A top Air Canada executive says business travel in Canada could reach pre-2019 levels by the end of this year. There’s also encouraging news about a Canadian leisure travel rebound. In an interview with Reuters, Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer Lucie Guillemette said Canada could even be close to pre-pandemic business travel numbers by Labour Day. “We’re actually very encouraged,” she said this week. “We’re certainly not close to 2019 levels yet, but we are thinking, based on what we’re seeing, most probably by the time we hit Labour Day, or get into 2023 it should be quite close.” That’s Read more
travel rebound
Air Canada has flown more than 100,000 customers in a single day for the first time since early in the pandemic as passenger loads continue to rebound with customers returning to travel. “We were very pleased to have had 100,701 customers board our planes on April 15, 2022, as travellers steadily return,” said Kevin O’Connor, Vice President of Air Canada’s Systems Operations Control, which manages the airline’s daily operation. “Clearly there is a pent-up demand for travel that is matched only by our enthusiasm to welcome back our customers. “It is also significant that we passed this milestone smoothly, indicating Read more
Americans are itching to hit the road again, a new travel study says. Destination Analysts surveyed American travelers and found that 87.6% have current trip plans. Eighty one per cent of American travelers report strong excitement for their travel this year and 86.2% are in a ready-to-travel state-of-mind. The survey also found that a record high 57.9% feel things are closer to normal in the U.S. Americans’ perceived impact of COVID on their ability to have meaningful travel experiences is at a record low (35.9%). Another bit of good news is that avoidance of conventions and conferences reached a record Read more
WestJet is celebrating a milestone in recovery with its highest single-day guest count since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the airline is expected to fly an estimated 48,000 guests on more than 450 flights. “Today’s milestone is a direct reflection of our guest’s desire to return to the skies and their renewed confidence in air travel,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of WestJet. “This is a strong signal for demand and the recovery of our industry as we look ahead to the busy summer travel season.” This summer, WestJet is set to return its network to near pre-pandemic levels, Read more
Canadians are booking trips to Europe and the U.S.. Cruise companies are expanding rapidly. And new hotels are being built in Canada around the world. The latest RBC consumer tracking figures for Canada finds that travel spending recently touched pre-COVID levels for the first time as pandemic restrictions eased. “The domestic tourism recovery continues to outpace international travel but Canadian spending on restaurants and hotels abroad has also been rising,” RBC said. Meanwhile, the American Automobile Association this week said cruise bookings during the past four weeks are twice as high as this time last year. Just 612 Canadians visited Read more
