Airlines
WestJet Goes Year-Round to Europe
WestJet is bringing Europe closer to Canadians by extending two of its new non-stop transatlantic services to London (Gatwick) from seasonal to year-round. Flights from Calgary and Toronto to London will now operate on a year-round basis, three times weekly and daily respectively through the winter, while service from Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and St. John's will operate seasonally as announced in September 2015. “Today's announcement is another important step in the international expansion of WestJet,” said Chris Avery, WestJet vice-president, Network Planning, Alliances...
Turning a NewLeaf With $89 Flights
Billing itself as Canada's first “ultra-low-cost” travel company, Winnipeg-based NewLeaf Travel unveiled details of its inaugural flight schedule – operated by Flair Airlines – which features non-stop flights to and from Hamilton, Halifax, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Kelowna and Abbotsford and fares starting from $89. Service begins on Feb. 12 and flights can now be booked by going to the company's newly launched web site – http://www.flynewleaf.ca. During the launch event in Hamilton, NewLeaf president and CEO Jim Young observed, “It’s a New Year and we are happy to...
WestJet Sets New Single-Day Record
WestJet was expected to fly 74,247 guests across its network yesterday, setting a new single-day record. The airline's previous single-day record was 72,240 guests, set on July 31, 2015, the civic holiday long weekend. The airline also marked another milestone this holiday season, flying its 20 millionth guest in a single year on Dec. 27,...
Etihad Appealing AirBerlin Ruling
Etihad Airways has launched fresh legal action in a bid to overturn a German court's decision to revoke the approval for 29 of its codeshare flights with airberlin. Last week, the Administrative Court of Braunschweig decided that the German Ministry of Transport was entitled to reject the 29 Etihad Airways - airberlin codeshares, which had been approved only until Jan. 15, 2016. As the notice of appeal was filed in the higher administrative court in Luneburg, Etihad Airways' president and CEO, James Hogan, reiterated the airline's unwavering support for airberlin, saying it remained...
Re-Imagining The Guest
As its guests turn to new channels to connect with it, Etihad Airways is taking steps to transform its digital strategy. The first of these steps for the Abu Dhabi-based carrier is a three-year, multi-million dollar agreement with Cognizant that's directed at defining Etihad's digital strategy and re-imagining the guest experience. By bringing together its digital strategy, technology, industry and experiential design expertise, Cognizant will conduct a comprehensive study of Etihad Airways' current business and technology footprint to outline and operationalize a best-in-class digital...
Improved Airport Experience Drives Traveller Spending
The airport industry has undergone a major cultural shift, as traveller experience has become the focal point of its strategy to improve overall satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2015 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. Now in its 10th year, the study measures overall traveller satisfaction with large- and medium-sized North American airports by examining six factors (in order of importance): terminal facilities; airport accessibility; security check; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check; and terminal shopping. In this year’s study, overall traveller satisfaction with...
Boys and Girls Club Youth Take Flight With WestJet
WestJet continues to celebrate the spirit of the season with a surprise adventure for Boys and Girls Clubs. As part of an early Christmas gift, WestJet surprised 16 youth leaders from Boys and Girls Clubs (BGC) of Calgary and Orlando, Florida with the adventure of a lifetime. To view the WestJet video, click http://bit.ly/1OaqJUv. The heartwarming video stars eight youth from the BGC of Calgary and eight youth from BGC of Central Florida as they travel across North America by plane, volunteer in two communities, forge lifelong friendships and have fun in a way. The youth were...
National Kicks Off New Windsor-Orlando Service
National Airlines and Windsor, Ont., recently celebrated the inaugural passenger flight from Windsor International Airport to Orlando Sanford International Airport. Scheduled service to Windsor is available Sundays and Thursdays, departing Orlando at 10:30 a.m. EST. Flights return to Orlando from Windsor on the same days, departing Windsor at 2:30 p.m. EST. The airline has also launched non-stop flights from Orlando to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and will begin flights to St. John’s next year. National Airlines’ detailed flight schedule is available at...