Aviation

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Porter Airlines is operating its largest-ever winter schedule, with the carrier claiming its 180 daily flights across 34 destinations make it the second largest carrier in Toronto, operating out both Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Since Israel began bombarding Beirut’s southern suburbs as part of its offensive against the Hezbollah militant group, Lebanon’s national air carrier has become a local icon simply by continuing to do its job. Middle East Airlines (MEA) is the only commercial airline still operating out of the Beirut airport, located on the coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based.

The Indian government plans a new law to punish those making hoax bomb threats against flights, which disrupt the schedules of airlines and cause massive inconvenience to thousands of passengers. In less than two weeks, more than 120 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats, including one that forced an Air India flight to land in Nunavut on Oct. 14 as a precaution. 

WestJet says it ushering in a “new era” by returning to its roots through an updated business strategy that includes the launch of a comprehensive brand platform and fully integrated campaign, anchored by a new tagline ‘Where Your Story Takes Off.’

Air Transat has announced it has partnered with FLX Platform by Accelya to facilitate its New Distribution Capabilities (NDC). Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the platform enabled more than half of all global NDC transactions in 2023, according to data from T2RL and is now generating more than 350k personalized offers per second across its airline partners.

Flair Airlines continues to elicit the most complaints amongst passengers in the latest statistics from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). Flair topped the chart with an average of 17.9 complaints per 100 flights for the period April through June 2024. By contrast, the best – at the bottom of the chart – was Porter Airlines, with only 1.2 complaints per 100 flights.

The United States has fined German airline Lufthansa $4 million for its treatment of a group of Jewish passengers who were denied boarding a 2022 flight in Frankfurt after they had flown to Germany from New York.

Air Canada pilots have given a green light to a tentative agreement with the airline, easing any fears of a future strike. The Air Line Pilots Association says its 5,200 members voted 67 percent in favour of the contract, which provides a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42% over four years and goes into effect immediately.

A Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday after the pilot died on board. Pilot İlçehin Pehlivan, 59, lost consciousness at some point after Flight TK204 took off from Seattle Tuesday night, Turkish Airlines spokesperson Yahya Üstün said in a statement.

Qantas Airways has drawn up a stir after broadcasting a slightly racy movie across an entire flight. And the Australian carrier now is apologizing to customers.

Toronto Pearson airport ranks a lowly 19th out of 20 in the newly released 2024 J.D. Power North America Airport Satisfaction Study, scoring a lowly 559 on a 1,000-point scale, and below the 595-point media. Pearson was listed in the study’s “mega” airport category, defined as facilities with 33 million or more passengers per year.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined Air Canada US$250,000 for operating flights carrying United Airlines’ designator code in regions in which a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight prohibition was in effect for US operators. The airline was ordered to cease and desist from future similar violations. 

In a victory for air travellers, the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld rules that bolster compensation for passengers subjected to delays and damaged luggage on international flights.

With over 2.4 million seats serving Winnipeg this year, WestJet says it has expanded operations by 21 percent in 2024 and will continue to strengthen travel options for both business and leisure in Manitoba’s capital.

Frequent travellers may want to think twice before repeatedly and excessively searching for the best flight fares options. It’s an exercise, experts warn, that may lead to price actually going up due – a phenomenon occurs because online booking platforms deploy cookies to track and remember an individuals search patterns, prompting dynamic pricing adjustments.

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.