Calling the process, simple, seamless, and safe, Air Canada has launched digital identification for passengers, becoming the first airline in Canada with approval to use facial recognition technology to confirm identification. The pilot project is currently underway for select customers departing from YVR for Winnipeg, and entering the Air Canada Café at Toronto Pearson, but will be expanded to other locations.
The US National Transportation Safety Board says is investigating a December flight in which a United Airlines plane nose-dived to within less than 250 metres of the ocean surface after taking off from Hawaii. The NTSB said it expects to issue a preliminary report in about two weeks. The agency said that it had been asking United questions about the incident before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation.
Having carried 36 million passengers in 2022 and posting record passenger and operating revenues in Q4, Air Canada says it has a “positive outlook” for the start of 2023 and beyond. The carrier also reported achieving 83% of its pre-pandemic passenger revenue recorded in 2019.
Approximately 40 percent of pet owners include their pets in travel plans – and that number is growing, having doubled in the last decade, according to the recent American Pet Products Association’s ‘National Pet Owner’ survey. But flying with Fido doesn’t come without considerable circumstance and planning.
The head of the US Federal Aviation Administration says he has taken steps to avoid a repeat of the technology failure last month that briefly halted all flights in the United States from taking off.
Germany’s air traffic control agency said Wednesday that it is diverting all flights away from the country’s busiest airport, Frankfurt, after a problem with Lufthansa’s computer systems caused major disruption at the German airline.
Air India is placing orders for 470 Boeing and Airbus aircraft to keep up with surging demand for increased mobility in a nation with a swelling middle class. It is Boeing’s third largest sale of all time, in dollar value, and its second of all time in quantity, and has India’s prime minister predicting that the country will soon be the third largest aviation market in the world.
WestJet has unveiled 20 new routes and three new destinations – Minneapolis, Detroit and Washington DC (Dulles) – to the airline’s summer schedule, which features what the carrier calls its “largest expansion in history” out of Edmonton. At the same time, Porter is launching Ottawa-Charlottetown service in May.
A senior executive of Southwest Airlines apologized to a US Senate committee late last week for a December meltdown and said the airline is upgrading software to help fix its inability to reassign crews after the winter storm. The president of the Southwest pilots’ union told senators that airline leaders ignored calls to improve technology for years, then botched the recovery from the storm – losing track of employees and operating more than 500 empty flights while passengers were stuck on the ground over the holidays.
The union that represents pilots at WestJet says it is asking for federal assistance after months of failing to reach a contract agreement with the airline. The official request begins a process that could result in a strike, or lockout, if the impasse is not resolved.
Against the backdrop of a global pilot shortage, hopefuls aspiring to a career in the skies say their Canadian licensing applications are taking far too long to process. Student pilots who have completed the training requirements for their private or commercial pilots’ licences say their credentials are being delayed due to what they say are unacceptably lengthy processing times at Transport Canada.
The US Congress began considering critical aviation legislation on Tuesday in the aftermath of recent close calls involving airline and cargo jets at airports in New York and Texas. Lawmakers celebrated the small number of deaths on airline flights in the United States since a 2009 crash that killed 50 people, but they noted the recent scary incidents.
The union representing WestJet pilots says contract negotiations with the airline have been unproductive and federal conciliation may be needed to avert a strike. ALPA Canada, which represents approximately 1,800 pilots at WestJet and its low-cost subsidiary Swoop, says it has been negotiating unsuccessfully with the Calgary-based company since September.
As carriers worldwide try to lessen their carbon footprint, Emirates says it has successfully flown a test flight with one of its two engines entirely powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel.
A New York congressman wants to add some Zoom to the sluggish effort to clear a bilateral backlog of NEXUS trusted-traveller applications. Rep. Brian Higgins, a frequent champion of streamlined travel between Canada and the US, has introduced legislation on Capitol Hill that, if passed, would require the Department of Homeland Security to deploy video conferencing to replace in-person interviews.
A group of airlines including Air Canada and Porter is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear their case after a lower court largely upheld the validity of Canada’s air passenger bill of rights.
Air France is continuing to increase capacity to Canada – the carrier’s second largest long-haul market – including new service between Paris and Ottawa; the resumption of seasonal service to Quebec City, introduced last summer; and increased frequencies to other gateways.
An Air Canada IT issue Thursday afternoon caused problems with flights at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. In a tweet around 1:30 p.m., the airport said Air Canada was “experiencing an intranet outage” that was impacting functions including check-in, baggage delivery and gating.
American President Joe Biden took swipes at airlines and hotels this week as he called on Congress to limit certain extra charges they impose on consumers. “These unfair fees add up,” he said, speaking just before a meeting of the White House Competition Committee.
Last weekend Canadian ultra-low-cost airline Swoop, operated the last of its seasonal restarts with Saturday’s non-stop flight from Hamilton to Montego Bay. This winter Swoop offers an expanded schedule of more than 100 sun flight options per week to destinations across the US, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Winter weather brought ice to Texas and nearby states Tuesday, causing the cancellation of more than 980 flights and delays to nearly 800 more. More than 500 flights to or from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and nearly 125 to or from Dallas Love Field were cancelled or delayed Tuesday, according to the tracking service FlightAware.
The pre-pandemic ‘use it or lose it’ rule for airport slots is coming back. The UK government says that effective March 26 this year, airlines at British airports will have to maintain 80% of their take-off and landing slots to keep them.
The latest injuries from airplane turbulence were on flights to Honolulu and Houston, leading to a total of 41 people being hurt or receiving medical treatment in the week before Christmas.
The federal government has announced an investment of up to nearly $23.5 million for an expansion and sustainability project at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
For more than 60 years, Four Seasons has helped define the art of luxury hospitality and the Toronto-based company says it has no plans to stop, with a continuing “robust (and) evolved growth strategy” that has seen the brand add private residences, a jet, and soon yachts to its global portfolio of 126 luxury hotels – all of which began with the opening of the singular Four Seasons Motor Hotel in Toronto in 1961.
Lynx Air launched its inaugural flight to the United States on Friday, departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and arriving at the new Terminal C at Orlando International Airport (MCO). Canada’s new “ultra-affordable” airline will operate four direct flights per week between Toronto and Orlando, flying brand-new Boeing 737 aircraft.
Struggling UK regional airline Flybe collapsed for the second time in three years Saturday, putting jobs on the line and leaving passengers stranded. The airline initially slumped into bankruptcy in March 2020, shedding 2,400 jobs, as coronavirus restrictions decimated the travel industry. It relaunched in April last year, flying many of the same routes out of Belfast, Birmingham and London Heathrow.
US Federal officials say they will require charter airlines, air-tour operators, and plane manufacturers to develop detailed systems for identifying potential safety problems before accidents occur.
Sunwing issued an official statement yesterday which was sent to the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) after a meeting with the Travel Agency Leaders Advisory Group. The statement addressed the recent travel disruptions and impact on travel advisors, and outlined the company’s plan moving forward for the winter season.
Berlin Airport cancelled all its flights Wednesday after ground staff went on strike to press their demands for higher pay. The walk-out affected about 300 flights to and from the German capital.