Airlines
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...
US Set To Expand Cuba Flight Options
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed to select eight US airlines to begin scheduled flights between Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa and Havana as early as this fall. The proposal comes nearly one year after the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations in July 2015. “Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to re-engage Cuba,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Restoring regular air service holds tremendous...
June Busiest Month Ever at Billy Bishop Airport
PortsToronto, owners and operators of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport report that more than 250,000 passengers arrived and departed through the airport in June, marking the busiest month in the airport's history. Both Porter Airlines and Air Canada contributed to the high passenger numbers, which were a combination of leisure and business travellers. “With two award-winning commercial carriers with direct service to more than 20 destinations in Canada and the US, and connections to 80 destinations through partner airline agreements, Billy Bishop Airport is an important gateway...
Moderating Demand Trend Continues: IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported global passenger traffic results for May showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometres, or RPKs) rose 4.6%, compared to the same month in 2015, which was the same level achieved in April. Capacity climbed 5.5%, which pushed the average load factor down 0.7 percentage points to 78.7%. Demand for domestic traffic rose 5.1%, outpacing international demand growth of 4.3%. “After a very strong start to the year, demand growth is slipping back toward more historic levels. A combination of factors are likely...
Fly Away With Qatar Airways
Following the recent celebration of Qatar Airways’ fifth anniversary in Canada, the airline has marked the occasion and is thanking all Canadians for their support by offering a chance to win a pair of tickets to the destination of their choosing aboard Qatar. The contest is open to all legal residents of Canada and runs until July 18. For details, visit...