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
Carnival Cruises
It’s no secret that cruise lines have been hit hard by the pandemic. But $8 billion is still a startling figure. Carnival Corporation, which includes Holland America, Carnival Cruises, Princess Cruises, Cunard, Seabourn, and Costa Cruises, is reporting a $2 billion (all figures USD) loss for the fourth quarter of 2021. Open Jaw reports the company’s loss for the year is nearly $8 billion. Still, Carnival President and CEO Arnold Donald says he sees sunnier days ahead for the second half of next year. “Our cash from operations turned positive in the month of November, and we expect consistently positive Read more
With tourism lagging badly, Europe wants more visitors. I’ve also got news about a VRBO list on where Americans are heading for the Fourth of July weekend, new funding for tourism in Alberta and cruise news from Carnival and MSC Cruises. Trudeau: Border Loosening Not Likely Soon Canadian travel and tourism leaders have been lobbying hard for a loosening of Canada’s borders to allow more international visitors. They also want fewer restrictions on intra-provincial travel. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen soon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today said the federal government has to “look very carefully” at Read more
A month or two ago, when all this crazy coronavirus stuff hit the fan, I suggested that 2020 may be The Summer of Canada given our reluctance (and, for now, inability) to travel anywhere else over the next few months, and given the low Canadian dollar and the damage COVID-19 has done to our collective pocketbooks. I’m taking another look at the issue today given a Conference Board of Canada study I spotted the other day (and one I referenced on the weekend during my live interview on CTV News). Today’s Future of Travel Blog also looks at a new Read more
THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL This is a continuation of my Future of Travel blog series. Few areas of the travel industry have taken a bigger public relations hit than cruising. But there may be some surprising signs of strength. Here’s a story published the other day on the U.S. TravelWeekly website. TravelWeekly is part of the Northstar Travel Group, as is TravelPulse Canada, where I serve as senior editorial director. The media’s coverage of ships with Covid-19 outbreaks has left cruising arguably the hardest hit of any travel product. It was the first industry to shut down completely, and its Read more
