Airlines
FINNAIR CELEBRATING 90
Finnair will celebrate its 90th birthday on Nov. 1 and as it gears up for those celebrations, the carrier is in the midst of several upgrades to enhance the customer experience. Many of the upgrades are currently in progress or have already been completed including a significant expansion to in-flight entertainment on all long-haul flights, an upgraded range of complimentary wines, beer and spirits in the Helsinki airport lounge and the continued retrofitting of fully-flat beds to the Business Class cabin. Finnair has nearly doubled its range of in-flight entertainment options on all...
DRIVING THE ECONOMY
A new economic impact report makes it clear that Halifax Stanfield International Airport (HSIA) is a valuable provincial asset worth $1.27 billion to the Nova Scotia economy in 2012 -- that represents an additional $13 million in economic output over the previous year. Tom Ruth, president & CEO, Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA), commented: \"Together, the Airport Authority and all of our airport partners have a tremendous impact on Halifax and the province as an economic generator and growth enabler.\" And Ruth continued: \"It\'s also noteworthy that Halifax Stanfield\'s...
AC BY THE NUMBERS
Air Canada is reporting that for the month of September, it had a system load factor of 83.2%, versus 84.9% in September 2012, and a system load factor for the third quarter of 86.2%, versus a record of 86.3 per cent for the quarter last year. System traffic for September increased 1.9% on a system-wide capacity increase of 3.9%. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including Air Canada rouge, which began operations on July 1, 2013, and regional airlinesáfrom which Air Canada purchases capacity. Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada\'s president and CEO, commented: \"I am...
MORE COMFORT FROM UNITED
United Airlines has unveiled a new, signature seat design focused on customer comfort and environmental responsibility, along with featuring a sophisticated, modern look. The company will deploy the new seats on hundreds of aircraft that fly within the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. The airline introduced the new design on Oct. 3 with a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by United Express carrier, SkyWest Airlines. United expects to deploy the new look on its domestic mainline aircraft and on regional aircraft operated by United Express carriers. Ultimately, United plans...
A HEAVY LOAD
WestJet has released its September 2013 traffic results, reporting a 76.6% load factor. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 5.7% year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 9.2% over the same period. The airline flew 4.9 million guests in the third quarter, a year-over-year increase of 7.1% or approximately 330,000 additional guests. Gregg Saretsky, WestJet\'s president and CEO, was clearly pleased with the growth the carrier posted in the third quarter, observing: \"We not only flew a record number of guests, but also achieved our third...
PASSENGER DEMAND STAYS STRONG: IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports global passenger traffic results for August showing a strengthening of the healthy demand trend of the last few months. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 6.8% compared to August 2012. Capacity increases over the year-ago period lagged demand at 5.6%. This pushed the load factor to match the record high of 83.4% set in July 2011. “August was a positive month for passenger travel. Strong demand and capacity discipline saw load factors match the previous record high of 83.4%. The solid performance was also supported by...
ADRIA AIRWAYS JOINS ERA
The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) has welcomed Slovenian airline Adria Airways as a member. Adria Airways joins 50 other European airlines at ERA, taking the total number of airlines in membership to 51. According to CEO and president Mark Anžur, “Membership of ERA will provide Adria Airways with advice on issues that affect regional carriers in terms of the environment, infrastructure, safety, security and competition.” Adria Airways has been in operation over 50 years and connects Ljubljana with more than 20 European cities, \"offering excellent connections from...
EXPANDED COOPERATION
Air Canada and Air China are expanding their long-standing commercial cooperation agreement, enhancing the interline and codeshare services offered via their respective hubs and in the process making it more convenient for customers to travel between Canada and China while extending the Star Alliance partners\' international networks. The new codeshare flights are now available for purchase, and allow seamless bookings and connections for customers and their bags via the carriers\' Vancouver, Toronto and Beijing hubs to six new China destinations and six new destinations in Canada throughout...