The airline boss who suggested that women can’t run airlines and called American carriers “crap” and that their passengers were “always being served by grandmothers” is stepping down. Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker is retiring after 27 years leading the company – a tenure during which he forged a reputation as being one of the most outspoken leaders in the airline industry.
Carnival faced legal troubles in Australia for a cruise operated during the pandemic; Transat announced a flight first (spoiler alert: to Africa); while in other round-up news from last week, Porter launched flights to Las Vegas, Arajet arrived in Canada, and Visit Florida spread some sunshine during its annual mission north of the border.
Speed and convenience are the key priorities of today’s travellers, according to IATA, whose 2023 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) reveals the latest passenger trends and preferences when it comes to both the booking and travelling experience, including increasingly embracing biometrics and off-airport processes to deliver it.
Air Transat will offer non-stop service between Montreal and Marrakech, Morocco, starting next June, making it the only airline in North America to offer non-stop flights to the Moroccan city. It is also the first-ever venture to Africa for the airline and represents what it calls a “strategic shift” in operations.
MSC Cruises says it has cancelled the full winter program of MSC Orchestra that was planned in the Red Sea from Nov. 8 to April 17 because of the proximity of some of ship’s ports of call to Israel and the number of restrictions in the bordering countries that would have adversely affected the holiday experience for passengers.
Never a dull moment this week as the Loch Ness monster did not rear it’s ugly head, but a brown bear in Alaska did become a local celebrity; meanwhile, food and art intersected in truly bizarre ways, and wait for it, an update on the Wienermobile – all in our wonderful, wacky world.
“Barcelona closes port to cruise ships” – Many of the headlines on social media have been breathless. But let’s take a deeper breath. While, yes, the city pier called Muelle Barcelona Norte and another small commercial dock will no longer be available for cruise ships to book, Barcelona’s large and best-known port complex is actually going to be upgraded to accommodate extra ships.
USA Today recently analyzed 23.2 million Google reviews of 500 of the most popular attractions in the world to uncover the biggest tourist traps, the most overpriced, and the most overrated attractions worldwide. Alas, a number of Canadian sites (we’re looking at you Capilano Suspension Bridge!) figured prominently. Read on to find out which ones, as well as the rest of the world’s most notorious sites.
Unless you’ve been living under a tombstone, you’re no doubt familiar with “The Monster Mash,” Halloween’s most quintessential song. It’s been recorded/performed countless times, from the Beach Boys to Van Halen; there are even ska and reggae versions by Bad Manners and Bruce Springsteen respectively. But the definitive – and original – version was by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, which was a graveyard smash, topping the charts in 1962. This is not that song.
Carnival has been ruled negligent by an Australian court for failing to cancel a cruise that led to a major COVID-19 outbreak early in the pandemic. The Ruby Princess left Sydney on March 8, 2020, with 2,671 passengers aboard for a 13-day cruise to New Zealand but returned in 11 days as Australia’s borders were closing. COVID-19 on the ship spread to 663 passengers and claimed 28 lives.
After considering TICO’s review for a new funding framework and fees, ACTA says it believes the resulting proposals from the Ontario regulating body to be “band aids” that do little to change a “broken system” for registrants in the province.
Called the strongest storm in history to make landfall along the eastern Pacific Coast, Hurricane Otis ripped across Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a powerful Category 5 storm early Wednesday, tearing through buildings in the resort city of Acapulco, sending sheets of earth down steep mountainsides.
Africa is booming, the Middle East not so much, travel advisors learned at Goway Travel’s annual showcase for the destinations in Toronto this week. It was the 12th time the Toronto-based tour company hosted the multi-day event for agents and suppliers, but first since before the pandemic.
Lynx Air (Lynx) is adding Mexico to its international roster, with service to Cancun from Toronto Pearson set to take off Feb. 15. The Mexican tourism mecca is the ultra low-cost carrier’s first destination in the country and marks its third country in a growing network that will now feature 18 destinations.
