Airlines
IATA Picks de Juniac For Top Job
The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) board of governors has unanimously approved to recommend Alexandre de Juniac, chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM, to succeed retiring director general and CEO, Tony Tyler. With confirmation by the IATA Annual General Meeting to be held June 1-3 in Dublin, Ireland, de Juniac will take up duties as the head of the association after a short handover period. “The IATA board of governors is very pleased to recommend Alexandre de Juniac to lead IATA. Under Tony Tyler’s leadership IATA has grown stronger. This has been achieved by...
Air Canada Partners in Biojet Initiative
Air Canada will participate in Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI), a three-year collaborative project with 14 stakeholder organizations to introduce 400,000 litres of sustainable aviation biofuel (biojet) into a shared fuel system at a yet to be determined Canadian airport. Previous Air Canada biofuel flights used biojet that was segregated and loaded separately into an aircraft via tanker truck. By contrast, CBSCI's objective is to start developing a more efficient operational framework that will introduce biojet into a multi-user, co-mingled airport fuel supply...
WestJet to Open New Brunswick Contact Centre
WestJet will open a contact centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, an initiative designed to enhance service for its French-speaking guests. The new facility will open in September and over the next four years will create more than 400 primarily home-based jobs, two-thirds of which will be full time. “We've always taken our responsibility to provide our signature friendly, caring and stress-free service in both of Canada's official languages seriously,” said WestJet president Gregg Saretsky. “A second call centre based in Canada's only officially bilingual province, in a city known...
Alaska Air Group to Acquire Virgin America
Alaska Air Group, Inc., parent company of Alaska Airlines, and Virgin America, Inc. report that their boards of directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement, under which Alaska Air Group will acquire Virgin America for US$57 per share in cash. Including existing Virgin America indebtedness and capitalized aircraft operating leases, the aggregate transaction value is approximately US$4 billion. According to officials, with an expanded West Coast presence, a larger customer base, and an enhanced platform for growth, Alaska Airlines will be positioned to provide more...
AC rouge Brings Eastern Europe Closer to Home
Air Canada rouge is looking well beyond Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower with its summer Europe program. The airline will have non-stop summer service from Toronto to Prague, Budapest and Warsaw, with Prague service running May 29 to Sept. 29, Warsaw flights available from June 14 to Sept. 30 and the carrier linking Ontario's capital with Budapest from June 10 to Oct. 15. “Eastern Europe is closer than ever before,” Vijay Bathija, Air Canada's vice-president commercial told a Wednesday Toronto gathering. The new service underscores the quick growth Air Canada rouge – launched...
Etihad, Amadeus Renew Partnership
Etihad Airways and Amadeus have renewed their Full Content Agreement that ensures Amadeus-connected travel agencies will continue to have access to the airline’s full inventory of flights, seats and other services. Under the agreement, Amadeus’ expanded rich content capabilities allow Etihad Airways to display images of its product and ancillary services, such as exit row seating, so that travellers can actually see the airline’s services on offer when booking through travel agents. “The guest experience is at the core of everything we do at Etihad Airways. Rich content...
Etihad Appoints New GM for Canada
Fatma Al Mehairi has been appointed general manager for Canada at Etihad Airways. Based in Toronto, Al Mehairi will lead the further development of the airline’s commercial strategy in Canada. She will also be responsible for further growing Etihad's relationships with its travel trade and corporate customers and will report to Martin Drew, senior vice-president of The Americas for Etihad Airways. Al Mehairi joined Etihad Airways in 2010 as part of the airline’s Graduate Management Program, where she was trained in multiple aspects of Etihad Airways’ fast-growing...
EVA Expanding Its Reach in North America
EVA Air is further developing its North American services by increasing frequency on current routes and introducing services to a new city, Chicago. From current gateways in Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, EVA already offers more flights and seat capacity between North America and Taiwan than any other airline. EVA Air, a Star Alliance member, operates a total of 65 North America flights every week and will up that number to 77 by the end of this year. EVA is using seven new Boeing 777-300ERs added to its fleet this year to boost...