Canadians are getting more flight options for Cuba, Florida and Mexico. Swoop, Canada’s leading ultra-low-cost airline, has expanded its winter schedule with new routes, more frequencies and new service to Cuba. Swoop will begin its seasonal, non-stop service between Toronto (YYZ) and Varadero (VRA) on January 11, 2023, and fares are starting as low as $189 one-way. “We’re thrilled to be announcing an expansion in the Caribbean, adding Varadero to our growing list of vacation destinations,” said Tia McGrath, Leader, Distribution and Sales. “Cuba tops the list for Ontarians seeking an affordable beach getaway and we’re proud to reaffirm our Read more
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Travel Notes: Swoop Airlines Adds Varadero, Cuba, Plus A Vegas Tourism Boom + Hawai’i Fall Festivals
The Trudeau government says it’s making progress on passport and airport delays, but it admits there’s a lot of work to do. Federal government ministers put out a statement today saying that it’s hired more than 700 new staff for passport offices and hired 1,800 more security screening officers at airports. It also said it’s decreasing flight delays,cancellations and baggage woes, and that the average wait times at the passport call centre have significantly decreased from a peak of 108 minutes earlier this spring to 24 minutes as of August 21. “With this surge in passport requests and significant delays Read more
This winter, Sunwing customers can return to the dream vacation destination of Freeport, Grand Bahama, the second largest city in the Bahamas. Service starts December 17, 2022, with weekly direct flights from Toronto and Montréal on board Sunwing Airlines. Experiences of a lifetime await sun-seekers in this Bahamian paradise with beautiful weather, pristine beaches, underwater adventures, charming all inclusive stays and a variety of cultural and historical sites. Situated off the coast of Florida in the northwest region of the Bahamas, Freeport offers travellers of all ages a tropical playground with comfortable temperatures year-round where they can discover the depths Read more
Things don’t seem to be improving a whole lot at Toronto Pearson. With the summer travel season winding down and kids heading back to school, it seems Canadians are still flying a great deal. And still getting delayed. Using stats from flightaware.com, I tracked outbound delays at Toronto Pearson for five consecutive days, August 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28. I found cancellations are quite low, which is good news. But delays remain stubbornly high. Here’s what I found for OUTBOUND flights, courtesy of Flight Aware. August 24: 12 cancelled (1%). 168 delayed (27%) August 25: 7 cancelled (1%), 223 Read more
Canadian hotels are pretty much back to 2019 occupancy levels, and Google searches for Canada are higher than they were prior to the pandemic. Destination Canada’s quarterly report, issued today, finds that travel has strongly rebounded in the country. “Buoyed by hotel occupancy in regions exceeding their 2019 levels and lifts in urban areas closing in on their pre-pandemic performance, average hotel occupancy in June 2022 for Canada stood 1% below its 2019 level,” the report said. “Travel to Canada is in demand, with Google search from international markets exceeding 2019 levels.” Destination Canada said domestic air connectivity has improved Read more
