Aviation


  • AUSTIN POWERED BY NEW WESTJET SERVICE
    by Staff - WestJet will launch new nonstop service connecting Vancouver and Austin, Texas, next spring. The three-times-weekly flights will commence May 11. Last week, the airline also announced new seasonal routes to Boston and Tampa beginning in June.

  • FLYING WITH FIDO: What you need to know before travelling with pets
    by Staff - Matt Perrault has shipped animals in and out of Canada on behalf of owners for more than two decades, handling creatures ranging from birds to bearded dragons, rabbits and ferrets. But lately, it's requests to haul cats and dogs that have been raining down on him.

  • REALLY? A BREATH OF FRESH AIR: Airlines may think so. Consumers probably not.
    by Staff - The chief executive of Delta Air Lines says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden.  However, consumer advocates are understandably wary of a second Trump administration, fearing that it could try to roll back a rule requiring automatic refunds after cancelled flights along with another - deplorably unfair - rule that requires airlines to advertise the full price of fares upfront, including mandatory fees and taxes.

  • WESTJET RETURNS SERVICE BETWEEN HALIFAX AND PARIS: Airline offers a robust summer schedule
    by Staff - WestJet has announced its full summer schedule for 2025, and Nova Scotians will be pleased at the return of summer service from Halifax to Paris, along with an expanded service to Western Canada. Travellers headed for Paris will also benefit from the airline's recently enhanced codeshare partnership with Air France, providing them seamless access to 52 cities across Europe. Additionally, WestJet will kick off service between Nova Scotia’s capital city and Dublin and Edinburgh one month earlier in comparison to the 2024 summer season.

  • DIPLOMACY AND DOLLARS: Three airlines making the most of Israel war
    by Staff - At Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport, more than a year of war has taken its toll. Global airlines have cancelled flights, gates are empty and pictures of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip guide the few arriving passengers to the baggage claim. But one check-in desk remains flush with travellers: the one serving flights to the United Arab Emirates, which have kept up a bridge for Israelis to the outside world throughout the war.

  • SPIRIT IN THE SKY NO MORE?: U.S. carrier files for bankruptcy
    by Staff - Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue. But the US’s biggest budget airline said it expects to operate as normal as it works its way through a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and that customers can continue to book and fly without interruption.

  • WESTJET’S 2025 GROWTH SPURT: Summer schedule released
    by Staff - WestJet has released its summer schedule for 2025, featuring 10% growth network wide and domestic growth of 12%. Highlights include two new domestic and three new transborder destinations, along with 11 new routes across its network.

  • CLAIMS OPEN AGAINST WESTJET OVER BAG FEES
    by Staff - Some travellers who checked baggage on certain WestJet flights between 2014 and 2019 may now claim their share of a class-action settlement approved by the British Columbia Supreme Court last month and valued at $12.5 million. A statement from Evolink Law Group says anyone in the world who paid a fee for their first checked bag on domestic and international flights during certain periods when they shouldn't have been charged has until Feb. 10, 2025, to submit a claim.

  • SHOOTING GALLERY: Bullet hits Southwest plane before takeoff
    by Staff - A bullet struck the body of a Southwest Airlines airplane preparing for departure from a Dallas airport, forcing the cancellation of the Friday evening flight, the airline said. No injuries were reported and law enforcement was contacted after the bullet struck the right side of the aircraft just under the flight deck. At the time, the crew of Flight 2494 was preparing the plane for departure from Dallas Love Field Airport, Southwest said in a statement.

  • FROM THEORY TO REALITY: IATA proves digital travel future is near
    by Staff - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and its partners report that they have successfully demonstrated that the industry is ready to deliver a fully digital air travel experience. This was achieved in a recent proof-of-concept (PoC) involving two passengers using different digital wallets and travel credentials on a round-trip between Hong Kong and Tokyo.

  • FEE FRENZY BLAMED FOR RISING AIRFARES: And WestJet says it has a solution
    by Staff - WestJet says rising government-imposed fees are what’s keeping air travel “out of reach” for many Canadians. Along with third-party fees, the add-ons are “higher in Canada than in other countries (and) represent the most significant barrier to competitive growth and affordable air travel,” the company states in a statement on its website.

  • INTERMODAL AIR CANADA EXPANDS IN EUROPE, ASIA
    by Staff - Air Canada is extending its intermodal strategy across Europe to include Italy, Spain, Britain as well as to Asia, with its first operator in South Korea. Clients purchasing flights on Air Canada can now easily book onward land rail and bus connections to destinations across these countries to create a seamless travel itinerary.

  • THE END IS NEAR – FOR ALITALIA
    by Staff - Italy’s former national carrier Alitalia has started procedures for the collective dismissal of its remaining 2,059 employees, its administrators told unions. The move comes as the successor to bankrupt Alitalia, ITA Airways faces hurdles in its merger plans with German Lufthansa.

  • BOEING STRIKE ENDS:  Workers vote to accept contract
    by Staff - Factory workers at Boeing voted to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.

  • THE STORY BEHIND KLM’S LITTLE BLUE HOUSES
    by Staff - What basement bar belonging to anyone with tenure in the travel industry doesn’t have one? Since the 1950s, KLM has been handing out Delft Blue Houses filled with Bols Jenever to World Business Class passengers on intercontinental flights. The houses are miniature versions of buildings in the Netherlands and abroad with a special history and are sought-after collector’s items.

  • THE NEED FOR SPEED: What passengers want when flying
    by Staff - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the results of its 2024 Global Passenger Survey, revealing that travellers continue to prioritize convenience and speed. For a smoother travel experience, they are eager to use biometric identification and complete some travel processes before reaching the airport.

  • FLYING TAXIS MOVE CLOSER TO TAKEOFF
    by Staff - Federal regulators south of the border have given a strong push to electric-powered air taxis by issuing a final rule for operating the aircraft and how pilots will be trained to fly them. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Mike Whitaker, said the rule recognizes air taxis as an entirely new type of aircraft that will soon join airplanes and helicopters in the sky.

  • AIR CANADA BOOSTS CHINA FLIGHTS FROM YVR
    by Staff - Air Canada is resuming daily service from Canada to Beijing and will be increasing its Shanghai flights to daily. Both routes will operate from the airline's Vancouver (YVR) hub, starting Jan. 15 and Dec. 7 respectively. The airline currently offers flights four days a week from Vancouver to Shanghai.

  • EXPANDED AIR AGREEMENT OPENS DOWNUNDER DOOR
    by Staff - Canada has announced an expanded its air transport agreement with Australia that will allow an unlimited number of direct passenger and cargo flights and enhances operational flexibility for each country's airlines. It also includes access to any point in the other country's territory.

  • WALK OF SHAME: American targets line cutters
    by Staff - American Airlines is testing a new technology at three airports across the US during the boarding process that aims to cut down on passengers who try to cut the line. The technology, which is being tested in Albuquerque, Tucson, and Washington (Reagan) alerts gate agents with an audible sound if a passenger tries to scan a ticket ahead of their assigned group.