Trevello cleaned up at the Sandals Awards; Travel Masters celebrated advisors who made an “impact”; Redtag unveiled a new, improved call-in experience, and Red Label agents travelled with WestJet Vacations; and there’s a new face at F1S – all in this week’s Retail Round-Up.
Flair Airlines chief executive Stephen Jones will be stepping down this summer after nearly four years at the helm of the discount carrier. The CEO’s tenure spanned a turbulent period for the seven-year-old company as the airline expanded its fleet but also hit financial headwinds amid stiff competition.
A new agreement between Alaska’s capital city and major cruise lines seeks to cap the daily number of cruise ship passengers arriving in Juneau starting in 2026. The agreement, finalized late last week, seeks a daily limit of 16,000 cruise passengers Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays. However, officials in Juneau say that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be that many people every day.
A United Airlines flight from Vancouver to Houston was met by emergency responders from the Houston Fire Department on arrival as more than two dozen passengers suffered flu-like symptoms including nausea and vomiting. The plane was later withdrawn for deep cleaning as a “precautionary measure.”.
For a few moments the sky over Normandy, France, seemed to bleed. A helicopter, camouflaged to match the blue horizon, hovered over the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, dropping poppies. First in bursts of red clouds, then spread out on the breeze, like blood droplets dispersed in water. Each blood-red flower represented a Canadian killed in World War II. In all, 48,000 poppies fluttered onto the beach, building and crowd below.
As the pandemic fades into history, replaced in the public spotlight by elections and crises like climate change and war, health officials are racing to get the world to agree to new ways to prepare for and fight an inevitable future pandemic. The World Health Organization said member countries have approved new steps to improve global preparedness for, and response to, pandemics like COVID-19 and mpox and set a new deadline for agreeing on a broader treaty.
ACTA is urging that its travel industry members take part in a federal Competition Bureau market study on the state of competition within the domestic air passenger services sector. The study aims to identify opportunities for enhancing competition to benefit consumers, employees, and businesses, and the deadline for survey responses must be made by June 10.
Air Canada is ramping up its flights to India this year including new non-stop service from Toronto to Mumbai, the country’s financial capital. In addition, the airline says it will boost its service from Montreal to Delhi to daily flights as well as offering daily seasonal flights from Calgary to Delhi, via London. The services start Oct. 27.
Regional air service in New Brunswick will get a boost in September when Saint John Airport adds new weekday flights to Halifax, reviving a route that was cancelled because of the pandemic. Quebec-based PASCAN Aviation will offer two daily return flights between Saint John and Halifax from Monday to Friday, as well as one return flight between Bathurst and Saint John every weekday.
Europe’s third-biggest tour operator said Monday that it is filing for insolvency protection from creditors and trips that haven’t yet started will be cancelled or scaled back. FTI Group, with a dozen brands under its umbrella, said parent company FTI Touristik GmbH, was filing an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings at a Munich court.
Despite record profits for the global airline industry, the cost of flights is likely to go up, IATA warned Monday at its annual meeting in Dubai. The association says that while carriers recover from the groundings worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic, there are many current costs likely to push ticket prices ever higher, among them worldwide inflation.
Seeking close the wage gap with counterparts south of the border, the union representing 5,000 Air Canada pilots says it intends to request help from a federal conciliator to assist in stalled contract negotiations with the airline, claiming the two sides are not close to a deal despite a year of contract talks.
When the ‘Queen Anne’ sailed up the River Mersey to Cunard’s “spiritual home” in Liverpool, UK – where Samuel Cunard launched the first transatlantic passenger cargo service in 1840 with steamship Britannia – thousands of people lined the waterfront, cheering on the majestic vessel in anticipation of the christening and naming ceremony of the illustrious Cunard brand’s first new ship in 14 years.
Three new service enhancements for guests travelling with wheelchairs or similar mobility aids are highlighted in WestJet’s just-released first annual accessibility plan progress, which come one year after the launch of the airline’s inaugural accessibility plan.
