Air Canada Tries To Build Consumer Confidence, Wants More Open Borders

Air Canada is trying to build consumer confidence as it also seeks a new approach to Canada’s borders. I also have news on United States tourism, Quebec tourism and Canadian travel (or lack thereof) to Europe this summer. My Future of Travel blog for July 17.

Air Canada Health and Safety: Plus Renewed Calls For Border Reforms

Air Canada hopes a program they staged for media and tourism/travel industry folks on Thursday will help build confidence in the concept of air travel. Airline officials also reiterated their call for more open borders to help Canada’s economy, albeit in a careful, staged manner.

Air Canada welcomed guests to the domestic Maple Leaf Lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport on Thursday prior to a return flight from Toronto to Montreal.

“It is safe to travel,” said Air Canada’s Mats Winter. “It is safe to fly. It is safe to use the Maple Leaf Lounge.”

Winter, AC’s Director Product Design Airport and In-Flight, said Air Canada’s lounges will start to re-open this month.

Customers will notice a few changes, including a choice of fresh, pre-packaged meals or snacks and assisted beverage service. Guests also can order from their seats in the lounge using a QR code, and seating has been moved around to create proper social distancing.

Air Canada officials were on hand in the lounge to demonstrate how they use electro-static sprayers to kill germs and bacteria, explaining that the fine mist from the sprayers can get into nooks and crannies that couldn’t be reached with a hand wipe. They also had an engineer on hand to explain the workings of the airlines HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Absorbing or Arresting) filters, which remove 99.97% of particles in the air and constantly refresh the air on Air Canada flights.

Ferio Pugliese, SVP Air Canada Express and Government Relations,, told the Toronto crowd that Air Canada put on Thursday’s demonstration to help build confidence in the travelling public and industry officials.

A recent Leger poll in Canada found that 72% of Canadians aren’t comfortable with flying just yet, so it’s critical for AC and other airlines to boost consumers’ confidence.

Pugliese said AC is working closely with health authorities and all levels of government.

Officials also talked about how Air Canada is partnering with Cleveland Clinic Canada and is working at developing rapid COVID-19 testing.

“We have a very clean, sterile environment on our planes,” Pugliese said.

Following the briefing, guests were ushered onto a brand-new, stylish A-220 for the quick flight to Montreal. Everyone was subjected to a temperature screening before entering security, and there were social distancing signs and hand sanitizers all around the airport, as well as in the Maple Leaf Lounge.

Once on board every seat had a package with a mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water; all features of Air Canada’s Clean Care + program. Crew also wore gloves and reminded PAX about proper hand-washing rules and other safety measures.

Speaking at the Montreal Airport Marriott Hotel after the plane landed, Air Canada Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer Lucie Guillemette and in-flights, said the airline industry in Canada and tourism industry have gone through very tough times. “But we are resilient.”

Guillemette noted that Air Canada in 2019 flew some five million visitors to Canada, who spent billions of dollars pumping up the Canadian economy and helping provide important jobs.

Noting that AC is part of a tourism/travel industry roundtable that’s looking for relief, she said the government of Canada needs to look at bringing more visitors into the country in a “thoughtful and managed way.”

“Safety is our prime consideration,” she said. “It’s in our DNA.”

Air Canada’s chief medical officer this week sent a letter to the federal government seeking a “science-based alternative” to current quarantine regulations for visitors. Here’s a link to his video.

U.S. Tourism Takes a Tumble as Virus Cases Rise

Canadians aren’t the only ones bemoaning a lack of tourism at home. The U.S. Travel Association says the industry has submitted to Congress new requests for new COVID-19 relief packages. The proposals come as cases are spiking in states such as Florida and Texas and as American confidence in travel drops steeply.

The percentage of poll respondents who say they will travel this fall has slid to 36%, down from 50% in early June, according to Destination Analysts.

A new Harris Poll finds that 58% of leisure travellers in the U.S. will substitute vacations with staycations for THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. Only 37% say they feel safe flying right now, which is a better than Canada but not a lot.

In addition, more than three-quarters (77%) of respondents support states enacting mandatory 14-day quarantines for out-of-state travelers from states with a high resurgence of COVID-19.

Quebec Welcoming Visitors – But Safety First

Now that summer is in full swing and that travellers are responding to our invitation to say Bonjour Québec, the Alliance de l’industrie touristique du Québec says it would like to reiterate the importance of complying with the current sanitary guidelines, to ensure our collective health and safety, particularly the obligation to wear masks in closed public spaces that will come into effect in the coming days.

The alliance says visitors should plan their vacations by preparing their itinerary, taking into account the guidelines for travel between regions and cities, as well as the health guidelines enforced by the places they intend to visit. They also need to allow more time for visits due to potential health restrictions, respect social distancing rules (two metres, or one hockey stick, or about 46 TimBits laid in a row) and wear a mask during visits to indoor public places, which is mandatory in Quebec as of Saturday, July 18.

I was in Montreal yesterday but only for a few hours. I haven’t found a part of Quebec so far that I don’t love. I’ve had great trips to Montreal, the Eastern Townships, Quebec City, Charlevoix and the Iles de ;a Madeleines, as well as short visits to the Laurentians and Tremblant. It’s all fantastic.

On top of great scenery and warm people, it’s hard to find bad food in La Belle Province. Seriously, I don’t think Quebec folks would stand for it. Even small, mom-and-pop style places in the country seem to serve good food, and many serve cuisine that’s nothing short of excellent.

Canadians To Europe: Not Just Yet

The European Travel Commission says tourism businesses in Europe “are resuming activities and destinations across Europe are gradually re-opening their borders, establishing travel bubbles/blocks and boosting domestic and intra-European travel. The pace of recovery by destination will vary and will depend on the extent to which they rely on international source markets and the revival of consumer confidence. Since July 1, border restrictions for Canadian residents have been gradually reduced as Europe begins to re-open for international travel.

But Canadians, perhaps leery of flying or perhaps happy to stay home and enjoy the summer, don’t appear to be flocking to Rome or London or Paris. 

The commission says only the Czech Republic (+7%) and Poland (+4%) reported growth in overnights from Canada so far month. Croatia (-95%), Iceland (-72%), Slovenia (-67%), Cyprus (-67%), Hungary (-66%) and Romania (-61%) saw the biggest declines in Canadian arrivals.

“The outlook is weak, with only low levels of growth expected from Canadian travellers in the foreseeable future,” the commission said today. “Current forecasts, estimate a 1% annual average growth of travel from Canada to Europe over the five-year period 2019-2024.”

Northern Europe is expected to get the most growth from Canada, the commission says.