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
airline complaints
After months and months of travel discontent across Canada, the Canadian government today said it will spend $1.8 billion over five years to improve airport operations and passenger screening, and to address a backlog of airline complaints to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). Canadian Press reports the Trudeau government also is “proposing to strengthen the rules around compensation for Canadians whose travel plans are disrupted, and to give the CTA more authority to resolve passenger complaints.” That will no doubt play well with consumers who were angered by flight delays and cancellations over the Christmas holidays, but probably not with Read more
The number of air passenger complaints to Canada’s transport regulator has more than tripled over the past year, soaring past 42,000 as of this month, Canadian Press reports. Complaints totalled about 13,400 as of March 31, 2022, before skyrocketing to unprecedented highs in the ensuing 12 months, according to Canadian Transportation Agency reports. They hit 36,000 in late January, and rose by another 17 per cent since then. Ottawa recently announced $75.9 million in new funding to help deal with the backlog. Canadian Press reports another $11 million was given to the CTA last year, and that the number of Read more
