Air Canada picked up three awards at this year’s Skytrax Airline Awards ceremony, while Air Transat and WestJet also picked up hardware. Air Canada was named world’s most family friendly airline and best airline in Canada. It also won top spot for best airline staff in Canada. Air Canada Rouge was named best low-cost airline in Canada, while Star Alliance, of which Air Canada is a member, was named world’s best airline alliance. Air Transat was named world’s best leisure airline, as well as (naturally) best leisure airline in North America. WestJet took home the hardware as best regional airline Read more
Air Transat
The fast-paced airline recovery continues in Canada, with a strong financial report today from Transat A.T. Inc. “For the second quarter of 2023, Transat reported a solid performance, with an adjusted operating income of $56.1 million, nearly 40% higher than in the same quarter of 2019,” said officials from the company, which runs Montreal-based Air Transat. “At mid-year, and based on current booking trends, we are raising the target for the adjusted operating income margin from the initially set range of 4% to 6% to a target of 5.5% to 7% for the fiscal year.” “Several factors contributed to the Read more
Bad enough that we’re getting squeezed into airplanes. Now consumers around the world are facing skyrocketing airline prices. Bloomberg reports that corporate travel manager American Express Global Business Travel analyzed tens of thousands of client transactions on international flights to and from Asian destinations and found some serious inflation at work. A typical New York-to-Hong Kong flight in economy class cost more than twice as much this year as in 2019, and almost a third more than last year. “Fares have been bolstered by tight capacity going into travel’s peak season and customers are eager to book, often upgrading to Read more
Porter Airlines is launching its summer schedule at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), with additional flexibility when travelling between YYZ and Ottawa (YOW), Montreal (YUL), Halifax (YHZ), Vancouver (YVR), Edmonton (YEG) and Calgary (YYC). The new schedule comes into effect on June 1, adding more desirable flight times that are well-distributed throughout the day. Certain routes will see a further increase in flights by August. A greater number of coast-to-coast connecting flight options via Porter’s YYZ hub are also created with this new schedule. Porter says it will fly from Toronto Pearson Montreal Trudeau four times a week in Read more
A report from Christopher Reynolds of Canadian Press lays out some startling information on the reduction of flight options for Canadians, and the increased cost. In a story that appeared in the Toronto Star, Reynolds wrote that prices on flights between Halifax and Montreal rose 69% after WestJet cancelled the route. He also noted that fares between Winnipeg and Regina umped 39% after Air Canada left the route for WestJet. Quoting the airline website Hopper, Reynolds said that, since 2019, roundtrip air fares for Canadians for trips to Europe have risen 32%, while those to the U.S. have gone Read more
