Canada’s airlines don’t appear to be following Air Canada’s lead on July and August flight cancellations. Spokepersons for both Air Transat and Porter Airlines told me today that they’re not looking to trim summer flights. WestJet put out a statement around 1 p.m. Eastern Time saying it has already trimmed back its schedule by roughly 20%. “We have been meticulously planning for summer operations and over the past few months have proactively reduced capacity to ensure we can deliver a stable operation,” WestJet officials said. “We have been very measured in our approach, and are currently scheduled to operate Read more
Air Canada says it’s been forced to cut summer flights by about 15% to accommodate problems in the industry. In a letter sent to customers on June 29, the company said it apologizes for the inconveniences. “At Air Canada, we know how important travel plans are,” President and CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement. “This is even more the case today when many are taking their first trip in years following the pandemic.” Air Canada officials said in statements to the media that roughly 154 flights will be cut per day, which is roughly 15% of their daily routes. Read more
A top Canadian tourism official says he’s heartbroken over news that the Trudeau government is extending current border measures for travellers entering Canada. Christopher Bloore, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, said on Twitter (@ChrisBloore) that his “heart absolutely sank” when he read that current requirements for travellers arriving in Canada are likely to stay in place until at least September 30, 2022. “The tourism industry has NOT recovered. Our border towns and RBT operators are at breaking point. Beyond disappointed and worried for the future,” he said. Ottawa on Wednesday said that in addition to Read more
It’s almost Canada Day weekend. Here are 21 questions I came up with this morning. Hope you enjoy the quiz! What city/town is not in British Columbia? A. Spuzzum B. Ecum Secum C. Barkerville D. Tofino 2. What European city is roughly the same latitude as Toronto? A. Stockholm B. London C. Florence D. Munich 3. Where would you find the Carcross Desert? A. British Columbia B. Alberta C. Saskatchewan D. Yukon 4. What is the easternmost point in Canada? A. Cape Disappointment B. Cape Spear C. Cape St. John’s D. Cape Read more
A new listing of the best U.S. cities by a well-known consulting group has put the Big Apple back on top again. Resonance Consultancy? has named New York City the best city in the U.S. for the seventh year in a row. But California swept the top ten with four placements, including Los Angeles in the number two spot and San Francisco taking the bronze medal. Resonance ranked cities based on six factors: place, programming, prosperity, product, people and promotion. Those, in turn, included other issues, including safety, museums, restaurants, nightlife and Fortune 500 companies. Note: This ranking is not Read more
A group of Canadian travel and tourism experts are asking the Trudeau government to avoid bringing back random tests at Canadian airports. They also want to see the lifting of all remaining COVID-19 travel restrictions. “Three weeks ago, to aid the flow of passengers at ‘Canada’s airports, the federal government announced a pause on Mandatory Random Testing through to June 30, 2022,” the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable said in a press release today. But that pause expires in only a few hours, and random testing will continue, albeit off-site. “Removing the entire testing process from airports will ease the Read more
With pandemic travel restrictions largely in the rear-view mirror, a new CIBC polls finds that a majority of Canadians (63 per cent) are ready and excited for travel again. However, some vacation plans remain uncertain with three quarters of Canadians (75 per cent) indicating they are very concerned about the cost of travel due to inflationary pressures. Another poll, this one taken by PayPal Canada, finds that nearly half of millennials plan to splurge on their next vacation. A majority of respondents (97%) plan to travel within North America this year and 25 per cent prefer to explore locally in Read more
