JULY 22 2018:In case you missed it, and even if you didn’t, here’s a quick look at some of last week’s need-to-know travel news:
AIR
It might be time to invest in Boeing stock. The airplane manufacturer has raised its long-term forecast for commercial airplanes as rising passenger traffic and upcoming airplane retirements drive the need for 42,730 new jets – valued at $6.3 trillion – over the next 20 years. The global airplane fleet will also sustain growing demand for commercial aviation services, leading to a total market opportunity of $15 trillion. According to fleet data, there are more than 900 airplanes today that are over 25 years old. By the mid 2020s, more than 500 airplanes a year will reach 25 years of age – double the current rate – fueling the retirement wave. Including airplanes that will be retained, the global fleet is projected to essentially double in size to 48,540 by 2037.
NASA and France’s national aerospace research centre, the Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA), have signed a research agreement that could make supersonic passenger flights over land practical, dramatically reducing travel time. The research is designed to predict where sonic booms will be heard as supersonic aircraft fly overhead, which could lead to alleviating the effects of the loud noise caused by sonic booms.
Three Canadian airlines were recognized at the highly influential Skytrax World Airline Awards in London last week: Air Canada as Best Airline in North America, WestJet as North America’s Best Low-Cost Airline, and Transat as World’s Best Leisure Airline.
Groundwork is being laid for a new US start-up airline. The yet-to-be-named carrier, led by one of the founders of WestJet and JetBlue, David Neelemen, has ordered 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft for delivery beginning in 2021. See: STARTING OVER
Sunwing is offering residents of Victoria more options to escape to the sun this winter with the introduction of seasonal flight options from the BC capital to Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Huatulco, starting in the fall. See: THREE TO GO
ROOMS
An extensive renovation has given a new look to the Riu Palace Punta Cana. The recently reopened resort in the Dominican Republic now features new restaurants, swimming pools, spa and gym, kids club, plus other amenities, all while retaining its signature style. See: RENOVATIONS COMPLETE
Hard Rock International, with a presence in 70 countries worldwide, will add Ireland to its portfolio with the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin in 2020. The music-themed property will be on Lord Edward Street in the city centre.
Caesars Entertainment has broken ground on Caesars Forum, a $375-million, 168,000-sq.-m. conference centre in Las Vegas. Located behind the LINQ promenade, it will feature the city’s first 30,000-sq.-m. outdoor meeting and event space.
As more and more people become attuned to the fact that a single plastic straw – which might be used for about 15 minutes – will never fully decompose, Marriott International has adopted a plan to remove disposable plastic straws and plastic stirrers from its more than 6,500 properties across 30 brands around the world. Once fully implemented in one year, the company could eliminate the use of more than one billion plastic straws per year and about a quarter billion stirrers.
TOUR OPERATORS
Globus and Cosmos continue to have faith in the faith-based market with the release a 2019 Religious Travel brochure, featuring 10 tours designed to allow Christians to explore the roots and stories of their faith with fellow believers. Destinations include Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Israel and Jordan. Early booking bonuses apply: 10 percent off Globus before Nov. 27, $50 p.p. at Cosmos through Oct. 23.
Meanwhile, The Globus family of brands (including Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways), has released its latest brochure: 156 pages of diverse experiences and discoveries throughout Latin America. Escorted and independent tours as well as cruises are included in the broad array of options.
Trafalgar is now offering agents a “First Look” at its 2019 Europe Britain guided holidays. The initiative enables agents to promote early sales on a program that sold out the last two years while also giving a discount on select itineraries.
TravelBrands is giving Hertz car rental clients a free GPS ($50 shipping fee), which the tour operator says is less than many add-on options from car rental suppliers. Agents can order the Garmin Nuvi devices through the tour operator for clients renting for seven days or longer in Canada, the US, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe.
Luxury Gold Vacations’ “Spectacular South Africa with Victoria Falls” tour showcases the country from Cape Town to Kruger National Park, but also celebrates the centenary birthday of Nelson Mandela (July 18) with a special focus on his life, including sites and people that played a role in his legacy. Luxury Gold is a division of The Travel Corporation family, which includes Trafalgar, Insight and Contiki.
SELL SHEET
July 24 is the final day that clients can take advantage of savings on a select number of Avalon Waterways’ European river cruises departing between September and December this year. The offer includes free sked air on flights from Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, while clients from numerous other gateways receive a special $299 fare. In addition, travellers will save $1,200 per couple off the regular price.
Clients booking Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises by Sept. 30 can save up to $1,000 per on week-long Caribbean voyages aboard the Crystal Esprit, which sails throughout the West Indies and BVI from St. Martin.
Goway is thinking Christmas already, and Christmas means Germany and its famed Christkindlmarkts. Goway has a limited number of cabins for Amadeus River Cruises Christmas Markets on the Rhine Cruise, departing Dec. 22 both this year and next. The six-night cruise, priced from $2,124, sails round-trip from Cologne.
CRUISE
They said they want a revolution: Celebrity Cruises is embarking on a US$500 “reimagining” of its fleet, which it says will “transform” the cruise industry. Dubbed “The Celebrity Revolution,” the program will enlist 500 leading architects, designers, and engineers to help bring the entire Celebrity fleet to “lavish new heights” and meet the accommodation, culinary, amenity and overall standards set by the line’s most recent vessels, the Edge and Flora. First up is in the Millennium in 2019, with the rest of the fleet to be refurbished by 2023.
“Strong demand in highly sought-after destinations” has prompted Norwegian Cruise Line to fine-tune its cruise programs for 2019 and ’20. Notably, the Norwegian Joy will to sail to Alaska beginning spring 2019; Norwegian Pearl, Jewel and Jade will expand offerings in Europe and Australasia in 2019, and Norwegian Spirit will cruise seasonally in China starting in summer 2020.
Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess has completed a multi-million dollar refit as part of the cruise line’s US$450-million dollar “Come Back New Promise.” Highlights include the addition of Club Class Mini-Suites, a reimagined youth centre, and enhanced boutiques. The vessel will sail the South Pacific and Southeast Asia in 2019.
FAMS/ INCENTIVES
Travel agents can sail into $100 worth of Loyalty points when booking Norwegian Cruise Line through TravelBrands Cruises, by Encore Cruises. Agents will receive 10,000 bonus Loyalty points on every five confirmed cruises booked by Aug. 5.
PEOPLE
Former Contiki national sales manager Josh Hepp has been named western Canada (and western US) BDM for Celestyal Cruises. He is based in Denver. Celestyal offers Greece and Med. cruises, but discontinued its Cuba itineraries earlier this year.
Merit Travel founders Mike Merrithew and Louise de Grandpré have announced that they are leaving the company at the end of the month. Long-time travel industry exec and president of Merit Loyalty Services Phil Sproul takes over as CEO effective immediately.
The DeMarinis brothers and TravelBrands donated one percent of sales made on July 17 to SickKids Foundation as part of a campaign to raise $1 million for the hospital. More than $700,000 has been raised to date through ongoing fundraising activities. Travel agents can also donate their Loyalty Rewards points to the SickKids Foundation through TravelBrands. Any Loyalty Rewards donation made through Aug. 31 will be matched by TravelBrands.
In honour of what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday on July 18, Goway donated $5,070 to Project Rhino, a rhino-focused association in South Africa that employs a wide range of conservation and anti-poaching strategies. Bruce Hodge, founder and president of Goway, is committed to the preservation of the world’s unique environment and wildlife and each year the tour company donates $20 for every brochure lodge sold to a worthy charity.
Send your news to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com