Airlines
Budapest Welcomes Transat
Budapest Airport welcomed the inaugural flight of its new airline partner, Air Transat, celebrating a significant stage of its exceptional route network development last week. Operated by its A330s, Air Transat's new weekly service from Toronto Pearson Airport (with an intermediate stop at Montreal Airport), marks the return of long-haul flights from the Americas to Budapest, and also sees the third wide-body scheduled service to arrive at the Hungarian gateway since the daily Dubai service from Emirates began last October, and Air China's Beijing flight in May. The direct service...
Hold My Fare
Emirates is now making it easier for customers in select markets and the UAE to book and lock in fares while they simultaneously plan their travel itineraries for their business trips, family holidays or weekend getaways. “Hold My Fare” is a new feature on http://www.emirates.com that offers customers the opportunity to “hold” their reservations and lock in competitive Emirates fares for up to 48 hours for a nominal fee, which is calculated based on the booked route or destination and applies to every passenger except infants. To lock in the best fare and preferred flight,...
Porter Named North America’s Best Regional Airline
For the second consecutive year, Porter Airlines was chosen as Best Regional Airline in North America at the 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards. More than 160 countries participate in the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to select the award winners. This year’s presentation ceremony was held at the International Paris Airshow. “Being selected as the best regional airline in North America for the second year in a row shows that our commitment to the highest level of service remains consistent,” said Porter president Robert Deluce. Porter emphasizes...
Transat Off To Budapest
Air Transat launched Budapest service from Toronto (via Montreal) June 17, restoring direct connections to the Hungarian city for the first time since 2008. Dignitaries greeted passengers at Pearson International, who were also treated to a light buffet and wine. The flight was welcomed by Hungary's consul general to Canada Stefania Szabo, who reported a 5% increase in visitations by Canadians to her homeland last year to a total of 34,000. “Canadians are discovering the not-so-secret that Budapest is hot and trendy,” she said. She noted that Hungary is “charming” beyond...
WestJet to Expand Encore Fleet
WestJet has signed a firm order for five Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, on top of a firm order for one of the aircraft signed in March. These transactions are conversions of options previously booked by WestJet. The five firm orders are for delivery in 2016 and 2017. “In just 24 months we have successfully built a coast-to-coast airline that is connecting more and more Canadians to the WestJet network,” said Ferio Pugliese, president, WestJet Encore. “Building WestJet Encore into a national airline is an important component of our strategic plan.” New WestJet Encore...
IATA Puts ‘Cabin OK’ Initiative On Hold
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is pausing the roll-out of its “Cabin OK” initiative and beginning a comprehensive reassessment in light of concerns expressed, primarily in North America. This will include further engagement with program participants, IATA membership and key stakeholders. The Cabin OK initiative was launched on June 9 with the aim of providing passengers with greater assurance that their carry-on bags will travel with them in the aircraft cabin, even when the flight is full. The initiative provides consumers with a voluntary option to use a...
Etihad Urges EC To Embrace Reforms
Etihad Airways is urging the European Commission to embrace “bold, exciting and world-leading reforms” as part of the Strategic Aviation Package to overhaul Europe's air transport industry. In a detailed submission to the Commission, the airline advocates a policy which actively facilitates competition and consumer choice, addresses critical shortfalls in aviation infrastructure and eases restrictions on market access and investments by non-European airlines. The carrier stated: “We welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important process, given our significant operations...
WestJet Taking Off To Gatwick
WestJet has picked London, England as the first transatlantic destination from Canada for its wide-body Boeing 767-300 aircraft. Service from Canada to London will be through London Gatwick. According to WestJet's executive vice-president, commercial, Bob Cummings: “This news marks the next phase in the international portion of our strategic plan. WestJet is at the right scale to make this step in our evolution. Combined with our low-cost approach and renowned people-driven service, we have the network, brand and infrastructure to successfully enter and grow in the wide-body market....