WestJet and its pilots union say they have reached a last-minute deal, averting a strike ahead of the May long weekend. A statement from the Air Line Pilots Association says union leaders voted to approve an agreement-in-principle, with a membership vote to begin in the coming days.
No sign of a breakthrough emerged in talks between WestJet and its pilots Wednesday, as the company’s CEO deemed the union’s expectations unrealistic while the Air Line Pilots Association slammed the airline for trying to ‘publicly villainize’ its workers.
Air Canada and flydubai have announced a new partnership to give customers flying between Canada, the Middle East, East Africa, Indian Subcontinent and Southern Asia more travel options. The carriers will codeshare on nine markets and interline on more than 60 others beyond Dubai
The travel plans of WestJet customers are up in the air after its pilots’ union issued a 72-hour strike notice Monday night. The gambit by the Air Line Pilots Association started a countdown to a flight crew walkout at 3 a.m. on Friday morning, just ahead of the busy May long weekend.
A new report by the World Travel and Tourism Council finds that Canada’s travel and tourism sector is poised for major recovery this year and is within sight of its previous peak in 2019. If achieved, the activity would furnish some 90,000 more jobs to reach 1.64 million this year, recovering nearly all the travel and tourism positions scrapped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emirates recorded its most-profit year ever in 2022, earning US$2.9 billion after bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic shutting down global aviation. The carrier’s revival matches Dubai airport, which posted record passenger traffic in the first quarter. Emirates has also announced an expanded interline agreement with Etihad, and a new country manager for Canada.
Talks between WestJet pilots and their employer were unresolved over the weekend as the union warned a walkout could come as early as this week. Members of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) will be in a legal position to strike as of May 16, but first must give a 72-hour strike notice ¬– something union boss Bernard Lewall said on Friday was “premature.”
Air Canada posted a record $4.9 billion in revenue in the first quarter – nearly double what it earned a year ago. The quarter also marked the second in a row where the carrier has turned a profit following 11 straight quarters of losses totalling $10.1 billion. Results at Air Canada Vacations were also “remarkable,” says the airline.
Qantas will launch the world’s longest commercial nonstop flight. It will take QF1 21 hours to cover the 10,978 miles from Sydney to London. It will leave Sydney in the evening and arrive in London the next morning. QF2, from London to Sydney, will leave before lunch and arrive in the late afternoon on the following day after 20 hours. The flights are expected to launch in 2025.
With its focus squarely on rebuilding its network and connectivity at its Hong Kong hub after the pandemic, Cathay Pacific is marking a milestone this month: 40 years of flying to the Americas. The launch of non-stop service between Hong Kong and Vancouver International Airport on May 1, 1983, which started with flight CX800, a Boeing 747-200, not only represented the airline’s first entry into North America, but also becoming the first airline in the world to connect the two cities with a nonstop service.
Emirates has appointed Shaz Peshimam as its Country Manager for Canada, in a new role following the airline’s plans to expand its operations in the country. This comes as part of the airline’s efforts to support its commercial strategies in Canada and, as Country Manager, Peshimam will be responsible for leading the airline’s operations, driving growth and strengthening Emirates’ footprint in the country.
Porter Airlines is launching its summer schedule June 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport featuring additional flexibility for passengers travelling between Toronto and Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
Pilots at American Airlines have voted to authorize a strike, and Southwest Airlines pilots are preparing to join them, as unions put more pressure on the airlines to approve new contracts with hefty pay raises. However, the actions by pilots are highly unlikely to lead to walkouts anytime soon.
Air Canada has hiked its earnings outlook for 2023, saying it expects earnings to rise due to an improvement in traffic as well as stronger-than-anticipated demand and lower-than-expected fuel prices.
Porter Airlines is adding the West Coast to its growing list of non-stop routes from the nation’s capital with new service between Ottawa International Airport (YOW) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
An Arkansas woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting three Transportation Security Administration agents at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a dispute over apple juice, US authorities said.
After decades of protests against a 50-year-old proposal to build an airport in Pickering, Ontario, opponents of the project are optimistic it will soon be abandoned for good.
Air Transat has announced details of its 2023-24 winter flight program, slated to begin on Nov. 1. At the peak of the season, the carrier’s steadily growing program will include over 300 direct flights per week departing from eight Canadian cities: Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton, and Halifax.
Pilots are speaking out against an aviation industry push toward having a sole crew member in the cockpit. At a news conference in Montreal, leaders of three of the largest pilot unions representing more than 150,000 workers say a proposal to Europe’s aviation regulator aims to boost airline profits at the cost of safety.
Not all of the Canadian airlines currently jockeying for position in a crowded market are likely to survive in the long-term, says the CEO of Edmonton-based Flair Airlines. Stephen Jones made the comments at the Calgary International Airport on Tuesday, where discount carrier Flair is establishing a new base of operations as part of its ongoing aggressive expansion plans.
Congressional investigators in the US say that an increase in flight cancellations as travel recovered from the pandemic was due mostly to factors that airlines controlled, including cancellations for maintenance issues or lack of a crew.
Bell is teaming up with Air Canada to offer free messaging for all Aeroplan members worldwide on Wi-Fi-equipped airplanes. The telecommunications giant will sponsor inflight Wi-Fi services across the airline’s fleet, including Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express planes, starting May 15.
Perhaps lost in the hoopla of its approved takeover of Sunwing and tentative agreement with staff at Pearson airport (though not pilots), WestJet’s conducted its first-ever flight to Asia, with WS80 from Calgary arriving at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on Monday.
Like putting pineapple on pizza, Air Transat’s new promotional campaign ‘Time to go’ encourages Canadians to step out of their comfort zone, at the same time maintaining that it’s essential to travel in order to recharge one’s batteries and escape the monotony of everyday life.
Some engineers for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wanted to ground the Boeing 737 Max soon after a second deadly crash, but top officials in the agency overruled them, according to a government watchdog.
The WestJet Group says it has completed its acquisition of Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. The transaction, which will see the two brands maintain independent operations, signals a “bright future” for WestJet’s ambitious growth strategy, says the company. Notably, now former Sunwing CEO Stephen Hunter has been appointed CEO of the WestJet Group’s Vacations Business, responsible for all tour operating and vacation package businesses of both brands.
It’s not WestJet pilots, who are in a position to strike later this month, but the 350 members of Unifor Local 531 have reached their first tentative deal with WestJet at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. The members unit are primarily customer service agents and baggage agents at YYZ.
Boeing’s latest setback with production issues means airlines will have fewer planes than they expected to handle big crowds of travellers this summer. CEO David Calhoun said that delivery delays will remove about 9,000 seats from airline schedules this summer.
Canadian airports and airlines logged a large number of flight delays last month, raising questions about their readiness for the summer travel rush. Figures from aviation data firm OAG show large airports and carriers had a much weaker on-time record in March than comparable US outfits – and than their own performance in 2019.
What is going on. Yet, another allegedly drunk disruptive passenger on a plane has been detained for a ‘peegate’ incident. The acused was on an American Airlines flight from New York to Delh, when he apparently argued with another passenger and then urinated on him.