Airlines
A Plaza Premium Experience
Plaza Premium Lounge has officially opened newly upgraded lounge at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The lounge, one of four Plaza Premium Lounge spaces at YVR, is located in the airport’s new A-B Connector on Level 3 Departures of the Domestic Terminal. The 6,390-square foot space continues Plaza Premium’s commitment to offering all travellers a first class experience regardless of airline or class of travel. The opening of the new lounge follows the 2014 facelift of Plaza Premium Lounge in YVR’s International Terminal. The company will also open a lounge in Winnipeg...
Safety Always The Top Priority
IATA has (IATA) released its 2014 commercial aviation safety performance results. The 2014 global jet accident rate (measured in hull losses per 1 million flights) was 0.23, which was the lowest rate in history and the equivalent of one accident for every 4.4 million flights. This was an improvement over 2013 when the global hull loss rate stood at 0.41 (an average of one accident every 2.4 million flights) and also an improvement over the five-year rate (2009-2013) of 0.58 hull loss accidents per million flights jet. There were 12 fatal accidents involving all aircraft types in 2014...
You May Never Want To Leave
Now this is neat – https://www.youtube.com/user/dubaiairports – plus it answers the age-old question: What could a penguin possibly do to entertain itself in the world’s number one international airport? And it also suggests that Dubai Airports' new social media campaign – which is splashed across its YouTube and Facebook pages – is going to get a lot of attention. The point of it all, of course, is that DXB serves up a large and diverse product and service offering designed to delight passengers who arrive, connect or depart to over 270 destinations around the globe. From...
Changing Situation
In this week's digital edition of Canadian Travel Press, executive editor, Bob Mowat reports that it's been a long time – cast your mind back to the 1990s – since Air Canada has paid travel agents for booking its products on the Global Distribution Systems (GDS). As of April 1 that will all change and agents across the country will be able to earn 4% commission on GDS bookings of Air Canada's Flex, Latitude, Business Class and Premium rouge fares. Web bookings of those same fares will also pay 4%. The changes come as part of a dramatic overhaul of Air Canada's Domestic Canada Cash...
AC Reports Record February Load Factor
For the month of February, Air Canada has reported a record system load factor of 81.1%, versus 79% in February 2014, on a system-wide capacity increase of 8.4%. On this additional capacity, system wide traffic for February increased a record 11.3% for the month. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity and Air Canada rouge. “I am extremely pleased to report both a record load factor of 81.1% for the month of February, and more importantly a record traffic increase of 11.3% for the month,”...
AC Set to Launch Atlantic City Service
Air Canada is launching non-stop service between its Toronto Pearson hub and Atlantic City, NJ. The seasonal service, to be flown by Air Canada Express, operated by Jazz, will offer four return trips a week beginning May 22. “Air Canada is pleased to be adding Atlantic City to its already extensive US network. This new route will enable our customers to conveniently travel non-stop to Atlantic City where they can enjoy its famed boardwalk, beaches and casinos. It will also provide Atlantic City a direct connection to Air Canada's Toronto global hub. The flights will be...
WestJet 767 Service to Hawaii Available to Book
WestJet reports flights between Alberta and Hawaii beginning in December are now available for booking on its newly acquired Boeing 767 wide-body aircraft. The 767, the first in the WestJet fleet, will operate between Calgary and Honolulu, Calgary and Maui and between Edmonton and Maui. “Offering non-stop, wide-body service between Alberta and Hawaii represents an important next step in our international strategy,” said Chris Avery, WestJet vice-president, Network Planning, Alliances and Corporate Development. “This December, WestJet guests who choose the popular routes will...
Air Canada Poised To Pay Agents For GDS Bookings
Yesterday afternoon (Tues., March 3, 2015) Air Canada advised travel agents across Canada of some significant changes to its Domestic Cash Rewards plan that will see it eliminate the 7% reward it had been paying on Tango domestic web bookings, but introducing a 4% reward level on both web and GDS bookings of its Flex, Latitude, Business Class and Premium rouge fares. The changes go into effect on April 1, 2015. In a letter to agents, Air Canada's vice-president, global sales, Duncan Bureau wrote: “Today, we have announced the elimination of the 7% Cash Reward on Tango fares and...