Airlines
Business as usual for AC
Air Canada says it's business as usual for the airline and that its customers can continue to book Air Canada flights with confidence, following the announcement today of voting results by the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) which gave union leadership a strike mandate if a tentative agreement is not reached. ACPA represents approximately 3,000 pilots employed by Air Canada. Duncan Dee, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Air Canada, commented: "We welcome the Minister's appointment of the Honourable Justice Louise Otis and Mr. Jacques Lessard, Acting Director General...
Austrian increases frequencies to Eastern Europe
Austrian Airlines has announced it will sharply increase flight frequencies to its core markets in Eastern Europe this summer, and build up capacity to the Middle East in a trade-off with the destination of Mumbai. The airline will increase flights from Vienna to Bucharest from three to five times per day, and to Sofia from four to up to five times a day. In the winter schedule, the number of flights operated to Belgrade was raised from three to up to four per day. In Western Europe, Austrian will offer passengers one additional self-operated flight per day to London Heathrow, beginning this...
Cathay’s new ‘Premium Economy’ now on sale
Cathay Pacific Airways reports that its new Premium Economy Class experience is available for sale with immediate effect for flights departing from April 1. As well as introducing a totally new seat and entertainment system, Cathay has designed the entire customer experience to be more special. The new Premium Economy experience features a quieter, more spacious cabin than the traditional Economy Class with between 26 and 34 seats per aircraft. The seat pitch will be 38 inches - six inches more than Economy Class - and the seat itself will be wider and have a bigger recline. It will have a...
LOT puts business class on sale
For nearly two weeks, LOT Polish Airlines is offering special business class fares to select European destinations with fares, including all taxes and fees, starting at $2,123 - Toronto-Warsaw roundtrip. Ticketing must take place between Feb. 15 and March 1 for departures Feb. 15 through Sept. 10. Other fares out of Toronto include Prague $2,308; St. Petersburg $2,321; Budapest $2,322; and Vienna $2,383. Reservations must be booked in Z Class, fare basis code ZPRO7LO....
Air Transat giving away flights
Air Transat continues to unveil promotions to commemorate its silver anniversary and Canadians booking a European flight between Feb. 4 and 29 will automatically have a chance to win their flight. Every day during this time period, the company will randomly draw one winner from Quebec and another from Ontario from the previous day's bookings. The daily winners will receive their flight for free. The promotion applies to new bookings of Air Transat roundtrip flights for travel by March 31. Clients have the chance to win one of 25 seats to Paris from Montreal or Quebec City and one of 25 seats...
Use it, Don’t abuse it
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged policy makers to use aviation as a strategic asset. "When the relationship between industry and government works, the results are brilliant. Policies that support aviation's competitiveness deliver wide-ranging benefits across economies by connecting business to markets,"says IATA director general Tony Tyler. Aviation is a key economic contributor. In Singapore, for example, where the government has supported aviation as a strategic industry, it contributes 119,000 quality jobs and 5.4% of GDP. This is according to Oxford Economics...
CX completes Res upgrade
Cathay Pacific has completed the upgrade of its new passenger reservations system. According to officials, the changeover to new technology to replace a system introduced in the 1980s will ensure that Cathay Pacific can continue to meet passengers' needs in the future as the airline continues to grow. Chief Operating Officer Ivan Chu said, "The major systems are online and functioning as planned. With a system change of this magnitude, inevitably there would be some teething issues in the early stages. We will address those aggressively should they develop to minimize any inconvenience to our...
Sunwing has Canada covered
Winter might still be here, but Sunwing Airlines is already thinking summer. The carrier has introduced its summer flying schedule across Canada, with early bird pricing featuring fares from $99 plus taxes each way, if booked by March 15. Sunwing will fly from Vancouver to Toronto on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, commencing June 20, and from Toronto to Vancouver on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, commencing June 21. Flights between St. John's, Nfld. and Toronto will begin on June 20 and operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while flights between Gander and Toronto will operate on...