In conjunction with the return of seasonal service between Toronto and Salt Lake City, the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT) raised the curtain at a series movie-themed “Matinee & Mingle” events for the trade in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto last week celebrating “100 years of film” in the state – including famous flicks like “Footloose” and “Thelma & Louise.”
Southwest Airlines returned to federal court this week in hopes of reversing an US$800,000 award to a flight attendant who said she was fired for her anti-abortion views and a judge’s related order that the airlines’ lawyers take religious liberty training from a conservative Christian legal group.
Africa’s most populous country ground to a halt on Monday, with electricity cut and major airports closed, as Nigeria’s largest labour unions began striking to demand a salary increase amid the worst cost of living crisis in decades.
Just as the summer travel season gets into gear, Canadians and visitors could find themselves waiting in long lines at the border. It all depends on what happens with a potential strike by workers at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which could start as soon as Thursday.
New York police arrested 34 people following a pro-Palestinian protest at the Brooklyn Museum, which reported damage to some artwork and harassment of security staff by demonstrators. Hundreds of protesters marched to the museum on Friday afternoon, set up tents in the lobby and unfurled a “Free Palestine” banner from the building’s roof. Meanwhile in Paris, an environmental activist defaced a Monet painting in the Musée d’Orsay.
Officials from beleaguered Boeing officials explained their plan to improve manufacturing quality and safety during a three-hour meeting late last week with US federal officials, who will continue restrictions they placed on the company after one of its jetliners suffered a blowout of a fuselage panel in January.
MSC Cruises says it will bring its largest and most luxurious MSC Yacht Club “ship within a ship” concept to North American shores with the launch MSC World America in April, 2025. One of the ship’s seven distinct districts, the MSC Yacht Club offers guests a secluded sanctuary within the bustle of the wider ship.
ACTA held its annual general meeting on May 28 during which association members voted on the nine positions available to its Board of Directors. The national organization also reactivated its regional advisory committees.
For the first time, Kempinski Hotels, Europe’s oldest luxury hotel company, has ventured into Vietnam with a riverside resort nestled in the folds of the Ho Chi Minh’s main defining waterway. The Kempinski Saigon River reimagines traditional Vietnamese vernacular architecture with an ultra-modern twist through a collection of 100 guestrooms and suites that blend heritage with modern luxury.
While a border strike looms, a settlement by WestJet Encore pilots nullified another. Also last week, American Airlines reversed course on a controversial commission plan; Billy Bishop airport said it will introduce US customs pre-clearance next year; and UN Tourism projected that international arrivals would finally surpass pre-pandemic 2019 levels in 2024
A potential strike looms at border crossings across the country for more than 9,000 workers at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) following the release of the Public Interest Commission (PIC) report. The release of the report – outlining the Commission’s recommendations to reach a settlement – starts the clock on job action and puts workers in a legal strike position as of Thursday, June 6.
Travellers heading south of the border via Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport can look forward to pre-clearing U.S. customs at the island/city facility next year, with plans now underway to introduce the fast-track system by late 2025. Airport executives made the announcement on Thursday while introducing the selection of companies to handle construction and baggage handling duties required for implementation.
Consumer spending on travel continues to be robust with significant increases in passenger traffic, according to the latest global report from the Mastercard Economics Institute. The “Travel Trends 2024” report provides comprehensive insights into the evolving landscape of the travel industry across 74 markets, including Canada.
Bette Nash, recognized as the world’s longest-serving flight attendant, has died. She was 88.
DoubleTree is a well-respected hotel chain, but let’s face it, it’s really famous because of its chocolate chip cookies. A once unexpected and inconvenient overnight stay in Miami due to a missed connection is still remembered years later by my kids as a highlight of our trip on account of the warm, gooey, chocolatey confections they scored that night when we checked in.
Explora Journeys is getting into race mode to celebrate the arrival of Explora II, its second luxury ship this summer. The new small-ship ocean travel brand is the Global Partner of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, that takes place in the waters off Barcelona. Meanwhile, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team are hosting a racing themed cruise, complete with a replica car on the ship and specialty shore experiences in Monte Carlo.