Airlines
Rewards from Etihad, airberlin
Etihad Airways and airberlin have integrated their Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) loyalty programs -- Business Connect and business points. From today (June 11), SMEs which participate in either airline's business travel loyalty program will be rewarded for flying on codeshare flights operated by Etihad Airways, airberlin and NIKI. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' chief commercial officer said: "We are delighted to be able to introduce the smartest and most rewarding loyalty scheme to the market, targeted at SME businesses who are looking for ways to optimize their business travel...
AC adds St. John’s lift
Air Canada has further enhanced its services in Newfoundland and Labrador by offering customers travelling to and from St. John's a 5% increase in available seats over last summer. Marcel Forget, vice-president, network planning for the carrier, said: "This summer, in response to the expanding economy and working closely with the local community, we are pleased to increase our departing capacity from St John's by 5% above last year's level. 2012 is Air Canada's 75th anniversary and we take pride in having served the St. John's and Newfoundland and Labrador community for 70 of these years and...
TACA to connect YYZ, El Salvador
TACA will soon begin daily direct service between Toronto and El Salvador, with the final destination being San Jose, Costa Rica, as of July 2. The carrier now has three weekly flights on the route. The additional Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday frequencies will begin July 2. Flights leave Toronto at 10:45 a.m., arriving in San Salvador at 2 p.m. The carrier notes that it also offers daily service to Lima through San Salvador, with those arriving in the Peruvian capital able to find immediate connections to Cuzco, Arequipa, Trujillo, Piura, Chiclayo, Tarapoto and Juliaca. Flights also...
Austrian shines for Star
The new Austrian Star Alliance Terminal at Vienna Airport welcomed its first flight this week and its CEO, Jaan Albrecht said: "This is a milestone in Austrian air transport. Its minimum transfer time of 25 minutes and its new and modern image have returned Vienna Airport to being a competitive hub in Europe. This strengthens the role played by Vienna International Airport in the Lufthansa Group and enhances its role of being an important international hub for Star Alliance." The new terminal, which is 1,614,587 square feet in size, offers passengers a new and better quality of travel. The...
Google rolls out Flight Search in Canada
Google's Flight Search is now live in Canada and you can check it out at http://www.google.ca/flights . The Canadian version offers a quick and easy to find and book flights from a host of Canadian airports to something like 500 international destinations. It's available in both French and English. Pricing is in Canadian dollars. And it offers a bunch of features that include instant loading of flights in an easy-to-scan format; the ability to see ticket prices for various destinations by surfing a map and then filter results by price, airline or flight duration; the ability to find the best...
IATA ready for intense AGM
IATA is gearing up for its 68th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit that gets underway in Beijing, China on June 11, 2012. The annual event will bring together some 650 leaders of the global aviation industry for two days of intense discussions on the industry's most important issues. Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of IATA, observed: "Oil prices are high, although moderating somewhat from recent peaks. The European sovereign debt crisis is unresolved and we are seeing signs that it is starting to affect Asia's export-driven economies. And the largely jobless...
Dee takes early retirement from AC
Air Canada's executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Duncan Dee will be taking early retirement this fall after a 15-year career with the carrier. Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of AC, said that Dee has made a "significant" contribution to Air Canada during the course of his career. Pointing out that while he has held many different roles at AC, Rovinescu said that "in his role as Chief Operating Officer, he has helped both shape our strategic direction and lead the airline through the challenges of transformation, while continuing to build on our worldwide reputation for...
Globespan partners with Virgin Atlantic
Globespan has announced that its newest partner on the Vancouver-London, UK route and beyond is Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic's new service from Vancouver started in late May and Globespan, as one of Western Canada's prominent European focused consolidators, is a key partner for VS. Virgin Atlantic is offers Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class cabin service on its flights and provides a number of options for passengers travelling beyond London Heathrow, including Africa. Globespan offers competitive net fares and an agent rewards program, plus secure access for retail travel agents at...