A prominent Liberal in the Justin Trudeau government says he wants to hear from Sunwing and VIA Rail about the travel chaos that many Canadians endured over the holidays. MP Peter Schiefke, the Member of Parliament for Vaudreuil-Soulanges in Quebec and chair of the federal government’s transportation and infrastructure committee, tweeted on Tuesday that both companies need to be held accountable for a disastrous holiday season. Sunwing cancelled flights between Canada and Mexico a couple days before Christmas, leaving hundreds of Canadians stranded during the holidays. Passengers on a VIA Rail train headed from Ottawa to Toronto were forced to Read more
Sunwing
Battered Southwest Airlines says it expects to operate at something approaching full strength. Following one of the worst performances in U.S. aviation history, with more than 13,000 cancelled flights since December 22, the airline says it expects to operate with “minimal disruptions” on the day before New Year’s Eve. Southwest cancelled 2,362 flights on Thursday (57% of all scheduled departures), according to FlightAware.Com. But the website shows only 41 cancellations (1% of flights) as of 11 a.m. Eastern Time today (Dec. 30, 2022). Thousands of passengers are still trying to find their way home, or to their final destination, following Read more
The most wonderful time of the year has turned into the nightmare before New Year’s for many American and Canadian travelers. Last week it was Canada’s turn to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous travel. A massive snowstorm shut down airports in Vancouver and southern British Columbia a few days prior to Christmas, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including many from Canada’s WestJet Airlines. A so-called “bomb cyclone” or “weather bomb” then swept across the United States and Eastern Canada, causing massive cancellations at airports in Seattle, Detroit, Buffalo and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Toronto Pearson, Canada’s Read more
The Christmas holiday season is proving to be the opposite of merry and bright for many Canadians. Major cancellations continued at airports and on train lines in eastern Canada on Christmas Day, when most Canadians hope to spend time with family and friends. All VIA Rail trains between Toronto and Montreal and Toronto and Ottawa are cancelled today, VIA Rail stated. It was much better than Saturday, but Christmas Day Sunday still saw more than 130 outgoing and incoming flights at Toronto Pearson, which means travel plans were disrupted or entirely cancelled for thousands and thousands of people. FlightAware reported Read more
Canadians have a new way to fly between Toronto and Halifax. Porter Airlines is introducing the newest route with its Embraer jets, with multiple daily, non-stop, roundtrip flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ). Porter has been serving the Halifax community since 2007. Passengers can now choose to travel with Porter using two Toronto airports on this popular route, including the downtown convenience of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Pearson service begins February 23, 2023. Porter recently announced it would fly its new jets between Toronto Pearson and Calgary, as well as Pearson to Read more
