Airlines
SELLING THE DREAM
Tickets for LOT Polish Airlines' Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights are now on sale, which the airline will begin flying from Toronto to Warsaw on June 7. In the meantime, LOT has leased a Boeing 777 to operate 16 flights between Toronto from May 4 through June 7 when the Dreamliner begins to operate on this route. The Boeing 777 has a capacity of 30 seats in business class and 293 in economy class, with on-board service provided by LOT flight attendants. With the launch of the 787 Dreamliner on June 7 in Toronto, LOT is redefining the travel experience with its new Premium Economy Class "Premium...
MAKING CHANGES AT TRANSAT
Air Transat has unveiled details of what it's calling an "administrative restructuring," while at the same time announcing the appointment of of a new general manager. The airline is making the changes in order to simplify its administrative structure -- a move that has resulted in the abolition of 47 positions. Air Transat notes, however, that the reorganization does not imply any reduction in customer service and will have no impact on operations. Jean-Marc Eustache, president and CEO of Transat A.T. Inc., said: "With this move, our structure will be better adapted to face the challenges of...
WESTJET APPOINTMENT
WestJet has announced the appointment of Brigid Pelino to the position of executive vice-president, People and Culture, effective mid-August. Pelino joins WestJet after 13 years with Tim Hortons where she was executive vice-president, Human Resources. Prior to that, she held increasingly senior human resource roles in Canadian Tire Corporation, Honeywell Aerospace based in Los Angeles and General Electric. "We look forward to welcoming Brigid to the WestJet team,"commented Gregg Saretsky, WestJet president. "Her experience at Tim Hortons, one of Canada's iconic customer service brands, will...
COMMERCIAL CONNECTION, AC, ETIHAD SIGN MOU
Etihad Airways and Air Canada have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a commercial cooperation agreement that will enhance travel services between the United Arab Emirates and Canada. While the two carriers currently have interline agreements in place for passenger and cargo services, Etihad Airways and Air Canada intend to offer customers through-checked bags, reciprocal codeshare services and frequent flyer benefits. The MoU provides for reciprocal codeshare services to Etihad's Abu Dhabi hub and select points in North America served by Air Canada via its Toronto hub. The two...
IATA: PROMOTING BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF NDC
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched a New Distribution Capability (NDC) blog. The blog site will present program updates, commentary and thought leadership pieces regarding the NDC initiative. Since the approval of Resolution 787 last October a vigorous public debate has evolved on how NDC -- a new communications standard between airlines and travel agents -- will impact the travel value chain. This includes considerable misinformation from some entrenched interests in current distribution standards. "NDC has energized the travel value chain. The NDC blog provides...
ETIHAD, JET AIRWAYS FORGE ALLIANCE
Etihad Airways and Jet Airways have forged a strategic alliance with the UAE national carrier agreeing to subscribe for 27,263,372 new shares in Jet Airways at a price of INR754.74 per share. The value of this equity investment is US$379 million and will result in Etihad holding 24% of the enlarged share capital of Jet Airways. Etihad's wider overall commitment to Jet Airways includes the injection of US$220 million to create and strengthen a wide-ranging partnership between the two carriers. As part of this, Etihad Airways paid US$70 million to purchase Jet Airways' three pairs of Heathrow...
PORTER BOOSTS SERVICE TO BOSTON, CHICAGO
Porter Airlines is boosting service from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Boston's Logan International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, with one additional weekend roundtrip available immediately. Summer service to Chicago will also include an extra weekday flight, from June 24 until Aug. 30. This has increased the number of weekly options to as many as 43 roundtrips, for both Boston and Chicago, including eight weekend roundtrips to both cities....
TOURISM IRELAND WELCOMES ROUGE NEWS
Tourism Ireland welcomes today's announcement that Air Canada will convert its current seasonal service between Toronto and Dublin to a year-round service, beginning May 1, 2014, operated by its new leisure carrier Air Canada rouge. The announcement provides a continued boost for both leisure and business tourism from Canada to the island of Ireland as recent figures show an increase of 4% in 2012, with close to 120,000 Canadians visiting the Island of Ireland. Niall Gibbons (pictured), CEO of Tourism Ireland, said, "The announcement of a year-round service from Toronto to Dublin is wonderful...