Airlines

Air Transat, WestJet get nod from Feds

Transportation Minister Denis Lebel yesterday announced the designations of Air Transat and WestJet to operate scheduled international air services between Canada and several destinations in the Caribbean and Central America, providing more choice and convenience to travellers. The Minister designated Air Transat to make scheduled flights to Costa Rica, Sint Maarten, Barbados, Antigua/Barbuda, and Nicaragua. WestJet was designated to serve Costa Rica and Curaçao. The designations were made possible by existing air transport agreements between Canada and these countries. The agreements...

Porter adds fourth daily Sault Ste. Marie flight

Porter Airlines is adding a fourth weekday roundtrip between Sault Ste. Marie and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport beginning Oct. 1. Porter began serving Sault Ste. Marie in 2011, with two daily flights....

Porter partners with Qatar Airways

Porter Airlines is implementing its first interline partnership with Qatar Airways. The deal is effective immediately, providing expanded travel options for customers of both carriers. "Establishing Porter's first interline agreement is an important occasion for us and we couldn't have chosen a better partner than Qatar Airways, one of the world's elite airlines,"said Porter president Robert Deluce. "It's the beginning of a plan to add multiple interline partners in 2012, introducing Porter to an entirely new set of passengers."Qatar's Doha service to Montreal and Washington-Dulles are both...

Porter, WestJet set record July load factors

Porter Airlines carried more than 240,000 passengers in July, the most for any month in its history, while also setting a record July load factor of 70.1%. Passenger numbers increased 19.7% from the previous year. Figures for the month show 130.7 million Available Seat Miles (ASMs) and 91.6 million Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs). ASMs grew 12.9% from 115.8 million and RPMs increased 18.3% from 77.4 million last year. "The peak summer travel season is meeting our expectations with strong demand projected for coming months,"said Porter president Robert Deluce. (http://www.flyporter.com)...

United, pilots association reach tentative agreement

United Continental Holdings reports that the company has reached an agreement in principle on a new joint collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representing pilots at the United and Continental subsidiaries. The agreement is subject to definitive documentation, approvals by the ALPA master executive councils of each subsidiary and ratification by the company's pilots. "This agreement follows intense negotiations with our pilot group and is an important step forward for our company."said Fred Abbott, senior vice-president of flight operations for United....

Avior Airlines signs on with Travelport

Travelport and Venezuelan air carrier, Avior Airlines, have announced a new agreement. The deal also includes an upgrade to Direct Sell and Seamless Availability, which enable real-time reservation and confirmation of bookings, and allow agents to offer the highest level of service to travellers. Based in Barcelona, Venezuela, Avior has a fleet of Boeing 737s, which offers flights across Venezuela's key cities and some important international destinations, primarily for business travellers and tourism. It offers regular flights between strategic cities including Barcelona, Barinas,...

Emirates helps out

Those donating a tennis racquet at this year's Rogers Cup in Toronto from Aug. 4-12 will help kids. Thousands of inner-city children will have an opportunity to swing their own tennis racquets thanks to Emirates airline's Racquet Return Program, returning for its fifth year in support of the Doug Philpott Inner City Children's Tennis Fund. Launched at the 2008 Rogers Cup in Toronto, the Emirates Racquet Return Program will expand this summer to select US Open Series events across North America, including Los Angeles, New Haven and New York. Tennis racquets, preferably junior-sized ones, will...

WestJet teams up with Disney

WestJet has announced that guests onboard its flights this month can expect an extra-special inflight experience. Working with the Walt Disney Company (Canada) Ltd., WestJet has launched a unique inflight experience with a little Disney-inspired magic on board. Guests will receive complimentary Disney-themed snacks and napkins while enjoying free Disney cartoons and movies on seatback televisions throughout the flight. On select routes, guests will also enjoy Disney-themed jokes, fun facts and a complimentary gift. WestJet Vacations offers a range of flexible vacation packages at Aulani, a...

Passenger growth continues to slow

IATA reports that June traffic results continue to show a slowing of growth in line with the weakness in business and consumer confidence. Year-on-year, demand for air travel in June expanded by 6.2%. Capacity grew by a much more cautious 4.5% leaving load factors at 81%. While this appears to be a healthy growth rate, the growth trend since early 2012 has seen a slowdown. IATA points to the February through June trend to illustrate its point, observing that during that time, there was a 2% annualized growth. That is a major slowdown from the 8% annualized growth rate experienced from...