WestJet and Air Canada appear to be going in opposite directions when it comes to seat-back entertainment on Canada’s most popular airlines. And Americans might be losing quite a lot of them. In a story first published in The New York Times, it was stated that some airlines are taking away the popular seat-back screens that show movies and TV shows on airplanes around the world. They’re expensive to install – about $10,000 USD per seat – and they also weigh a great deal. The Times story said some airlines are looking at the number of passengers who now carry Read more
United Airlines
News of the day, folks. A little of this and a few dashes of that. CALLING ALL CANADIANS – FLORIDA WANTS YOU! Florida sunshine will come cheaper this winter. Florida Governor Rick Scott was in Toronto this week to announce a new Canadian Power Play program that aims to boost the number of visits from Canada this coming winter. The state is offering Canadians up to 20 per cent off package travel deals from VISIT FLORIDA partners. My friends at Travel Pulse Canada were all over this announcement this week if you want to read more. It’s a great idea Read more
A new study by reputable pollsters Angus Reid is giving Air Canada officials something to think about. It also suggests Canadians are none too happy with airlines in general. An Angus Reid report I spotted today found that 50% of Canadians rate Montreal-based Air Canada as “good” or “excellent,” while 17% gave our biggest airline a rating of “poor” or “terrible.” Things were considerably brighter for Calgary-based WestJet. Angus Reid said its study found that 77% of Canadians rate WestJet either good or excellent, while a measly 4% gave them a poor or terrible rating. That’s a pretty big difference, Read more
Okay, one could argue that an airline crash is worse PR than this. But those are usually freak accidents that are almost impossible to anticipate. Today’s news? That United had a guy DRAGGED off a plane for refusing to give up a seat he had paid for? And video to go with it? I don’t think the Richter scale of episodic public relations earthquakes can register a tremor that sizable. One of the best lines I saw on Twitter was from a guy who drily noted that United already has business class and economy, as well as premium economy for Read more
The world and I are one. A recent Expedia poll of travellers finds that two of my biggest pet peeves about travelling are exactly the same things that bother most of you, namely seat kickers and seat reclining slammers. Sixty four per cent of respondents said rear-seat kicking is their biggest pet peeve. Next on the annoy-o-meter was the seat slammer, mentioned by 59 % of those surveyed. Other big no-no’s on the list were “aromatic” passengers; those with too much cologne or not enough time in the shower, as well as excessive booze hounds and folks who think we Read more
