Airlines
AC Set to Resume Full Brussels Schedule
With the re-opening of Brussels Airport, Air Canada will resume its regular daily flights between Montreal and Brussels as of tomorrow (April 7) and between Belgium and Canada on April 8. Air Canada's rebooking policy remains in place for customers who purchased an Air Canada ticket no later than March 22 and whose itinerary includes a flight to, from or via Brussels Airport (BRU) between March 22 and April 14. Travellers scheduled to travel during the affected time period may contact Air Canada Reservations to change their flight free of charge to another date between now and April...
Porter Joins UATP Community
Porter Airlines is continuing to enhance its corporate travel base by becoming a UATP (Universal Air Travel Plan) Merchant. “The corporate travel market is thriving within our network of routes,” said Michael Deluce, Porter executive vice-president and chief commercial officer. “UATP is a payment option that makes the travel experience easier and more efficient for many of our corporate travellers.” From its base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Porter flies to 23 destinations in Canada and the US. (http://www.UATP.com,...
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...