Airlines
Passenger traffic continues to rise: IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that global traffic results for January show a 5.7% rise in passenger demand, but an 8% decline in air freight compared to the same month in 2011. The occurrence of Chinese New Year in January (rather than in February as in 2011) exaggerated the increase in passenger demand and the fall in air freight. Stripping this out, the underlying trend was for stronger passenger growth, while stabilized weakness in cargo markets continues. "The year started with some hopeful news on business confidence. It appears that freight markets have...
EVA adds non-stop New York-Taiwan service
EVA Air will initiate non-stop service from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Taiwan and increase its weekly flights from four to five per week starting June 19. This summer, JFK departures will be scheduled on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and flights will no longer need to stop in Anchorage to refuel. Flights are aboard new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. One-stop connections through Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport to 24 cities in China and almost every major business and leisure centre in Northeast and Southeast Asia are available....
Travelport, American extend full content deal
Travelport and American Airlines have announced that the existing full-content agreements between American and Travelport's global distribution systems, Apollo, Galileo and Worldspan, have been extended concurrently and are no longer due to expire until late 2012. Terms of Travelport's subscriber opt-in programs for American Airlines remain unchanged. No further details will be disclosed at this...
WestJet posts strong February results
WestJet reports a February load factor of 82.7%, posting a 9.9% year-over-year increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs), and its capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 10.9% over the same period. The carrier's president and CEO, Gregg Saretsky commented: "We celebrated WestJet's 16th birthday this February, flew a record number of guests for the month and also set a new single-day record for guests flown. We are pleased with our strong February load factor, given the capacity increases, and our forward bookings are healthy. I want to thank all WestJetters for their...
Porter loads grow 5.5%
Porter Airlines had a record February load factor of 56.1%, 5.5 points higher than the previous year. The carrier's February results show 110.4 million Available Seat Miles (ASMs) and 61.9 million Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs). ASMs increased 36.8% from 80.7 million and RPMs grew 51.7% compared to 40.8 million last year. Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter, said: "February shows year-over-year improvement in all categories. Seasonal flights to Myrtle Beach began this month and we are projecting another good year for this popular destination." Check out http://www.flyporter.com for...
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...