Experts are warning Canadians that travel is about to get very busy again. And they say we need to be prepared. “Yes, I am getting many requests for bookings,” Toronto-based travel advisor Amy Urquhart of Pure Magic Vacations told me. “People are still looking to book getaways for March Break and into later spring and summer. The demand is overwhelming at times.” “As far as bookings go, I am well above where I was in the same time period of 2019 pre-pandemic,” said Canadian travel agent Brenda Slater, an Ontario agent and Travel Concierge with Beyond The Beach. “The Read more
travel news
Air Canada and United Airlines announced today that, through their enhanced transborder joint business agreement, they will offer industry leading capacity and new routes between Canada and the U.S. for summer 2023 – including a new United-operated flight between Washington-Dulles and Calgary and a new Air Canada-operated flight between Washington-Dulles and Vancouver. The carriers have collaboratively optimized their schedules, subject to applicable government and regulatory conditions, and added more flights to provide customers greater connectivity and more flexible flight times, with over 80 transborder codeshare routes and more than 260 daily flights. “Through our longstanding partnership with United Airlines, Air Read more
Are Canadian airlines worse about losing luggage than American or Australian carriers? New data from Compare the Market reveals that one-in-four Australians and Americans, and almost one-in-three Canadians, report having had an airline misplace or lose their luggage. Using survey data from more than 3,000 adults across all three nations, Compare the Market also investigated whether they got their belongings back, how much they were compensated by the airline, if at all, and how travel insurance payouts compared. Asked if they had ever had their luggage lost while flying, 24.5% of Australians said yes, compared to 27.6% of Americans and Read more
The winter storm that swept through the U.S. and Eastern Canada over the last 24 hours is causing all kinds of travel headaches today (Feb. 23). The website flightaware.com reports 108 Air Canada Jazz flights had been cancelled as of 3 :30 p.m. Eastern Time. That’s roughly 23% of all flights. For mainline Air Canada, the website was showing 31 cancellations, or six per cent. WestJet had only a 4% cancellation rate as of that time (14 flights), but Swoop was showing 14 cancelled flights; 24% of their scheduled total for the day. Toronto Pearson airport was showing 81 outbound Read more
Air Canada has launched a limited digital identification trial, becoming the first airline in Canada to offer customers facial recognition technology to confirm identification. In a pilot project currently underway, Air Canada’s digital identification is now available for customers departing from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) when boarding select flights to Winnipeg, and for eligible customers entering the Air Canada Café at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Air Canada plans to expand digital identification options to select Canadian airports and Maple Leaf Lounges as part of its pilot project phase. “Many of our customers already utilize digital credentials to simplify their daily Read more
