Sunwing reported late last week that it has resumed regular operations following the severe disruptions it suffered due to major snowstorms earlier in February. The carrier further issued claims information for passengers who were affected by the extreme weather events.
WestJet has announced what it is calling “the most significant improvement to WestJet Rewards in the program’s 15-year history” with changes – set to take effect April 30 – designed to make it easier for members to earn, redeem and achieve status.
A number of recent airline incidents – including a Delta Air Lines plane flipping completely upside down while landing at Toronto Pearson on Feb. 17 – has put the safety of the global airline industry in the spotlight. But how often do aircraft actually have accidents, whether in the sky, or on the ground?
The crash landing of a Delta Air Lines flight in Toronto last week highlighted the potential dangers of flying with a young child sitting on an adult’s lap. The plane flipped over, which would make holding onto a baby extremely difficult. Authorities haven’t said whether the 18-month-old child who was injured in the crash was riding on a parent’s lap, but young children have died in previous crashes.
A Winnipeg firm that owns several northern airlines has announced plans to buy Canadian North, the airline that serves the Arctic. Exchange Income Corp. said it made a deal to buy Bradley Air Services Ltd., which operates as Canadian North, for $205 million from the two Inuit organizations that own the airline.
On an average day, approximately 47% of Air Canada’s flights and 46% of its customers pass through Toronto Pearson – the airline’s global hub. Because many of its aircraft and customers connect through Toronto at some point in the day, the airline says a disruption at Pearson can impact flights elsewhere in the system, creating a domino effect that can also affect flights not immediately travelling to or from Toronto.
Amid declining safety ratings for Canada, the country’s air traffic controllers and airline pilots are calling on governments to take decisive action to prioritize and strengthen – not roll back – critical safety protections for air travel in this country.
Toronto’s Pearson airport says operations are back to normal roughly a week after a crash landing that sent 21 people to hospital and led to days of travel disruptions at Canada’s busiest airport.
Air Canada says it will resume flights to Israel in June, a year and a half after it halted trips to the region amid the Israel-Hamas war. With a fragile truce in place, the country’s largest airline said in a travel update that four direct round-trip flights per week from Toronto to Tel Aviv will begin on June 8.
After watching videos of a Delta Air Lines jet catch fire upon landing and flip over on a Toronto runway, it’s fair to wonder how anyone could have survived. But aviation experts said it was not surprising that all 76 passengers and four crew walked away from Monday’s disaster, with 21 people suffering minor injuries and only one still hospitalized on Wednesday. It’s a credit, they said, to advances in plane design as well as a crew that flawlessly executed an evacuation plan.
WestJet is launching new service between Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). The new first-time service will operate through the airline’s 2025 summer schedule, with up to six-times weekly departures starting May 29. The flight will be the first between the two cities in 30 years.
As the investigation into the cause of the crash of the Delta Air Lines flight that flipped and caught fire upon landing at Toronto Pearson continues, the airline said Tuesday that 19 out of 21 passengers initially taken to Toronto-area hospitals had been released.
Starting May 29, all Sunwing Vacations package customers will travel on board WestJet Airlines as the airline fully transitions its aircraft to its parent company’s fleet. The latest step in the integration of the companies coincides with the launch of Sunwing’s initial 2025 summer schedule. Here’s what travel advisors, and their clients, can expect.
A Delta Airlines plane flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul flipped upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and ended up on its roof Monday, injuring 17 passengers including three who are in critical condition. The accident happened at about 2:15 p.m. and flights at the airport were grounded for around two and half hours.
Air Canada says it may reduce flights to certain US destinations later this year if demand from travellers begins to lag, as the airline acknowledged it is coping with uncertainty from the current economic environment, including the threat of tariffs.
Virgin Atlantic, which will launch service from Toronto Pearson (Terminal 3) on March 30, and WestJet have announced an expanded codeshare agreement that will facilitate connections on Virgin between London Heathrow and 13 Canadian gateways via YYZ. The two airlines will co-locate at Toronto Pearson International Airport’s Terminal 3.
Donald Trump ‘toured’ a Boeing airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and to highlight the aircraft maker’s delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has begun lobbying the current US administration. This has included pleas to reverse the regulatory decisions the Department of Transportation (DOT) implemented during the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations.
Airlines expect a strong tailwind from travel demand in 2025. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and several other US-based carriers have all given investors strong forecasts for the year and Wall Street expects major airlines to increase revenue and profit in 2025. (Air Canada will present its present its fourth quarter and full year 2024 results on Feb. 14).
BermudAir will launch new nonstop service between Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Bermuda (BDA), beginning June 12. The two-hour flight will provide the only direct service between Montréal and Bermuda.
The spate of recent aviation disasters and close calls have people worried about the safety of flying. The midair collision that killed 67 near Washington, the fiery plane crash in Philadelphia and a commuter plane crash on Friday in Alaska are only the most high-profile disasters.
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has barred WestJet from telling travellers their reimbursement for meals and accommodations is capped. The ruling states that “passengers would suffer harm” if WestJet continued to communicate the policy to customers or post it on its website, which laid out fixed dollar limits on repayment amounts.
Sunwing Airlines, embarked on its second annual celebratory flight in honour of Black History Month on Tuesday. Departing from Toronto to Montego Bay, the flight was led by a Black flight deck and cabin crew.
Porter Airlines is bringing new air service to Hamilton, Ont., with four routes launching in June. John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM) will be connected coast to coast through daily flights to Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEG), Halifax (YHZ) and Vancouver (YVR), starting this June.
WestJet has begun to gear up for a major growth spurt this year, with a focus on in-country travel brought on by a low loonie and pinched pocketbooks. Flight volumes from the country’s second-largest airline will increase by 10 percent this summer compared to last, WestJet says.
The airspace around Washington, D.C., is congested and complex – a combination aviation experts have long worried could lead to catastrophe. Those fears materialized last Wednesday night when an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter in a crash that has been called “stunningly preventable.”
An aircraft developed by Boom Supersonic has become the first independently funded jet to break the sound barrier. The XB-1 aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.05 at about 35,000 feet during a test flight on Jan. 29 in the same Mojave Desert airspace in California where Charles “Chuck” Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947.
The deadly mid-air crash in Washington, DC, Wednesday night is likely the result of unique air traffic patterns in the area and shouldn’t cause wider fears over air safety, says a Canadian aviation expert.
After half a century in limbo, the federal government says it will scrap plans to build an airport on thousands of acres in Pickering, Ont., and instead look to transfer the land to Parks Canada.
No-frills, budget airlines often lead the industry in customer complaints, according to government data, so if one were to disappear would it be missed by travellers? That is a question US regulators will be asking after Frontier Airlines said Wednesday that it wanted to buy Spirit Airlines, which sought bankruptcy protection late last year.