Aviation

The Competition Bureau says it has obtained court orders requiring Air Canada and WestJet to hand over information for the watchdog’s market study into airline competition. Granted by the Federal Court, the rulings require the country’s two biggest carriers to produce records and answer questions around barriers to entry into the field, performance metrics and agreements with airports and other airlines.

Qatar Airways – named the world’s best airline by Skytrax in 2024 – will launch a new service to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) starting on Dec. 11, with three weekly non-stop flights to Hamad International Airport (DOH), similarly rated the World’s Best Airport. 

Southwest Airlines have unveiled their vision for Southwest 2.0, an airline that for the first time will give passengers assigned seats, charge them extra for more legroom, and offer red-eye flights. And bags still will fly free.

The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she’ll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.

Alaska Airlines has closed its $1 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airline, shortly after the US federal government removed the last major regulatory obstacle to the deal. Alaska says it will keep Hawaiian as a separate brand, eliminating the need to repaint planes.

Low entry-level pay in the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement, some aviators and experts say. While the tentative agreement’s cumulative 42 percent wage hike over four years applies to all flight crew – a big topline gain after a decade of two per cent annual raises – many could still feel left out of the windfall.

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario has posted a closure advisory, including claims protocols, for Canada Jetlines, which ceased operations on Aug. 15, and was declared bankrupt on Sept. 11, 2024. On the same date, Canada Jetlines Vacations terminated its TICO registrations.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a Delta Air Lines flight with cabin pressure issues left some passengers with bleeding eardrums, headaches and bloody noses. The flight was travelling Sunday from Salt Lake City to Portland, Oregon, when pilots of the five-year-old Boeing 737-900ER aircraft noticed a pressurization problem and made an emergency landing back in Utah’s capital, according to the flight log.

Politics, public opinion, and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major wage gains for pilots, experts say. The tentative agreement includes an “unheard of” 42 percent wage hike over four years, according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Travellers, business groups and politicians – and the travel industry! – are feeling relief after Air Canada and the union representing thousands of its pilots negotiated a new labour deal and averted a disruptive, countrywide shutdown. The airline announced shortly after midnight Sunday that it had reached a tentative, four-year collective agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association. 

Despite losing nearly $40 million in its third quarter ending July 31, Transat AT CEO Annick Guérard says the company is moving away from its disruptions earlier in the year with flight attendants labour negotiations, and that next year will be more “stable” than 2024.

Everyone’s worst travel nightmare is arriving at destination only to find their baggage didn’t travel with them. In the US alone, over 7 million pieces of luggage were reported as mishandled from 2021 to 2024, with American Airlines being the company with the most luggage mishandled.  

Two Delta Air Lines planes collided on a taxiway at Atlanta’s airport Tuesday morning, with a larger plane knocking over the tail of a smaller regional jet. The airline said the wing of a Delta Airbus A350 jet that was bound for Tokyo hit the tail of a smaller Bombardier CRJ-900 that was on an adjacent taxiway. The smaller plane, operated by Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air, was preparing to take off for Lafayette, Louisiana.

The US government is examining the four largest US airline frequent-flyer programs and how they devalue points that consumers have earned and frequently change the number of points or miles needed to book flights.

While many experts consider it requisite posturing during a labour negotiation – and an outcome too dire to ultimately be allowed to happen – Air Canada says it is working on contingency plans that would see it suspend most of its operations in the event that an agreement with its pilots union is not reached by Sunday (Sept. 15) when a 72-hour strike or lock-out notice could be triggered.

The union representing Air Canada pilots says the company’s “corporate greed” is what’s holding up successful contract negotiations between the two sides, with the Air Line Pilots Association claiming Monday that Air Canada “continues to post record profits while expecting pilots to accept below-market compensation.”

Air Canada says contract talks with its pilots are nearing an impasse over what the airline says is the union’s wage demands. The airline says it’s preparing a contingency plan to suspend its flights gradually over three days if a 72-hour strike or lockout notice is issued.

With the launch – relaunch, actually – of Virgin Atlantic from Canada next May, company executives Simon Hawkins and Kathryn Stanley were in Toronto recently to talk about “everything and anything” regarding the colourful British carrier and its imminent, and much anticipated, return to this country.

Cathay Pacific says maintenance activity on its A350 fleet is “progressing well” after being forced to cancel dozens of flights this week after an engine issue forced a Zurich-bound flight to return to an airport in Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong, has scratched nearly 70 flights since Monday, though none from Canada.

North American carriers saw a 5.3% year-on-year increase in demand in July and capacity increased 6.3% year-on-year, according to data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). At the same time, the load factor was 89.4 percent – virtually the same as last year and the highest among regions. 

The Calgary Airport Authority says it will take at least a year and a half to fix part of its domestic terminal that was hammered by hail earlier this month. It says Concourse B will be closed while restoration work is done.

Flair Airlines says it is looking for partners to inject fresh capital into the discount carrier in order to “restructure” its finances and build out its fleet. Eric Tanner, VP of revenue management and network planning, said the company is hoping for partners to buy into the business as a way to deal with pandemic-era debt and allow the company to acquire jets beyond the 20 planes it now flies.

Air Canada says that “more than sufficient time” remains to settle outstanding issues with its pilots, who are in a legal strike position as of Sept. 17. However, the carrier is still preparing for the worst by introducing a “goodwill rebooking policy” for customers who are scheduled to travel between Sept. 15 and 23.

WestJet is renewing and expanding its distribution agreement with Amadeus, continuing to make all its fare options – along with merchandising capabilities – easy to book for travel advisors. Moreover, the carrier says all of its future NDC-based offerings will be available on the Amadeus Travel Platform.

Colombian airlines Avianca and LATAM Colombia said they would resume full schedules today (Wednesday) after warning earlier they would have to cancel dozens of flights due to shortages of jet fuel. Avianca said it had received confirmation from the nation’s main supplier of jet fuel that there would no longer be any restrictions on how much fuel was provided to airlines, enabling it to again sell tickets for all its routes and observe its planned flights.

Flair Airlines has launched a $1 base fare initiative, with the “groundbreaking” offer starting on northbound routes from Mexico, the US, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic to Canada. The carrier adds that it will continue $1 base fares on different routes across its network throughout the year.

Delta and American Airlines have both extended their suspensions of flights to Israel as the war between the country and the militant group Hamas continues, and hostilities with Lebanon threaten to escalate.

Air Canada pilots voted on Thursday to overwhelmingly approve a strike mandate, putting them in a position to walk off the job as early as Sept. 17. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 5,400 aviators at the country’s largest carrier, says the vote passed by 98 percent.