Air Canada customers have a new lounge to enjoy at the Toronto Island Airport. Air Canada today unveiled its newest Air Canada Café, in collaboration with Aspire, Swissport’s premium lounge brand. As of today (June 1), eligible Air Canada customers departing from Toronto’s downtown airport will have dedicated access to the only airline lounge at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) to enjoy elevated comfort and convenience before they fly. The new Aspire | Air Canada Café marks the 27th lounge in Air Canada’s lounge network and the sixth Canadian location for Aspire. It’s a 133-seat modern respite at Billy Read more
travel news
North Americans should be prepared for a very busy weekend. The U.S. Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and, with travel restrictions pretty much lifted around the world, it’s big. Very big. Scary big. The American Automobile Association expected 37.1 million Americans to hop in their cars this weekend, up 6% from last year. I’m surprised it’s not a little higher given that the association says car rental prices are down 17% and gas prices down 10% from a year ago. “We’re seeing strong demand for MDW with nearly 17 million passengers scheduled to depart from U.S airports this coming Read more
Air Canada today reported a strong operational performance to begin the summer travel season. Approximately 540,000 customers flew with the carrier between May 19 and 22, the May long weekend in Canada that traditionally marks the start of the summer travel season. “I am very pleased by the performance of our airline during the first long weekend of the summer, said Kevin O’Connor, Senior Vice President, Global Airports and Operational Control at Air Canada. “We carried heavy loads, with 540,000 customers and our mainline aircraft 95% full on Friday, yet we achieved a flight completion ratio of 98.7% and a Read more
Hong Kong airport officials are giving away 500,000 sponsored flights to visit the city, and Canadians are eligible. “Hong Kong is ready to welcome global visitors with its recent ‘Hello Hong Kong’ promotional campaign, launched in February. This initiative represents the city’s enthusiastic outreach to international tourists.” To entice travellers, Airport Authority Hong Kong is offering 500,000 sponsored air tickets across various markets via four major home-based carriers: Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Express, Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines. In the Canadian market, these tickets are distributed through Cathay Pacific. Although the base fare is waived, Canadian passengers Read more
We all remember the headlines from last summer: “Canadian airport chaos,” “A sea of lost bags,” and “Toronto Pearson ranked worst airport in world.” I did a series of CBC radio interviews last Friday to talk about whether we’ll see a repeat of the 2022 Summer of Travel Chaos. Here’s what I had to say. What do thing look like for the summer of 2023? There appears to be tons of demand. Air Canada last Friday reported operating revenues for the first quarter of this year were nearly double 2022 numbers. A Mastercard report issued last Thursday found that leisure Read more
