Jetlines Vacations taking Canadians to new vacation experiences

Canada Jetlines has launched Jetlines Vacations – allowing Canadians to book their vacation packages directly with the carrier’s tour operation.

And company officials are convinced that by offering Canadian travellers a different kind of vacation experience, Jetlines Vacations is on a flight path to success.

Charles McKee, chief commercial officer (CCO) for Canada Jetlines, explained that since November 2023, Canada Jetlines has given Canadian travel agents the ability to book its products through Softvoyage’s Sirev and other platforms.

In fact, McKee made it clear that the company has ‘put a lot of thought’ into the creation and launch of Jetlines Vacations because it recognizes that travel agents have ‘a lot of choice’ when it comes to booking a client’s vacation with a tour company.

“Agents are the guardians of the gate” for their clients, McKee observed and, as a result, they are looking for a “reliable, dependable” product to book for those customers.

McKee clearly believes that Jetlines Vacations will provide that product to agents’ clients, observing: “We’re coming in with a fresh approach and a different proposition for agents.”

Investing in the travel agent community

It has also been investing in the agency community, currently offering retailers a 10% commission (in effect until the end of May), and “will continue to be active with agents” – offering them educational opportunities and continuing to have open and ongoing discussions with them.

The late January launch, McKee said, is important both from a Canada Jetlines’ perspective and from a marketplace perspective, explaining that Jetlines Vacations is intent on offering the ‘premier’ destinations that Canadians want to go to for their vacations.

Right now, Jetlines Vacations’ offerings include Mexico and Jamaica; it’s building its Florida product; and Nevada is coming, although that’s down the road a bit. However, those vacation offerings will grow exponentially as Canada Jetlines expands its fleet to six aircraft by the end of June this year.

The result of that, McKee said is that: “As we look toward winter [2024-2025] you will see a significant ramp up of destinations served.”

That exponential expansion will focus on destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico, but McKee noted that some of the destinations it will be launching will be unique and a surprise when they’re announced.

Noting that it has been ‘fun’ to build Jetlines Vacations, McKee said that currently the tour operator offers an inventory of 30 hotels, representing 18,000 rooms. Those properties are in the 3 to 5-star range, but for the new tour company, but “the sweet spot,” McKee said is 4-star properties that provide great price and value for the consumer.

Canada Jetlines’ CCO said that the company believes that there’s a gap in the vacation space in Canada because there are changes taking place in the Canadian market and Jetlines Vacations wants to offer Canadian travellers – particularly a younger generation of travellers – an alternative to what’s currently available.

He added that having its own aircraft allows Canada Jetlines and Jetlines Vacations to send travellers where they want to go and clearly it is intent on doing exactly that.

“There’s a new kid on the block with some fresh thinking about where Canadians want to spend their vacations and that the vacation starts when they get on board our aircraft,” McKee said.

Check out Jetlines Vacations by going to https://vacations.jetlines.com/