Airlines
Google rolls out Flight Search in Canada
Google's Flight Search is now live in Canada and you can check it out at http://www.google.ca/flights . The Canadian version offers a quick and easy to find and book flights from a host of Canadian airports to something like 500 international destinations. It's available in both French and English. Pricing is in Canadian dollars. And it offers a bunch of features that include instant loading of flights in an easy-to-scan format; the ability to see ticket prices for various destinations by surfing a map and then filter results by price, airline or flight duration; the ability to find the best...
IATA ready for intense AGM
IATA is gearing up for its 68th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit that gets underway in Beijing, China on June 11, 2012. The annual event will bring together some 650 leaders of the global aviation industry for two days of intense discussions on the industry's most important issues. Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of IATA, observed: "Oil prices are high, although moderating somewhat from recent peaks. The European sovereign debt crisis is unresolved and we are seeing signs that it is starting to affect Asia's export-driven economies. And the largely jobless...
Dee takes early retirement from AC
Air Canada's executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Duncan Dee will be taking early retirement this fall after a 15-year career with the carrier. Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of AC, said that Dee has made a "significant" contribution to Air Canada during the course of his career. Pointing out that while he has held many different roles at AC, Rovinescu said that "in his role as Chief Operating Officer, he has helped both shape our strategic direction and lead the airline through the challenges of transformation, while continuing to build on our worldwide reputation for...
Globespan partners with Virgin Atlantic
Globespan has announced that its newest partner on the Vancouver-London, UK route and beyond is Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic's new service from Vancouver started in late May and Globespan, as one of Western Canada's prominent European focused consolidators, is a key partner for VS. Virgin Atlantic is offers Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class cabin service on its flights and provides a number of options for passengers travelling beyond London Heathrow, including Africa. Globespan offers competitive net fares and an agent rewards program, plus secure access for retail travel agents at...
Air Canada by the numbers
Air Canada reported a system load factor of 81.6% for May 2012 -- that's down 0.6% from the 82.2% load factor of May 2011. AC's system traffic increased 1.8% on a system-wide capacity increase of 2.5%. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity. AC's president and CEO, Calin Rovinescu said: "For the month of May, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 81.6%. Led by increases in traffic in our Pacific and Atlantic markets of 6.1% and 5.0%, respectively, we generated system wide traffic growth of 1.8% per...
United recognizes its employees
United Airlines has unveiled details of its Outperform Recognition Program for its employees. The program rewards them for excellent service to customers and also offers prizes to customers who nominate the winning employees. Eligible customers who are MileagePlus members can nominate eligible employees for service at the airport, on the phone, on a flight, or at any other point in their experience with United and United Express, using United's mobile app, available for Apple and Android devices. The initial sweepstakes runs from now through Sept. 30, 2012. At the end of this sweepstakes and...
Porter posts record in May
Porter Airlines is on a high. The carrier posted a record load factor of 60.5% per cent for May 2012 -- that's one point higher than the previous year. Another monthly record was also set for passenger numbers, which improved to above 212,000, nearly 30,000 more year-over-year. May results showed 129.7 million Available Seat Miles (ASMs), up 12.5% from 115.3 million last year, and 78.5 million Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs), up 14.4% from 68.6 million last year. Porter Airlines' president and CEO, Robert Deluce said of the results: "Business travel is strong at this time of year and we are...
Etihad takes stake in Virgin Australia
Etihad Airways has taken a 3.96% stake in Virgin Australia Holdings. The carrier has acquired its stake in recent weeks through purchases on the open market. Etihad said it believes that this equity investment in Virgin Australia's domestic operations significantly strengthens the 10-year strategic partnership forged by the two carriers in August 2010 and will enrich the commercial benefits which the alliance already provides for both airlines as well as increasing the benefits to Australian consumers and visitors to Australia. Together, Etihad Airways (21) and V Australia (3) operate 24...