCLE!. This is the official Government of Quebec recognition program established by the agency RECYC-QUÉBEC in 2003 to acknowledge outstanding efforts by industries, businesses and institutions that have implemented measures to responsibly manage their waste materials. Air Transat was first awarded Level 3 certification in 2011. Air Transat secured the renewed certification on the strength of its well-established waste- and hazardous-materials management programs, as well...
Pacific Coastal Airlines Goes Electronic
Pacific Coastal Airlines (8P) has introduced electronic ticketing, allowing travel agents to seamlessly add Pacific Coastal flights to a multi-airline e-ticket, or issue a stand-alone 8P ticket, via Sabre, Apollo or Worldspan. Agents can purchase electronic tickets for travel on Pacific Coastal Airlines using cash, Visa, MasterCard or American Express. With three different fare categories to choose from: Bravo (classes Z, M, L), Classic (B, H, V) and Encore (Q, R, Y), Pacific Coastal provides travellers with the ability to choose a fare that best suits their need of affordability,...
SWISS Unveils the Bombardier CS100
Swiss International Air Lines has presented its first Bombardier C Series aircraft – a CS100 – at Zurich Airport. According to officials, the short- and medium-haul twin jet, named Canton of Zurich, sets new benchmarks in terms of its inflight comfort, operating economics and environmental credentials. SWISS became the world’s first operator of the new Bombardier C Series when its first CS100 entered commercial service on July 15. SWISS is the launching customer and first operator of Bombardier’s totally newly developed short- and medium-haul C Series aircraft. The first...
Agents Get Up-Close Look at KLM’s 787 Dreamliner
A few days after its inaugural landing in Toronto on July 4, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines welcomed travel agents to get a sneak peek of the cabins of its 294-passenger Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Larger windows, a higher cabin pressure and special LED-lighting are all part of the Dreamliner flight experience. Wi-Fi is also available for those wanting to stay connected during their flight. In the KLM tradition of christening its aircraft – city names for B747s; famous places or parks for its B777s – the Dreamliner fleet is named after one of the typical Dutch export: flowers. Carnation,...
Qatar Acquiring 10% of LATAM
LATAM Airlines Group S.A., Latin America's leading airline group, and Qatar Airways, both members of the oneworld alliance, have entered into a subscription agreement providing for Qatar to acquire up to 10% of LATAM's total shares, which will be acquired in connection with a capital increase. As provided for in the agreement, LATAM will hold an Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting no later than Sept. 2 to propose a capital increase in the amount of US$613 million through the issuance of new shares at a price of US$10 per share. The announcement was made at the Farnborough...
Porter Orders Three More Q400 Turboprops
Porter Airlines has signed a firm purchase agreement with Bombardier for three Q400 turboprop airliners. Based on the list price of the Q400 aircraft, the order is valued at approximately US$93 million. The three aircraft will increase Porter’s Q400 aircraft fleet to 29 aircraft. Porter exclusively flies Q400 airliners. The first two deliveries are scheduled for December. “The Toronto-built Bombardier Q400 aircraft is everything you could ask for in a turboprop,” said Porter president Robert Deluce. “It is an important component of our award-winning customer experience....
Things Looking Up For ALTA
The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) reports that its member airlines carried 10.1 million passengers in May, up 5.6% from the previous year and excluding domestic traffic in Brazil. Traffic (RPK) grew 6.2% and capacity (ASK) increased 5.8%, bringing up the load factor to 79.8%, equivalent to 0.3 percentage points higher than in May 2015. ALTA member airlines - including Brazil domestic traffic - carried 14.7 million passengers in May, down 2.3% -- or 348,000 fewer passengers - from the previous year. Traffic (RPK) grew 2.3% and capacity (ASK) increased...