Aviation

PORTER PLANS DAILY FLORIDA FLIGHTS THIS FALL

Starting in November, Porter Airlines is launching daily service from Toronto to five Florida destinations: Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers (RSW), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), and Tampa (TPA); as well as two destinations – FLL and MCO – from Ottawa.

GOTCHA: Spirit settles class action over bag fees

It was disclosed last week that Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay US $8.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its bag fees. The airline was sued by passengers who booked their trips through third-party travel sites between 2011-17.

‘GROWING PAINS’: But Flair a ‘decent airline’, says CEO

Flair Airlines CEO Stephen Jones says his budget carrier is at last running a smooth operation propelled by high passenger numbers, despite “growing pains” at the debt-laden company that’s still striving to gain consumer confidence.

AA SUES TRAVEL WEBSITE OVER ‘SKIPLAGGING’

American Airlines is suing a travel website that sells tickets that let people save money by exploiting a quirk in airline pricing. American sued Skiplagged Inc. in US federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, accusing the website of deception. It threatened to cancel every ticket that Skiplagged has sold.

AIRLINES BULLISH ON RECOVERY

Building on strong bookings this summer, US airlines are already adding new routes later this year and next, underscoring the airline industry’s confidence that its strong recovery from the pandemic will continue and that planes will remain packed.

FLAIR AIMS TO FASTTRACK PILOT TRAINING

Flair Airlines says it is launching a unique pilot training program that will see applicants placed in the cockpit of one of the company’s Boeing 737 jets within 18 months.

BUSINESS AS USUAL: Constructions begins at YHU

Preparatory construction works for the new terminal at Montreal Saint-Hubert Airport has begun, but airport officials maintain that “at no time” will be the operation of the airport will be compromised or affected.

AIR CANADA PROFITS SOAR

Air Canada says earnings last quarter reached heights not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic amid high travel demand and pricier fares, and despite thousands of flight delays.

A LASTING IMPRESSION: Air Canada worst in on-time performance

A new report says Air Canada ranked last in on-time performance among the 10 largest airlines in North America, as some carriers in Canada struggle to find their post-pandemic footing despite much better outcomes than the travel chaos of 2022.

VIRGIN FINALLY TAKES TOURISTS TO SPACE

Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.

AIRLINE TRAFFIC NEARS FULL RECOVERY

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the post-COVID recovery momentum continued in June for passenger markets with total traffic (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rising 31.0% compared to June 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 94.2% of pre-COVID levels.

BRITISH AIRWAYS NDC CONTENT NOW LIVE ON TRAVELPORT

New Distribution Capability content from British Airways is now live on the Travelport+ platform, enabling the carrier to give simplified access to NDC content to agents, so that travel retailers can easily book and service NDC offers for their customers.

THAT’S A NEW ONE: Baghdad-bound bear escapes on plane

As if there aren’t enough reasons for planes to be delayed these days, a bear escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport, leaving passengers disgruntled over the delay and causing a stir on social media.

TIME TO ‘TAKE OWNERSHIP’: IATA slams feds for airport delays

Instead of pursuing “costly and poorly thought-out” air travel consumer rights regulations, federal governments in Canada and the US need to “take ownership” of the issues causing “unacceptable” delays at airports across the continent and resolve them, says the director general of IATA.

LOW-COST ARAJET COMING TO CANADA

Canadians will have a new connection to the Caribbean and South and Central America courtesy of low-cost Dominican Republic-based carrier Arajet, with the launch of Toronto service in October, followed by flights from Montreal in November.

CANADA JETLINES FLYING HIGH

Another month, another record number of hours flown, says Canada Jetlines, which has also announced the addition of its third plane. Following a 265% increase in hours flown in Q2 over the hours flown in Q1, the discount carrier says it set a new record of hours flown in July with 622 block hours flown in the month.

ACV ADDS MORE EPACKAGES DESTINATIONS

Air Canada Vacations has added a host of popular sun destinations to its ePackages shopping tool. Among them: Bermuda, Belize, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Fort-de-France, Martinique, Grand Cayman, Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, Saint Vincent, St. Kitts, Port of Spain, Kingston (Jamaica), and Mexico City and Monterrey (Mexico).

YEG EXPANDS EDUCATION TO PREVENT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Edmonton International Airport (YEG) is the first Canadian airport to sign on to a new initiative led by Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT) Alberta that provides translated materials to Canadian newcomers about their rights in Alberta.

WESTJET TO BOOST ABBOTSFORD, HAMILTON SERVICE

The WestJet Group has announced changes its winter schedule with an expansion of sun destinations from Abbotsford, BC, serving the Fraser Valley and a similar transition from Swoop to the mainline carrier in Hamilton, Ont., as WestJet integrates its low-cost subsidiary.

GATWICK TO GUSSIE UP NORTH TERMINAL

Passengers travelling through London Gatwick’s North Terminal will soon be able to enjoy a host of new features, as its biggest-ever transformation gets underway. Among those who will experience the £10-million refresh will be WestJet passengers flying from Canada to the British capital.

MARK YOUR (2028) CALENDAR: SAS opens reservations for electric-powered flights

Scandinavian Airlines says travellers can now book seats on the carrier’s first commercial flights in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark aboard electric-powered aircraft – due to start to five years from now. The Stockholm-based SAS airline group said there will be 30 seats available on each of the three flights and that the day and place of departure will be communicated to travellers by email once decided. Online reservations opened June 2.

FINGER LICKING GOOD? British Airways serves KFC right out of the bucket

Last Sunday a British Airways flight ran into a catering issue when it was discovered that the catering carts were ‘not properly chilled’ making the planned in-flight meal unusable on BA252 from Turks and Caicos to London. When the plane made a scheduled stop in Nassau, the crew went into the terminal to buy KFC chicken buckets and distributed pieces to passengers in economy and business class.

TAKING THE HEAT: Department of Transportation investigates lengthy Delta tarmac delay

A Delta Air Lines flight taxied around the Las Vegas airport for nearly 90 minutes in triple-digit temperatures, causing at least one person to need medical treatment. The Boeing 757 aircraft left its gate at the LAS on Monday afternoon but never left the ground. The plane taxied to the end of a runway and then turned around and returned to the terminal.

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