Airlines
AC celebrates 75th with Dreamliner debut
Air Canada welcomed thousands of suppliers, customers and employees to the kick off event of its year-long celebrations of its 75th anniversary in Toronto last week -- an event that featured as its centrepiece, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. AC has 37 firm orders -- plus 13 options for the Dreamliner -- and will take delivery of its first 787 in 2014. AC president and CEO, Calin Rovinescu was on hand for the special event, telling the gathering that: "Today is a double celebration for Air Canada as we welcome the future, embodied by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and take stock of our accomplishments...
Etihad ups baggage allowance for premium passengers
Etihad Airways has increased baggage allowances for all Pearl Business class and Diamond First class guests by 10 kilograms. Guests travelling in Pearl Business class will now have an allowance of 40 kg, and guests in Diamond First class will have an allowance of 50 kg. Members of the Etihad Guest frequent flyer program travelling in the Diamond First class or Pearl Business class cabins will be able to enjoy additional baggage allowances. For example, an Etihad Guest Gold member will now be able to take as much as 65 kg of baggage when flying in Diamond First class....
WestJet Rewards unveils new offers
WestJet has unveiled details of a new promotion to recognize WestJet Rewards members with a further bonus in addition to the WestJet dollars and other benefits they already earn. WestJet Rewards members who register in the Fly more, Earn more promotion will be eligible to earn one of the following bonuses on WestJet-operated flights flown by Dec. 31: Reach $1,500 in qualifying spend and get a bonus of $100 WestJet dollars; reach $3,000 in qualifying spend and get a bonus of $200 WestJet dollars; reach $6,000 and get a bonus of $500 WestJet dollars plus one round-trip flight anywhere WestJet...
Air France unveils summer schedule
Air France took advantage of this week's Destination France event in Toronto to unveil its 2012 summer schedule of flights between Canada and 24 destinations in France. From Toronto, Air France's daily flight will operate with a 275-seat Airbus A340-300 from March 25 to April 29 and then on with a B777-200 offering 309 seats until Oct. 27. The schedule calls for 6:50 p.m. departure with an arrival in Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 8:10 a.m. the next day. Inbound flights will leave Paris at 1:55 p.m., landing in Toronto at 4:05 p.m. All aircraft will be equipped with Air France's Affaires business...
Book WestJet with Encore Cruises, receive a $25 gift card
During the month of March, agents booking their clients on any Encore cruise in conjunction with a WestJet flight will receive a $25 gift card for Canadian Tire, HBC or Sears as a special thank you gift. Valid on all new individual bookings made between March 1-31 for travel completed in 2012 agents will receive one gift card per booking. Agents must advise at the time of booking their choice of gift card. This special promotion applies to sailings originating out of Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Quebec City, San Juan, Tampa and...
Big jump in airline seats slated for Hawaii
The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) is forecasting significant growth in total scheduled non-stop air seats to Hawaii in 2012. The projection is based on flights appearing in OAG and Sabre ADI airline schedules as of February 2012. The total scheduled seat capacity is expected to climb 7.7% in 2012 over last year - an additional 700,000 seats into the state - buoyed by gains in all of Hawaii's major markets. This includes considerable increases in air seats from the Asia and Oceania markets, reaching a 10-year high. With the total scheduled seat count reaching nearly 10 million seats, the...
KLM Calgary-Amsterdam flights go daily
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has announced it will expand its presence on the Calgary-Amsterdam route by offering a daily flight as of June 6, increasing its seat capacity by 24% over the previous summer. Flights will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft with a total of 243 seats -- 213 in economy class and 30 in business class. After a 13-year absence from the Alberta market, the airline reopened the route on May 3, 2009 amidst the economic crisis....
HAC alarmed by cross-border air purchases
An increasing -- and disturbing -- number of Canadians continue to travel to the United States to purchase their airline tickets. In its 2012 Canadian Travel Intentions Survey, the Hotel Association of Canada's (HAC) reports that 15% of Canadians surveyed said they'd travelled to the U.S. to buy cheaper airline tickets in 2011, with the bulk of those (21%) coming from Ontario and British Columbia (19%). Most (23%) were in the 35 to 44 age bracket. But perhaps more alarmingly, HAC found that a further 33% of those questioned said that they plan to cross the border to shop for cheaper airfares...