Two men were charged with the murder of Quebec entrepreneur Daniel Langlois and his partner, Dominique Marchand, in a court in Dominica Wednesday morning. The CBC reports that Jonathan Lehrer and Robert Snyder briefly appeared in the courtroom, both in handcuffs.  Neither is said to have entered a plea. The Daily Mail said Lehrer, 57, has been charged with the Canadian couple’s murder – along with Snyder, another non-national. The bodies of Langlois and Marchand were found in a burnt-out car last Friday in Dominica, the Caribbean island nation where the couple had lived since 1997. They opened the posh, environmentally-friendly Read more

  This month marks Give Back December in Hawaii. “Give Back December is a statewide visitor volunteer engagement campaign that brings together not just visitors, but residents, nonprofits, businesses and schools in a concerted effort to take grassroots volunteer action that serves our communities,” officials from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority said. “”We seek to grow visitor engagement opportunities this December by working with hundreds of local nonprofit organizations to host visitor-friendly volunteer events across the islands to support more authentic connections through service work. “Most events held during Give Back December have an environmental stewardship focus and can range from Read more

Toronto Pearson is hoping to be on Santa’s “good” list this winter. Ahead of the 2023-2024 winter travel and holiday season, Toronto Pearson International Airport today announced a number of operational improvements designed to meet and maintain its readiness throughout the winter season. These initiatives include increased staffing, expanded deicing capacity, newly commissioned advanced snowplows, and the implementation of cutting-edge predictive technologies for weather and delay forecasting. An innovative AI system has also been put into place for more efficient baggage handling through the proactive identification and resolution of common, potential issues that may otherwise interrupt the flow of operations. Read more

A couple weeks ago I published my list of top 10 places to go in 2024. It seems the people at AFAR magazine and I think a lot alike. I put Toronto, Paris and Detroit in my top 10, and both cities are in the AFAR top 24. I also am high on, and have written in the past about, several other destinations on the AFAR list, including Sydney, Los Angeles, Texas Hill Country, Valencia, Manchester (England) and St. Kitts. Here is the top 24 from AFAR: Fiji Sydney, Australia Tangier, Morocco Texas Hill Country Rome Macchu Picchu Martha’s Vineyard, Read more

Air Transat and Porter Airlines are getting chummier by the day. Air Transat and Porter Airlines are extending their existing code-sharing agreement by creating a joint venture, transforming the current Canadian aviation competitive landscape. The alliance will help Toronto-based Porter and Montreal-based Transat better coordinate flight schedules and routes, which should benefit Canadian consumers and travellers.   By combining both airlines’ complementary networks, this Alliance offers travellers significant benefits, officials said, including enhanced travel options across multiple regions. The Alliance expands services between North, Central and South America, Europe, North Africa, Mexico and the Caribbean, integrating Porter’s and Transat’s highly-complementary, Read more

Air Transat flight attendants could strike as early as January 3, 2024, a move that would throw the winter travel season into chaos. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)  announced that its 2,100 flight attendant members at Air Transat approved a strike mandate by a nearly unanimous vote of 99.8%, by far the highest tally in the history of the Air Transat component of CUPE. Union officials said the vote reflects the flight attendants’ exceptionally high level of dissatisfaction with their working conditions, particularly with wages and purchasing power. Following a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall outlook Read more