As airfares continue to surge, travellers are increasingly turn to “skiplagging” for more affordable options – a practice frowned upon by airlines. But it’s travel advisors who often pay the price, says the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), which is urging airlines to stop penalizing agents when clients break the rules.
A US$12-billion passenger bullet train linking Sin City to the City of Angels is now under construction with the Las Vegas-Los Angeles line dubbed the first true high-speed rail service in the US. The private company building it is predicting millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028.
With the hockey playoffs and baseball season now in session – and the Summer Olympics and EURO 2024 only a few calendar page flips off – Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) says its research show that nearly one out of every two Canadians say they are likely to plan a trip focused on attending sporting events.
Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) recently invited its English Canada owners, managers, preferred partners, and leadership team to a strategic retreat at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, BC – this following a similar session for Quebec members earlier in the month in Charlevoix.
Flight simulator maker CAE Inc. says it has signed an agreement with Nav Canada to help train flight service specialists and air traffic controllers beginning this fall. In July, IATA called out air traffic control organizations in North America, which include Nav Canada, for staffing shortages that “continue to produce unacceptable delays and disruptions.”
Valery Brown-Alce, a veteran in the Bahamas tourism sector, has been appointed as the newest Deputy Director General (DDG) of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation. Her appointment is effective immediately and responsibilities include oversight of the Bahamas Tourist Offices in the US, Canada, and Europe.
US authorities are investigating after a video that surfaced on social media showing a man who appears to be Colorado Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens sitting in the pilot’s seat “at cruise altitude” while bound for Toronto. The Instagram post, which has been taken down, included a caption that said “the captain and the first officer” of a United Airlines charter flight had allowed the poster to sit in the cockpit during the flight from Denver.
Jay Sorensen flies both business class and economy. While the differences between the two have always been stark – priority boarding and free alcohol are decades-old features of first-class travel – lately the gulf seems to have widened, says the consulting firm president. Economy-class trips are defined by shrinking legroom, narrower cushion space, diminishing rewards for frequent fliers and, especially, the myriad fees that can pile up like thunderclouds as airlines increasingly offer top-up options on their tickets.
New research related to sustainable travel suggest that eight in 10 (78%) Canadian travellers confirm that sustainable travel is important to them, though new insights show a sense of weariness could be emerging, fueled by the ongoing challenges experienced to make more sustainable travel choices.
It was only fitting that last week’s trade mission to Toronto by the Philadelphia Visitors and Convention Bureau culminated in an evening at the Royal Conservatory with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which also performed its first international concert in the city 100 years ago. PHLCVB President and CEO Gregg Caren said the event symbolized the long history of cultural connections between the two cities and noted that Canada is Philadelphia’s top partner in both trade and tourism.
Cunard’s newest ship, the Queen Anne officially joined the luxury cruise line’s iconic fleet during a historic handover ceremony in Italy on April 19 and is now sailing to Southampton ahead of her seven-night maiden voyage to Lisbon on May 3.
Tis the season for travel advisors to be on the road, whether its on a FAM or for organizational sessions and summits – or heading to the bank! Here’s a glimpse of a few recent rendezvous, ranging from The Travel Agent Next Door hopping down to South Africa with G Adventures (banner photo), plus on tour with Travel Edge’s top dog, dining and discovering with TRAVELSAVERS, and cashing cheques from Ensemble.
WestJet guests will gain access to six additional cities across four Asian countries from Incheon International Airport (ICN) through an expansion of WestJet’s codeshare agreement with Korean Air, one of the world’s only 5-star airlines as awarded by Skytrax. The new service will begin on May 17, corresponding with the previously announced launch of seasonal service between YYC and ICN.
Thai wildlife officials have laid out a plan to bring peace to a central Thai city after at least a decade of human-monkey conflict. The macaques that roam Lopburi are a symbol of local culture, and a major tourist draw.
Carbon emissions from transportation, the plastic waste left behind by travellers, and the potential impact on nature, make travel an activity with lasting environmental consequences.
Princess Cruises and ship builder Fincantieri have announced the mutual decision to postpone the delivery of the next Sphere Class ship, Star Princess, by nearly two months. The ship was due to be delivered July, 2025, but will now be handed over on Sept. 26 resulting in the cancellation of the vessel’s nine inaugural sailings.
With a nearly 33 percent increase in Canadian overnights in 2023 to almost 644,000 visitors, Canadians are clearly embracing the German National Tourist Office’s “Simply Feel Good” tourism campaign, as the busy summer travel season approaches – fuelled by 114 non-stop weekly flights between the countries by Air Canada/Lufthansa and Condor.
In celebration of Travel Advisor Month in May, ACTA is organizing both Business Building workshops and a Wellness Challenge for its travel advisor members. The online events are sponsored by Princess Resorts, the Jamaica Tourist Board and Air Canada, and participants will have the opportunity to win prizes.
WestJet reports that it has purchased the first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) supplied in Canada by Shell Aviation, marking another milestone in the company’s mission to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and signifying another step forward in making Canada’s aviation industry more sustainable.
In an open letter to customers affected by the historic rain event in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates last week, Emirates Airlines president Sir Tim Clark apologized Saturday for disruptions to its service due to the weather and the carrier’s response, which he admitted was “far from perfect,” but which also gave a glimpse into the airlines’ “all hands on deck” response to providing thousands of passengers with rooms, meals, water and medical attention.
Dubai International Airport allowed global carriers to again fly into Terminal 1 on Thursday as the United Arab Emirates struggled to recover from the heaviest recorded rainfall ever to hit the desert nation. But on Friday, Emirates said it would again halt local check-in for passengers, with the order lasting through the entire day into early Saturday as the UAE’s main airport worked to restore normal operations even as floodwater still covered portions of major highways and roads.
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has been named Best Airport in North America at the prestigious Skytrax World Airport Awards in Frankfurt, Germany. Skytrax is recognized as the world’s premier international airport awards, with honours assessed according to votes cast by more than 13-million passengers worldwide.
Citing an ongoing commitment to gender equality, Air Canada has announced the first Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) edition of its popular Fan Flight program, giving young fans a chance to attend a game during the upcoming PHWL Finals.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada’s easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Throughout 2024, Britian’s Royal Collection Trust will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House at Windsor Castle, the largest and most famous dolls’ house in the world. Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House was built between 1921 and 1924 as a gift from the nation to Queen Mary following the First World War.
There’s one less spire in the “City of Spires” after fire gutted the Boersen, Copenhagen’s famed former stock exchange building on Tuesday – a calamity being compared to the destruction of Notre Dame in Paris in 2019.
There’s always something new in New York, a constant that helps inspire a million Canadians a year to visit, says senior city tourism exec Reginald Charlot.
Transat staff may not have got much sleep, but the reward was a successful inaugural ‘Rookie Camp’ in Mexico, which saw 100 travel advisors from across the country graduate with honours.
Carnival Cruise Line is introducing a series of new features to its online booking tool for travel advisors, GoCCL Navigator. The enhancements streamline the booking process, providing travel advisors with the tools and resources they need to maximize efficiency and improve their overall experience to support their business and income growth.
American Airlines will launch new seasonal service between Quebec City and Charlotte, NC, on Aug. 10, with Saturday flights weekly through Nov. 2.