Airlines
Farquharson joins WestJet as vice-president, sales
WestJet has announced the appointment of Lyell Farquharson as vice-president, sales, effective Aug. 28. Farquharson joins WestJet from American Express Canada where he had been vice-president and general manager of Business Travel Canada for the last five years. Prior to American Express, he was president of Navigant International Canada, a subsidiary of Navigant International, one of the largest travel management companies in North America. Farquharson is a chartered accountant with a Bachelor of Business Management from Ryerson in Toronto. He takes over for Bryan Wolfenden, who had been...
WestJet teams up with Disney
WestJet has announced that guests onboard its flights this month can expect an extra-special inflight experience. Working with the Walt Disney Company (Canada) Ltd., WestJet has launched a unique inflight experience with a little Disney-inspired magic on board. Guests will receive complimentary Disney-themed snacks and napkins while enjoying free Disney cartoons and movies on seatback televisions throughout the flight. On select routes, guests will also enjoy Disney-themed jokes, fun facts and a complimentary gift. WestJet Vacations offers a range of flexible vacation packages at Aulani, a...
Passenger growth continues to slow
IATA reports that June traffic results continue to show a slowing of growth in line with the weakness in business and consumer confidence. Year-on-year, demand for air travel in June expanded by 6.2%. Capacity grew by a much more cautious 4.5% leaving load factors at 81%. While this appears to be a healthy growth rate, the growth trend since early 2012 has seen a slowdown. IATA points to the February through June trend to illustrate its point, observing that during that time, there was a 2% annualized growth. That is a major slowdown from the 8% annualized growth rate experienced from...
WestJet introduces premium economy seating
WestJet has announced that it will introduce premium economy seating across its entire fleet. The reconfiguration will introduce four rows of extra legroom seating with 36 inches of pitch and convenience features such as priority boarding and complimentary on-board amenities. The reconfiguration will begin this month and be completed in December. As part of this initiative, WestJet will also standardize the seat pitch for the remaining rows on all aircraft to 31 to 32 inches, bringing its seat pitch in line with North American competitors....
TAM honoured
Kudos to Brazil's TAM Airlines, which won in two categories in this year's Skytrax World Airline Awards. TAM took top spot in the Best Airline in South America and the Best Airline Staff in South America categories. The awards, announced July 12 during the Farnborough International Airshow in England, were based on an online survey, focus groups, questionnaires and telephone interviews. TAM is represented in Canada by Airbridge International....
AC, ACPA receive final offer
Air Canada reports that along with the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA), it has received the decision of the arbitrator, Douglas Stanley, in the final offer selection arbitration conducted in accordance with the Protecting Air Service Act. The arbitrator's selection of Air Canada's final offer concludes a new collective agreement with ACPA following negotiations and mediated talks that took place over a period of 19 months. The five-year collective agreement is in effect until April 1, 2016. Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, commented that the arbitrator's decision "brings...
Air New Zealand getting a new home at LAX
Air New Zealand is getting a new home at Los Angeles International Airport. After nearly 20 years based in Terminal 2, the airline will in early 2014 move to the Tom Bradley International Terminal which is currently undergoing a US$1.7 billion makeover. In a first for the airline, Air New Zealand has also been appointed to design and operate a new Star Alliance lounge in the terminal. The terminal move will enable passengers to access better facilities when arriving or departing Los Angeles and also while in transit. Passengers transiting through Los Angeles on NZ1 and NZ2 will no longer be...
Delta plans Comair shut down
Delta Air Lines is shutting down Comair, effective Sept. 29. Don Bornhorst, senior vice-president of Delta Connection, said in a memo, "While regional flying has and will remain a key component of Delta's network, customer expectations and the unit costs of regional flying have evolved. In response, Delta recently announced its plans to reduce the total number of regional jets in its network while adding more mainline flying. This includes reducing the number of 50-seat regional jets from nearly 350 aircraft to 125 or fewer in the upcoming years. As a result of this reduction and changes to...