So, you’re tired of airline delays? You’re in good company. WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech took to his Twitter account (@AHoensbroech) on Thursday and blasted Navigation Canada for a 2.5-hour delay on his flight to Vancouver. “Frustrating! Delayed by 2.5h on our own @WestJet flight to @yvrairport because @navcanada is understaffed,” he wrote. “We would have been perfectly on time, now many guests will miss their connections. Shows again why we need a proper shared accountability system across the entire sector!” Daily Hive quoted a Navigation Canada (NavCan) official as saying that staffing matters are just one of many issues Read more
Yahoo.com reports that Toronto Blue Jays player Anthony Bass is sparking a debate after calling out flight attendants who he said “made” his wife clean up after their kids on a plane. On Sunday, Bass wrote on Twitter (his handle is @AnthonyBass52) that a United Airlines employee forced his wife, Sydney Rae Bass, to get “on her hands and knees” to pick up a mess made by their toddler. “The [United] flight attendant just made my 22 week pregnant wife traveling with a 5 year old and 2 year old get on her hands and knees to pick up the Read more
Inflation worries are causing Canadians to cut back on travel, but Gen Z remains eager to get out there and explore. An Ipsos Reid poll conducted in mid-March for Global News found that 62% of Canadians say they’re scaling back their vacation plans this year. Sixty one per cent of respondents blamed “inflation and the economy” for their travel trimming. A full 24% of those surveyed said they can’t afford a summer vacation, and only 13% said they’ll spend more this year. “Canadians are going to be looking for cheaper alternatives,” said Ipsos VP Sean Simpson. One person interviewed said Read more
So, you want to be a travel writer? Can’t say I blame you. I spent 32 years at the Toronto Star, the last five as the paper’s travel section editor. I left in August of 2013 to work as a freelance travel writer, and have worked for dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites in the interim period. I’ve been to every province in Canada and the Yukon and to dozens of countries on most of the continents in the last 11 years, including far-flung spots in Australia, Asia, Europe, South America, The South Pacific and the Caribbean. It’s been a Read more
I still remember the feeling. It was my first-ever trip to Europe, way back in 1979, and I’d taken an overnight flight from San Francisco to London and had my passport stamped at customs at Heathrow Airport in London. I took a train to the city centre and then transferred on the Tube to the Russell Square station. I walked out and there it was. A red, British telephone box. Just like in the movies, I thought, with breathless wonder. And then I dropped in some coins and, like a good son, called my parents to let them know I’d Read more