A German tourist who went missing in a national park teeming with wild animals in northern Zimbabwe has been found alive and in “good health” along with his rental car three days later, a spokesperson for the national parks agency said.
With properties on the shores of the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico, getaways with the whole family are set up for success when staying with Grand Palladium Hotels and Resorts, says Sunwing.
People still get Sweden and Switzerland mixed up, according to Visit Sweden. Every year, the tourist board says, 120,000 people google the question: “Are Sweden and Switzerland the same?” Even the most informed and powerful people on earth can’t always tell the two countries apart – a world leader, the New York Stock Exchange, and a famous pop star have all experienced this. Determined to end the confusion once and for all, Sweden is now proposing actions.
VIA Rail chief executive Mario Peloquin wants the federal government to move toward giving VIA Rail trains formal right of way on the tracks over freight trains. The measure would reduce trip disruptions prompted by Canada’s two main freight railways – whose tracks VIA runs on – and vastly improve performance on periodically tardy passenger trains.
All of West Maui except for burned-out sections of historic Lahaina will reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 following the deadliest US wildfire in more than century, says the mayor of Maui County.
With Air Malta set to cease operations early next year, the country’s government has announced the establishment of a new national airline to serve the Maltese Islands. Announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela, the new company will be called KM Malta Airlines plc and will start operations on March 31, 2024.
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut the engines on a Horizon Air regional jet midflight told police after his arrest that he believed he was having a nervous breakdown, thought he was dreaming when he pulled fire handles in the cockpit, and that he had experimented with psychedelic mushrooms recently as his mental health worsened, according to a federal complaint made public Tuesday.
In this week’s round-up, a Travel Agent Next Door advisor is honoured by G Adventures, AMA introduces a home-based program, Virtuoso talks Turks and Caicos, and TTC Tours Brands delivers a special BIPOC FAM trip invitation.
Canada’s most famous indigenous artist, Norval Morrisseau, has a new monument in northwestern Ontario in the region he was born and raised. The installation at Nipigon’s Bridgeview Lookout is part of the Lake Superior North Shore Tourism Project and consists of an interpretive panel below a metal bird airbrushed with photos of Morrisseau, which all stand on a wooden platform.
A pilot’s-eye view of the take-off due to new exterior cameras connected to the aircraft’s seatback entertainment system is just one of the features on Air Canada’s upgraded Airbus A321, which the carrier unveiled to passengers on flight AC692 on the weekend.
ACTA has an issued a reminder to the industry that travel companies doing business in Quebec must comply with new privacy laws that will take effect in the province next year. The association adds that it is preparing information for the trade that will address the situation this Fall.
Energized by new flights to the country by Transat starting this winter – the first direct flights from Canada since the pandemic – PromPeru hosted a gathering in Toronto last week to update the trade on the latest news from the South American country. Among the guests were reps from tour operators offering Peru tours and product: Goway, G Adventures, Intrepid, Collette, and TTC Tour Brands.
Delta Air Lines is backtracking slightly on changes it previously announced in its frequent-flyer program, but it still plans to reshape SkyMiles to favour big spenders over customers who take the most flights.
After a pandemic pause, Norwegian Cruise Line returned to Asia for the first time in three years last week as the Norwegian Jewel set sail from Tokyo to begin an extensive six-month season of voyages in the region.
Flight Centre Travel Group has announced the appointment of Chadd Andre as its new Executive Vice President for Flight Centre Brand (FCB) Canada. The “significant change in Canadian leadership” follows the departure of Brian McLaren, who leaves FCTG after 21 years to pursue other endeavours, having played a pivotal role in steering the Canadian division’s transition into the growing digital market.
A pilot from France who disappeared while hiking California’s towering Mount Whitney during a layover was found dead after falling about 305 metres off a cliff. Tom Gerbier, 38, of Fontenay-sous-Bois, France, was a pilot for Air France, the US National Park Service said Friday.