Airlines
IATA Harshly Condemns Belgian ATC Strike
IATA has harshly condemned strike action by air traffic controllers (ATC) in Belgium which “significantly disrupted” flights out of Brussels today. Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of IATA, said that: “This action by air traffic controllers is a kick in the teeth for all the airline and airport staff who have worked so hard to reconnect Brussels to the world after the appalling terrorist attack just three weeks ago.” Tyler continued: “It is the height of irresponsibility to cut a vital service and doing so without warning can only be seen as malicious. If we cannot...
Demand Stays Strong
IATA reports that global passenger traffic results for February continued to show strong demand growth for both domestic and international travel. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 8.6%, compared to the same month last year. Monthly capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 9.6%, and load factor declined 0.7 percentage points to 77.8%. Tony Tyler, director general and CEO for IATA, said: “In the first two months of 2016, demand for passenger connectivity is off to its strongest start in eight years. However, February was the first month since the...
Agents To The Rescue
ASTA members are working to protect clients from negative impacts after a number of U.S.-based carriers – including American, Delta and United – made changes to their domestic pricing structure that have resulted in changes to the cost of some airfares and which have particularly impacted on business travellers Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA, said that: “The simple way to explain what is happening is that certain multi-segment itineraries now cost a significantly higher amount when they are presented as a single ticket rather than multiple one-way tickets.” Kerby...
Air Transat Brussels Flights to Start April 26
Following the resumption of operations at Brussels Airport, Air Transat reports that its direct flights between Montreal and the Belgian capital for will start on April 26, as planned, for the summer season. Air Transat will offer the non-stop flight between Montreal and Brussels three times a week – on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays – during peak season. It will also offer three new weekly connecting flights between Toronto and Montreal, allowing travellers from Toronto to fly to Brussels via...
Porter Enhances Windsor, Thunder Bay Service
Porter Airlines is offering new direct flights from Windsor and Thunder Bay to Ottawa and Montreal. The enhanced service begins May 2. Select flights originating in Thunder Bay and Windsor will continue through to Ottawa or Montreal on the same aircraft after a short stop in Toronto. Passengers will no longer have to deplane in Toronto and change aircraft with this new direct service, significantly reducing travel time by up to two hours. Direct roundtrip flights originating in Thunder Bay and Windsor operate as follows: Thunder Bay-Ottawa, twice on weekdays; Thunder...
Air Canada Celebrates New Routes
Air Canada continued celebrating its 11 new routes with an agent appreciation event in Toronto last night (April 6) at the top of the Manulife tower. Front and centre were new routes to the likes of Warsaw, Budapest and Prague, along with Seoul, Korea; but there is also new service to London and US destinations like Washington, DC, Jacksonville and Salt Lake City. Air Canada VP of Global Sales Duncan Bureau (pictured) noted that the airline has invested $9 billion in new aircraft and jokingly asked the 100 or so guests to each leave $10 at the door to help pay for it. “A...
Spotlight on Portugal
Representatives from Visit Portugal and 25 Portuguese tourism partners were in Toronto yesterday (April 6) for round table sessions to meet with travel agents, tour operators and buyers. “We started in Vancouver and that was really exciting because that was the first time ever there had been a Visit Portugal event in Vancouver,” William Delgado, country manager, Canada, for the Portuguese National Tourist Office, told PressToday. “We had a very good reaction and very good turn out there as well.” Portugal saw 15.5 million visitors in 2015, including 155,000 Canadians, which...
Brussels Airlines Now In Canada
Star Alliance member Brussels Airlines is now flying from Toronto (Pearson) to its home base in Brussels five times a week, and onwards to other destinations in Europe and Africa. Toronto is Brussels Airlines' first destination in Canada. The flight leaves Toronto every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m., arriving the next morning in Brussels at 7:50 a.m. local time. The flight to Toronto leaves Brussels Airport at 10:30 a.m. and arrives at Pearson at 1:20 p.m. local time. The new service is operated with Airbus A330 aircraft equipped with Brussels Airlines...