New Planes. New routes. New opportunities for advisors to sell great trips. Air Canada officially unveiled its Airbus A321XLR to the media in Toronto on 04JUN. It’s a game-changer for Canada’s largest airline, a sing[e-aisle, fuel-efficient plane that brings a wide-body experience, complete with 14 lie-flat seats in Air Canada’s Signature Class. Air Canada has a firm order for 30 planes. Two are now in hand and three more should touch down in Canada by the end of the year. The airline hopes to have all 30 in hand by 2029. The first flight with pax is scheduled for 09JUN Read more
June 2026
Air Canada on June 11 will begin flying from Toronto to Ponta Delgado in the Azores, a remarkable set of islands in the Atlantic Ocean with some of the world’s best hiking, fresh and fabulous food, Mediterranean villages, Hawaiian-looking coastlines and grass so green it makes the Irish weep with envy. Here’s a story I wrote for the Globe and Mail after my first (and still only) visit to the islands. AZORES, PORTUGAL – I am terribly confused. When I envisioned landing on some far-flung islands in the Atlantic Ocean – five and half hours east of Toronto; two hours Read more
A pair of luxury hotels in Toronto and New York City are the newest properties to receive the AAA Diamond Program’s highest designation. The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto and Waldorf Astoria in New York City have earned AAA Five Diamonds for their stunning surroundings, thoughtful amenities, and unparalleled service, the Canadian Automobile Association and the American Automobile Association announced. I haven’t been to the recently renovated Waldorf in Manhattan, but I’ve stayed at the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto’s trendy Yorkville district a couple of times, and dined there on several occasions. It’s an elegant property that definitely worthy of Five-Diamond Read more
