Airline News & Updates | Canada's Airline Industry

By TravelPress Staff

October 4, 2012

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...

By Bob Mowat

October 3, 2012

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...

By Bob Mowat

October 3, 2012

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...

By Bob Mowat

October 3, 2012

IATA revises 2012 forecast

IATA has revised it 2012 outlook, noting that the fall in airline profits from the $8.4 billion that the industry earned in 2011 will be cushioned by improved airline performance. Airlines are expected to earn $4.1 billion in 2012 (up $1.1 billion from the $3.0 billion forecast in June). The revision will still see the industry's net profit margins fall from the 1.4% realized in 2011 to 0.6% (up from the previously forecast 0.5%). In a first look at 2013, IATA sees global profits rising modestly to $7.5 billion, though this is a net margin of just 1.1%. Tony Tyler, IATA's director general and...

By Bob Mowat

October 3, 2012

More success, more flights

As a result of the success of its Costa Rica program, Sunwing is launching new flights to San Jose (SJO), in addition to its current flights to Liberia (LIR). Flights from Toronto will depart weekly on Fridays from Dec. 21, 2012 to April 12, 2013. As well, Sunwing will be offering vacation packages, which include a selection of hotels in some of Costa Rica's most popular Central Pacific destinations. Located only 50 km from San Jose on the Gulf of Nicoya, Sunwing offers the DoubleTree by Hilton Puntarenas Hotel. Hotels in the Jaco area, which is popular for surfing, include the Best Western...

By Bob Mowat

October 2, 2012

Fleet plan has AC poised for international growth

Air Canada unveiled details of a new fleet plan that provides for international growth at both the mainline carrier and its new low-cost leisure airline to be launched in 2013. AC will add two new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to the mainline carrier's wide-body fleet in order to pursue strategic growth opportunities for its international network. With the addition of these two aircraft, to be delivered in June and September 2013, Air Canada's Boeing 777 fleet will consist of 20 aircraft comprising the latest generation of 300ER and 200LR models. Air Canada currently operates 56 wide-body...

By Bob Mowat

October 2, 2012

Make it transparent, travellers say

In its survey of summer travellers, Open Allies for Airfare Transparency found that 94% of Americans who recently used an online travel company (OTC) to book their travel this summer agreed that "all airline fee information should be available to travel agents and online travel web sites." The survey of 2,310 US adults aged 18 and older, was conducted online by market research firm, Harris Interactive. It found that 95% of Americans who used an OTC to book their summer travel agreed that "it would be easier to comparison shop if all airline fee information was available on online travel web...

By TravelPress Staff

October 1, 2012

Goersch named AC chief operating officer

Air Canada has announced the appointment of Klaus Goersch as executive vice-president and chief operating officer. In this role he will have responsibility for the safe, reliable and cost-effective operation of the airline. Goersch will have oversight for all key operating areas including flight operations, maintenance and engineering, airports, in-flight service, and systems operations control. Goersch has more than 25 years experience in the airline industry in both senior management and as a commercial pilot. He joins Air Canada from Air Tran Airways where he held the position of executive...

By TravelPress Staff

October 1, 2012

Win with Trafalgar, Air Canada

This year marks milestones for Trafalgar, which is marking 65 years of operation, and Air Canada, in business for 75 years. In celebration, the two companies have collaborated to express their gratitude to travel agent partners by offering them the chance to win a Trafalgar guided vacation for two with return international airfare provided by Air Canada, and other prizes. When agents book their clients on a 2013 Trafalgar Europe guided vacation and add on international flights with Air Canada, they will receive one entry for every passenger booked between Sept. 27 and Dec. 31....

By Bob Mowat

September 28, 2012

Demand slowdown continues

IATA reports that global traffic results for August show demand for air transport continuing to flatten-out, but with significant regional variations. Demand for air travel expanded by 5.1% in August compared to the same month in 2011. This partly reflects a positive distortion owing to the timing of Ramadan. Adjustment for such seasonal fluctuations reveals that passenger demand has been basically flat since June and with only a 1.2% expansion since January. Carriers continued to moderate capacity expansion, limiting it to 4.1% growth, taking load factors to 82.1%. Tony Tyler, IATA's...