Airlines
Air France Appointment
Jean-Noël Rault will become the new vice-president and general manager of Air France KLM Canada effective July 1, succeeding Fabien Pelous, who took over the position in October 2011. Presently the director of the Customer Contact Center, Web support and social media servicing in Paris, Rault joined Air France in 1989. Over the years, his career has taken him to various destinations -- Constantine, Bucharest, Prague, Riyadh, Noumea and Abidjan -- where he has held various positions such as deputy station manager, station manager, commercial director, country manager and general...
WestJet Christmas Miracle Video Wins Cannes Award
WestJet took home some hefty hardware from Cannes last week. Celebrating the world’s best creative communications, the 2014 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awarded WestJet, along with studio m and Mosaic, a Bronze Lions in the Cyber Lions category for the WestJet Christmas Miracle: Real Time Giving video. This is the first Cannes Lions win for WestJet. “We are proud that the WestJet brand and what it stands for is being celebrated on a global level,” said Bob Cummings (pictured), executive vice-president, sales, marketing and guest experience. “This...
It’s All About The Experience
IATA is urging aviation stakeholders to develop and use information technology (IT) to drive improvements in the passenger experience. Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of IATA, said: “We must always remember that we fly people and cargo, not planes. So our mindset has to be oriented to view things from the perspective of the customer in all that we do -- including how we design, integrate and implement IT systems.” Tyler, who was speaking at the recent Air Transport IT Summit, identified three areas where through working together and guided by global standards, opportunities...
Air Canada Makes The Move
Air Canada has moved all of its flights and operations to London Heathrow Airport Terminal 2: The Queen's Terminal. The new terminal at Heathrow will provide Air Canada's customers with an improved travel experience that includes faster customs and immigration border control upon arrival and check-in and security clearance on departure. Eligible Air Canada and Star Alliance customers will also have access to Air Canada's newest international Maple Leaf Lounge. Benjamin Smith, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer for Air Canada, said: “With over 20 daily Air Canada...
A First For Air Transat
It was all smiles at Toronto Pearson Airport earlier this week as Air Transat launched its first Toronto-Prague flight. To mark the occasion, the check-in area was decorated to showcase the architecture of the Czech capital, and a team of entertainers dressed in traditional garb were brought in to add a dash of flavour. Also on hand were Des Ryan, Air Transat’s vice-president, inflight service and catering; Vladimir Ruml, Consul General of the Czech Republic in Canada; and Ian Woods, director of aviation business development, GTAA, who wished the carrier's first passengers to the City...
Making The Connection
In this week's issue of Canadian Travel Press, Montreal editor, Mike Dunbar reports that Air Canada is to be one of the front-running airlines in an upcoming live test of the IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative being piloted by US travel distribution specialist JR Technologies. The new initiative, which involves live implementation of an NDC Aggregator platform, was announced at the recent IATA AGM in Doha. ``We want to help all the players in the airline distribution value chain to wrap their arms around NDC,” explained JRT president George Khairallah, who...
Marking a milestone
It's another milestone for WestJet. The carrier has now started its first scheduled transatlantic service, with the recent launch of flights between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland, with a brief stop in St. John's, Newfoundland. Gregg Saretsky, WestJet president and CEO, commented: “It's very exciting to think that we are about to take our guests across the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time ... This represents a very significant strategic step in the growth of WestJet.” Saretsky continued: “As we've expanded our reach, grown our fleet and added new products to broaden our...
Air France Keeps Celebrating
As it continues to celebrate its 80th anniversary, Air France has introduced an “80 Years of Passion for Gastronomy” in which travel agents can win a chance to fly to Europe. The newest game is the second instalment in the three-part series of contests Air France has planned to mark its milestone anniversary, which means Canadian agents now have another chance to win a pair of tickets for Europe. Travel agents can sign up for the contest online through June 30 by answering the eligibility question about Air France and gastronomy. Afterwards, they can register each ticket they...