Porter Airlines has revealed its first destinations for its new Embraer long-range jets. The Toronto-based airline says it will begin operations at Toronto Pearson on Feb. 1, 2023, with flights to Ottawa and Montreal Trudeau airports. Six days later, Feb. 7, will see their first flight to the west coast, a Toronto-Vancouver trip. That gives Ontario residents a new way to fly to B.C., and British Columbia flyers a new way to head east. Flights between Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa start at an introductory fare of $225 round-trip. Introductory fares for Vancouver-Toronto start at just $248 round-trip. Porter is starting with Read more

Your travel dollars likely won’t go as far next year. Air Monitor 2023, published today by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), forecasts widespread air fare price rises in North America and around the world, due to a range of factors including inflation, rising fuel costs, and capacity issues. The report is an annual forecast of air fare movements on key business travel routes. North American domestic fares are expected to see moderate rises (3.4% business, 2.9% economy) as more capacity comes online in 2023. Europe-North America routes are expected to see modest rises of 3.7%, while intra-European flights Read more

Demand for travel shows no signs of slowing, and there are positive signs for business travel and travel to Asia, a new study says. Expedia’s Traveler Insights report for the third quarter of 2022 paints a far rosier picture for the industry than would’ve been the case a year ago. Almost one-half of consumers surveyed said they have plans to travel internationally, and they’re also more willing to book a year or more in advance. Expedia said interest in Thailand and Hong Kong is on the rise, and that online searches for trips to Japanese cities rose 60% in the Read more

Indonesian lawmakers today (Dec. 6) unanimously passed “a sweeping new criminal code that criminalizes sex outside marriage, a move that threatens human rights and could do serious damage to the Asian country’s tourism economy. The new code, which also applies to foreign residents and tourists, bans people from living together when they’re not married, bans apostasy (the renunciation of religious or political beliefs), and provides punishments for insulting the president or expressing views counter to the national ideology, CNN reports. Many countries around the world have old laws on the books that forbid gay marriage or other activities. But unanimously Read more

Air Canada today announced a new service between Montreal and Fort McMurray that will launch next June as part of the carrier’s Canadian summer schedule. The airline also announced increased frequencies on Toronto-Kelowna, Winnipeg-Toronto and Montreal-Vancouver, and restored daily service between Toronto and Gander, Newfoundland. For summer 2023, Air Canada is also restoring suspended services and increasing frequencies on popular routes across Canada, as the company augments its Canadian network following the pandemic. “As the country’s flag carrier, Air Canada’s increased Canadian summer schedule further reinforces our role in providing critical connectivity to Canadians coast-to-coast,” said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice Read more

Free beer and wine on board has been a staple of Porter Airlines for years. Now you can add free Wi-Fi on their new Embraer Jets. “Porter Airlines is unveiling an exceptional new economy air travel experience that challenges what every North American airline offers,” officials said in a media release issued this morning (06 DEC). “Building on its distinct, longstanding regional service, Porter will elevate economy flying for everyone in its greatly expanding network.” It will be fascinating to see how this kind of service plays out and how the paying public reacts to free Wi-Fi. Porter also says Read more