Airlines
TAM loyalty program wins award
Kudos to Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines, which saw its loyalty program - TAM Fidelidade - win the award for Best Redemption Ability in the Americas at the Freddie Awards. The Freddie Awards - named after prominent British aviation figure Freddie Laker - sees airline consumers vote in different categories, and are touted as the frequent traveller's "answer to the Oscars"by their creator. TAM reports that Fidelidade "received the best score across all of the categories."The airline is represented by Airbridge International in Canada....
Etihad adds self-service tools
Etihad Airways' customers can now manage their travel bookings at the touch of a button following the introduction of new enhanced services on the airline's web site -- http://www.etihad.com . The new Manage Booking online service allows customers to add requirements such as special meals, seat location on board the aircraft and update personal information. Customers can amend existing bookings by changing dates and class of travel as well as use the highly successful Web Check-In that is in place from 24 hours to 2 hours before departure. Other features include adding itineraries to...
VIDEO REPORT: A good day for Tiny Tots
It was a good day in Caledon as another successful "Tee Off for Tiny Tots" golf tournament teed off to raise funds for the African Pre-Schools Society (headed by Marianne Schaubeck of Reservations Africa). The event was organized by Chisty and Firdosh Bulsara, with the help of many volunteers, with sponsors of the annual event including TOPAC, the South Africa Chamber of Business, Baxter Travel Media and several other travel organizations. The tournament was held at the Caledon Country Club, with 100% of the funds raised going towards sourcing water, getting electricity, installation of a...
IATA reports slowing demand
IATA said that global traffic results for May show a general downward trend that is inline with deteriorating global economic conditions. While passenger demand was 4.5% ahead of levels in May 2011, growth was virtually flat compared to April. Capacity increased by 4.0% and load factors stood at 77.6%, below the historically high levels recorded in April. Tony Tyler, IATA's director general and CEO, commented: "The airline industry is fragile. Relief in oil prices provides some good news. Unfortunately, the softness in oil markets comes on the back of fears of deterioration in the European...
CTA looking for comments
Now that the proposed regulatory amendments pertaining to air service price advertising have been pre-published in Part I of the Canada Gazette, Canadians have until Sept. 13, 2012 to comment on the proposed amendments. As follow up to the December 2011 announcement by the government of Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) drafted proposed amendments to the Air Transportation Regulations and the Designated Provisions Regulations pertaining to the advertisement of the price of air services. The proposed amendments will require any person who advertises the price of an air service...
CTA rules for increased passenger rights
In five separate decisions released yesterday (June 28), the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruled on the reasonableness of international tariff provisions of Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat, and domestic tariff provisions of Air Canada and WestJet relating to the overbooking, cancellation, delay and rerouting of flights. According to officials, passengers should be able to fully understand their rights and the remedies available to them simply by reading the tariff -- the contract between the carrier and the passenger. When considering the reasonableness of a carrier's tariff, the...
WestJet on the move in Vegas
As of yesterday (June 28), WestJet will operate out of Terminal 3, Las Vegas' new airport terminal. Although delays aren't expected, clients are advised to arrive at least two hours before their scheduled departure to ensure they have enough time to get acquainted with the new facility, find the WestJet counters and proceed through security. Guests can check in for their flight at westjet.com, using curbside or kiosk check-in options or at the WestJet ticket counter located on level two (departures level) of the...
SAA expands services
South African Airways (SAA) has added more flights to some of its key African and international destinations. SAA has added capacity on the following routes: !!! Accra, Ghana. From Aug. 19, SAA will offer an additional flight on Sundays, which grows the service between Johannesburg and Accra from five to six flights per week. !!! Perth, Australia. Effective Aug. 16, an additional flight will be added to Perth, Australia, which increases this service from six to seven flights per week. Both the A340-300 and the A340-600 will operate this route. !!! Mumbai, India. The route to Mumbai, India was...