Things don’t seem to be improving a whole lot at Toronto Pearson. With the summer travel season winding down and kids heading back to school, it seems Canadians are still flying a great deal. And still getting delayed. Using stats from flightaware.com, I tracked outbound delays at Toronto Pearson for five consecutive days, August 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28. I found cancellations are quite low, which is good news. But delays remain stubbornly high. Here’s what I found for OUTBOUND flights, courtesy of Flight Aware. August 24: 12 cancelled (1%). 168 delayed (27%) August 25: 7 cancelled (1%), 223 Read more

Canadian hotels are pretty much back to 2019 occupancy levels, and Google searches for Canada are higher than they were prior to the pandemic. Destination Canada’s quarterly report, issued today, finds that travel has strongly rebounded in the country. “Buoyed by hotel occupancy in regions exceeding their 2019 levels and lifts in urban areas closing in on their pre-pandemic performance, average hotel occupancy in June 2022 for Canada stood 1% below its 2019 level,” the report said. “Travel to Canada is in demand, with Google search from international markets exceeding 2019 levels.” Destination Canada said domestic air connectivity has improved Read more

Canada Jetlines will begin flights between Toronto and Calgary next month. Set for its debut on September 22, 2022, Canada Jetlines will begin operations with biweekly flights operating Thursdays and Sundays out of Toronto (YYZ) to Calgary (YYC). Flights will depart Toronto at 7:55 a.m. and then leave Calgary for the return flight at 11:40 MST. Frequency will increase to three flights per week, Thursdays through Sundays, starting October 13. This route will be the first operated by Canada Jetlines, with more routes to be announced soon. “Canada Jetlines is proud to launch our initial flights between Toronto to Calgary Read more

One of rock and roll’s biggest names will make a grand entry into the Ontario wine market next month. Jon Bon Jovi and his son, Jesse Bongiovi, are partners with renowned French winemaker Gérard Bertrand in a highly rated rosé wine called Hampton Water. It’s been selling around the world for several years, and will make its entry into the Canadian market on Sept. 10, when it will go on sale at Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores. The three wine amigos gathered at the stylish Toronto Beach Club on Thursday night for a media event, chatting about wine, food Read more

An insurance company called Luko has looked at the most bike-friendly cities in the world, and Europe came out smelling like a rose. Nine of the top ten bike-friendly cities were in Europe, led by Utrecht, Holland. North American cities fared poorly, with Montreal the only entry in the top 20 (16th overall). Vancouver came 37th, while San Francisco was the top U.S. city in 39th position. Portland, Oregon was 41st and Seattle 50th. Cities were ranked on a variety of issues, including bike accident rates, theft rates, weather, bike usage and infrastructure. Holland had two cities in the top Read more

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