Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the airport…
Canadians managed to get through a winter marred by travel snafus, including winter storms, overcrowded airports and cancelled flights. But now comes a potential spring double whammy.
Some 155,000 federal works are on strike today (April 20). Talks are back on between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Trudeau government, but for now Canada Revenue Agency workers are not at their desks, and Canadian passport offices are closed.
The CBC reports that passport applications and renewals “are on hold and limited to those in humanitarian or emergency situations.”
The inability to renew a passport is one thing, but a bigger issue for some is the potential for a WestJet pilots strike on May 16. The union representing pilots working for the Calgary-based airline voted 93% in favour of a strike action just prior to the May long weekend.
A strike vote is simply a mechanism that allows a union to go on strike if deemed necessary, and does not guarantee a strike. In fact, most strike votes do NOT lead to strikes by union members.
Canadian passport. Kylie Anderson/Unsplash Photo
Still, travellers could very well be spooked by the idea of a pilots strike, and that’s not going to help WestJet’s booking agents stay busy.
“There’s no doubt in my mind people will book elsewhere,” Martin Firestone, president of the travel insurance brokerage Travel Secure Inc., told me in an email this morning. “Why would you want to put yourself in a position where the airline could strike if you could avoid it by going elsewhere?”
Firestone said he feels sorry for people who already bought a ticket for WestJet.
“What do they do” if there’s a strike, he asked. “Book another flight with Air Canada as a backup?”
A Holland America cruise ship. Photo courtesy Holland America Line.
A “POLE TO POLE” CRUISE FROM HOLLAND AMERICA
Holland America Line will sail what is believed to be the first ever Grand Voyage “Pole-to-Pole” roundtrip from the United States in 2025. Details of the new 133-day sailing along with a simultaneous 124-day 2025 Grand World Voyage were announced today by President Gus Antorcha aboard Zuiderdam to Grand World Voyage guests currently sailing in the North Sea.
With the Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole and Grand World Voyage both departing in January 2025, this will be the first time that Holland America Line is offering two Grand Voyages of more than 120 days simultaneously. The Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole aboard Volendam enables cruisers to visit five continents on a journey that travels south-to-north, while the Grand World Voyage aboard Zuiderdam covers six continents on an east-to-west route, each conveniently sailing roundtrip from a U.S. homeport.
“This will be a truly historic pair of voyages,” Antorcha told guests. “Our Grand World Voyage travels east to west and our other Grands focus on one region, so designing this first-of-its-kind route that explores south to north roundtrip from the U.S. is an incredible way to allow our guests two different choices to travel across the world.”
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