A prominent travel company says Canadians are booking vacation packages at nearly the same rate as they did before the pandemic, and that Mexico is the number one holiday choice. “redtag.ca is excited by the promising numbers that have emerged for travel over the past six months, with travellers ready to see the world again and booking higher-end experiences,” company officials said in a press release. “As one of Canada’s leading travel companies, redtag.ca continues to prioritize customer service in order to provide Canadians with the best booking journey possible.” The latest figures from StatsCan show that in June of Read more

Data analysis by Trip.com has revealed a huge surge in US travellers flying to Europe, with inbound visitor numbers up by nearly 250% in the first six months of this year. The significant rise shown by Trip.com’s data highlights the healthy rebound in transatlantic travel, which appears to signal a return to near pre-pandemic travel levels. Flight bookings from the USA to key European markets were up 246% in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. That means more than triple the number of US visitors this year compared to last. The most significant leap Read more

The flood of delayed and cancelled flights and lost luggage that has marred the resumption of air travel will continue to recede through the rest of the year as hiring and training programs gear up, says Amos Kazzaz, Air Canada’s chief financial officer. In a story in today’s Globe and Mail, Kazzaz said airport disruptions in Canada are improving and are unlikely to extend into the new year, pointing to the reduced numbers of delays, cancellations and baggage complaints in the second week of August. The website flightaware.com reports that only one per cent of Air Canada flights were cancelled Read more

American lawmakers and business officials are ratcheting up the pressure on the Trudeau government Ottawa to get rid of the controversial ArriveCan app. Nearly 1,500 emails have been sent to federal MPs and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino since the Canadian American Business Council’s new campaign, “Travel Like it’s 2019,” went live two weeks ago, The Canadian Press reports. The online campaign calls on Ottawa to scrap the troublesome ArriveCan app, a mandatory pre-screening tool for visitors to Canada, and to tackle the backlog plaguing the Canada-U.S. trusted-traveller system known as Nexus. Critics have blasted ArriveCan for causing airport congestion Read more

Canadian airlines are offering excellent deals for travel within Canada this fall. Flights to Europe are priced reasonably, but Caribbean flights appear to be expensive. A look today at aircanada.com reveals one way tickets from Toronto to Vancouver in mid-November (hardly the peak of travel season in Canada) for just $143 one-way. WestJet’s website shows flights from Calgary to Toronto in mid-November from $118. The deals aren’t quite as good for Europe, but they’re not bad. Air Canada shows flights from Toronto to London from Nov. 18-21 for $769 round-trip (about $385 one-way), and return flights between Montreal and Paris Read more

Canada Jetlines says it has received its air operating certificate (AOC) from Transport Canada, which will allow Canada’s newest airline to begin operations. Securing the AOC confirms that Canada Jetlines has all required professional capabilities and adheres to all safety regulations needed for aircraft operations as defined by Transport Canada. Canada Jetlines added it will be releasing new destinations and “updated scheduling shortly,” according to OpenJaw.com. “The entire team at Canada Jetlines is thrilled to obtain our AOC after meeting all necessary operation standards and passing all inspections,” said Eddy Doyle, CEO of Canada Jetlines. “We thank Transport Canada and Read more