BACK ON TRACK: Air Canada to resume full transatlantic sked in 2024

A new, year-round route between Montreal and Madrid will launch next May as part of Air Canada’s expanded international summer 2024 flying schedule. The airline plans to operate 100 percent of its peak summer 2019 trans-Atlantic capacity next year, taking full advantage of the robust recovery in its largest international market.

SCANDAL PROMPTS QANTAS CEO TO RETIRE EARLY

The boss of Australian airline Qantas said Tuesday he would leave his job immediately – two months earlier than planned – following a series of embarrassing revelations about the company, including allegations it sold tickets for flights that had already been cancelled.

QUEBEC CRACKS DOWN ON TOURIST ROOM RENTALS

Quebec’s new tourist accommodation law is now in effect, with hefty fines of up to $100,000 for short-term rental platforms listing properties without a proper government certificate.

SUNWING TRIP INCENTIVE PROMOTES NEW GROUP CAPABILITIES

In celebration of Sunwing Vacation’s newly revamped group quoting capabilities, the tour operator is offering agents the chance to win one of two, seven-night all inclusive getaways for two to Riu Latino with every booking made by Oct. 31 using the new Group Booking Request form.

CANLINK NAMED REPS FOR SUNSWEPT RESORTS

Newmarket, Ont.-based Canlink Travel Representatives has been named Canadian representative for SunSwept Resorts in St. Lucia, which includes StolenTime and BodyHoliday, the Caribbean’s first wellness resort. Each of the properties offer an all-inclusive experience set on a beautiful beach in St. Lucia.

WHO WOULD DO THAT? Women ditches dog at airport

A woman accused of intentionally abandoning her dog at a Pennsylvania airport before she boarded a flight to a resort in Mexico last month has been charged with animal cruelty and related charges, authorities announced.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: RIU continues to expand, grow and flourish

RIU Hotels and Resorts have been a favourite with Canadians since the 1990s when The Riu Taino opened in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. RIU had, of course, long been popular holiday hotel choices for European and international travellers since the 50’s when the Riu family acquired their first hotel in Playa de Palma (Mallorca, Spain).

BUSTED: U.S. fines American Airlines for tarmac delays

The US federal government is fining American Airlines $4.1 million for dozens of instances in which passengers were kept on board planes without a chance to exit during long ground delays. The Department of Transportation said it is the largest such fine against an airline since rules covering long ground delays took effect about a decade ago.

A NEW TRADITION?: Corgi parade honours late Queen

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace may draw tourists from far and wide, but on Sunday visitors to the landmark were treated to a different sort of spectacle: a parade of corgis dressed up in crowns, tiaras, and royal outfits.

ANTIGUA HAS MOMENT IN THE SUN

The tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda is flying high. Literally. On Aug. 10, two citizens of the island ventured into space on the Virgin Galactic 02 Spacecraft, making Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers worldwide celebrities, but also blasting their country into the international spotlight.

INTREPID MARATHON SPONSORS CAN WIN PRIZES

There’s still time to support Intrepid’s annual charity marathon on Sept. 10, with the tour company giving away five trips on its 10-day Vietnam Express Southbound itinerary to top fundraisers.

NCL RETURNS TO MAUI

Norwegian Cruse Lines returned to Maui on the weekend. Earlier in August, the cruise line paused its calls to the island, to avoid stressing local resources due to the devastating wildfires in Lahaina on the island’s west side.

ROUND-UP: Aug. 28-Sept. 1, 2023

Among last week’s news highlights, ACTA launched a loan relief campaign, tropical storm Idalia ravaged Florida and Georgia, China finally dropped COVID testing for arrivals, Air Canada slashed routes from Calgary, and Transat completed a deal to sell land it owned in Mexico.

TRAVELLER TIPS IF NATURAL DISASTER STRIKES

With hurricanes always a threat when travelling south and thousands of people having to evacuate ahead of wildfires in Canada alone this summer, travellers are being urged to know what to do – and what not to do – in case a trip is ever cut short by a natural disaster.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND: Unique cultural experience or tourist trap?

You can visit the world’s biggest penis collection, dance until dawn and take a quick jaunt to an active volcano and a steaming Blue Lagoon. What’s not to love about Iceland’s capital city with its clean, walkable streets of quaint shops painted in vivid colors that could have been imagined by a theme park set designer?

LISTENING IN: Super-duper Roger Hodgson

As an all-time favourite of mine, I could (but won’t) launch a Supertramp September of videos, with little limit of great song choices from which to choose (but not many decent clips to accompany). Instead, here’s something from co-frontman Roger Hodgson’s successful solo career, which followed the unfortunate break-up of the British band.

IDALIA’S FLORIDA FURY: Latest storm an ‘unprecedented event’

Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday in Florida as a Category 2 storm and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast, submerging homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines in an area that has never before received such a pummeling.

AIR CANADA SLASHES CALGARY ROUTES: Blames pilot shortage

Air Canada is eliminating six major routes out of Calgary this winter, in part due to an industry-wide pilot shortage. The airline will no longer offer non-stop flights from Calgary to Ottawa, Halifax, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Cancun, or Frankfurt as of the end of October.

CHINA DROPS COVID TESTING FOR ENTRY

China no longer requires a negative COVID-19 test result for incoming travellers, representing, a milestone in its reopening to the rest of the world after a three-year isolation that began with the country’s borders closing in March 2020. The new measure (or lack thereof) was announced Monday and came into effect Wednesday (Aug. 30).

AVIATION ‘BAROMETER’: DXB heralds aviation bounce back, rise of Dubai

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, announced it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year — exceeding figures for the same period in 2019 as travellers return to the air after the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic.

FROM CUBA WITH LOVE: Sunwing’s top resorts for romance

Couples planning a romantic all-inclusive getaway filled with stunning beaches, a warm and inviting culture, and resorts with everything they need for an unforgettable stay should keep Cuba at the top of their destination wish list, says Suwning.

CHURCH AND STATE: Europe’s houses of worship struggle to balance faith, tourism

A recent Saturday evening Mass at Sagrada Familia parish in Barcelona, Spain, had all the hallmarks of a neighbourhood worship service. But it also featured security checks to get in and curious tourists peering down to take photos of the worshippers from above. The regular Mass is held in the crypt of modernist architect Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece church, one of Europe’s most visited monuments.

AND ALL THAT JAZZ: Pilot union launches complaint against Air Canada, Jazz

The union representing pilots at Jazz Aviation claims that their employer and Air Canada have breached the Canada Labour Code, even as it ratified changes to their collective agreement. Jazz, a subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Inc., provides regional service for the country’s biggest airline under the Air Canada Express brand.

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