Airlines
Air Canada has record September
For the month of September, Air Canada has reported a record system load factor of 84.9%, versus 82.8% in September 2011. System traffic increased 3.1% on a system-wide capacity increase of 0.5%. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity. "Air Canada generated greater traffic in all markets the airline serves, with system wide growth of 3.1% on a capacity increase of 0.5% through higher utilization of our existing fleet,"said Air Canada president Calin Rovinescu. "These strong results underscore the...
Frankfurt Airport opens Pier A-Plus
Frankfurt Airport's (FRA) new Pier A-Plus - the 787-metre-long westward expansion of Terminal 1 - has opened on schedule after about four years of construction. Flight operations begin on Oct. 10 at the new pier, allowing Germany's biggest hub to serve up to six million additional passengers per year - thus a total of approximately 65 million passengers per year. The...
AirCalin upgrades A330 cabins
New Caledonia carrier AirCalin reports work on the full cabin retrofit of its two Airbus A330s began Oct. 1. The aircraft will be successively grounded for one month in the HAECO hangars and workshops in Hong Kong. The first retrofitted aircraft will be put back into service on Nov. 7, while the second should be operational by Dec. 5. Both newly retrofitted aircraft will be in service for the airline's peak period. Passengers will find new seats, in-flight entertainment system, overall cabin ambiance, cabin crew uniforms and tableware. "Comfort, cutting-edge technology, design and...
Air New Zealand ups North American capacity
Air New Zealand will add approximately 5,000 return seats a month to North America as it further increases capacity to Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles from April 2013. The Vancouver to Auckland route, which has been operating for five years this November, will also see a significant boost in capacity with three return services per week in off peak periods (previously two). Air New Zealand will operate five times a week over peak demand times from mid-December to the end of February. The airline will operate daily return flights between Auckland and San Francisco. To date, the San...
WestJet reports record September load factor
WestJet has announced September 2012 traffic results with a record load factor of 79.1%. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 7.7% year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 1.7% over the same period. The airline flew 4.6 million guests in the third quarter, which is a year-over-year increase of 9.7% or approximately 408,000 additional guests. "We reported a record load factor each month this quarter which has translated to our highest ever quarterly load factor,"said WestJet president Gregg Saretsky. "The record load factor exceeded our...
Emirates welcomes 25th Airbus A380 to fleet
Emirates took delivery of its 24th and 25th Airbus A380 and its 78th Boeing 777-300 on Oct. 1. The aircraft will be immediately engaged into service across Emirates network of 126 destinations in 74 countries; supporting Emirates planned expansion of its network and flights. The delivery of three wide-body aircraft in one day, a record for Emirates, required careful review and advance preparation within all operational units to ensure the availability of the required flight crew, cabin crew, engineers, and airport staff in time to ensure a smooth entry into service. "With its large capacity...
AC taps Friisdahl to run new leisure travel group
Air Canada has unveiled details of plans to form an integrated leisure group that will combine the activities of its tour operator business, Air Canada Vacations, with its new low-cost leisure airline to launch in 2013. And AC has appointed Michael Friisdahl as the president and CEO of the new leisure group -- which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Canada. Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, said: "The creation of a leisure group that combines our new low-cost leisure carrier with Air Canada Vacations, our successful tour operator business, is a major milestone for Air...
New roles for Gedeon, Morin as AC realigns sales
Air Canada has tapped Zeina Gedeon as its new vice-president, e-commerce, product distribution and sales development, while Claude Morin has been named vice-president global sales management. The airline said that the realignment of its sales organization is designed to better reflect strategic objectives and capitalize on opportunities and markets in an evolving industry environment. Gedeon, currently president and CEO of Air Canada Vacations, will be responsible for the strategy, development and ongoing management of all distribution channels pertaining to Air Canada products and digital...