Air Canada lands deals to secure $1 billion
Liquidity injection should buy troubled airline breathing room
30 July 2009
The Toronto Star

Cash-strapped Air Canada has raised more than $1 billion in new financing from a range of financial and industry sources in a bid to avoid its second filing for bankruptcy protection in less than six years.

Battered by the weak economy, the country's largest airline said yesterday it has entered into an agreement initially worth $600 million with GE Canada Finance Holding Co. ($50 million); Export Development Canada ($250 million); its former frequent-flyer program Aeroplan and its parent ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. ($150 million each).

The loan, secured barely two days before Air Canada was scheduled to make its next pension payment, comes with a minimum 12.75 per cent interest rate and was a condition of recent labour agreements signed with employees.

Observers said the liquidity injection should allow Air Canada to avoid filing under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in the near future.

"This is an important piece to keep them going," said Karl Moore, a business professor at McGill University. "It doesn't guarantee that they won't go into CCAA in six months or a year - that depends on business conditions - but it certainly gives them quite a bit of breathing room."

Air Canada said yesterday it has also successfully renegotiated agreements with key suppliers to bring its total available financing to $1.02 billion. That included reaching terms with GE Capital Aviation Services to sell and lease back three of its new Boeing 777 planes.

Another deal, with Boeing Co., will delay by one year the arrival of the first of 37 Boeing 787 "Dreamliners" until the second half of 2013. The deal reduces the options Air Canada holds on additional 787 purchases to 13, from 23 previously.

"By any measure, raising $1 billion in new liquidity is a tremendous achievement, particularly in view of current credit markets and the state of the airline industry," said Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada's chief executive, in a statement.

However, he cautioned that the financing simply buys Air Canada more time to execute a comprehensive restructuring plan that can deliver "sustainable profitability."

As evidenced by the plethora of seat sales, several North American carriers are barely managing to scrape by at a time when consumers have radically scaled back their spending on air travel.

Rovinescu, who helped guide Air Canada through its previous restructuring, was hired in April to replace former CEO Montie Brewer. He has since managed to secure key agreements with unionized workers that include wage freezes and a 21-month moratorium on payments into pension plans - a change approved by Ottawa.

Air Canada also said this week it has renegotiated its capacity purchase agreement with the regional carrier Jazz, now separately owned, that will help it reduce costs.

A round trip flight from Cancun to Toronto costs CAN$340.
OMG.! is so cheap why Aeromexico is so expensive.!

A round trip flight from Cancun to Toronto costs CAN$340.
OMG.! is so cheap why Aeromexico is so expensive.!

Not bad ... but could it be because of the downturn and swine flu fears - so they reduce the fares to entice visitors to return?

I wonder who owns these guys. Nice airline. 73NG for life!

Go American or go Home!!!!!!!!!!

Air Canada says flew fuller planes in July

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Air Canada flew fuller planes in July, despite a recession-driven slowdown in air travel, as it carefully managed its capacity during the traditionally busier summer months.

The airline said its consolidated load factor, the percentage of available seats that are filled with paying passengers, rose to 83.6 percent in July from 83 percent in the same month last year.

"Consolidated" figures include data from Jazz Air , from which Air Canada buys regional flying capacity.

System traffic decreased 3.3 percent on a capacity reduction of 4.1 percent system wide, Air Canada said.

"This result, achieved despite persistent weakness in the global economy, is attributable to our disciplined approach to managing capacity, evidenced by the stable load factors across our entire global network," Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada's president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Rovinescu said Canada's biggest airline was focused on securing customers' loyalty and "working towards sustained profitability".

WestJet profit drops but beats expectations

OTTAWA , Aug 6 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd posted a 66 percent drop in quarterly earnings on Thursday as a weak economy squeezed travel demand, and the carrier said it expects no real improvement this year in revenue per seat mile.

Still, the results at Canada's No. 2 airline were better than expected, helped by lower fuel costs and stronger than anticipated unit revenue, and the company's shares jumped 4.7 percent in early trade.

Westjet said earnings came in at C$9.2 million ($8.59 million), or 7 Canadian cents a share, in the second quarter. That compares with a profit of C$26.8 million, or 21 Canadian cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had expected the low-cost, no-frills airline to report earnings of 4 Canadian cents a share on revenue of C$529.5 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

WestJet's revenue fell 13.8 percent to C$531 million.

UBS analyst Fadi Chamoun said the results were "modestly" better than forecast, and that earnings per share were closer to 10 Canadian cents after stripping out foreign exchange and non-operating items.

To counter deteriorating demand, WestJet said it will use more efficient scheduling to reduce its aircraft utilization rate over the next six months.

That will result in a third-quarter capacity decline of between 1 percent and 2 percent, with full-year capacity now seen growing by 2 percent to 3 percent.

Economic turmoil and aggressive pricing hurt quarterly results, WestJet said, though lower fuel prices significantly reduced costs per available seat mile and profit erosion, the company said.

Despite some indications that the economy may by improving, gains for the airline industry typically lag economic improvement by six or more months, Chief Executive Sean Durfy said in a statement.

The airline, which competes with Air Canada domestically and is one of the few profitable North American carriers, said revenue per available seat mile dropped 15.4 percent in the quarter.

The airline increased capacity by 1.9 percent during the quarter, while its load factor, or the number of seats filled, fell by 3.4 percentage points to 76.1 percent.

The Calgary-Alberta based company said it plans to take delivery of two new aircraft in August and five aircraft in the fourth quarter, boosting its fleet to 86 planes.

The introduction of 11 new destinations and three new countries to the carrier's winter schedule is expected to capture additional market share, WestJet said.

Shares rose 50 Canadian cents to C$11.19 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in early trade on Thursday. ($1=$1.07 Canadian)

Air Canada seeks $500M boost
8 August 2009
National Post

After securing more than $1-billion in additional liquidity and a moratorium on its pension obligations in recent weeks, Air Canada says it is now turning the page in its restructuring with the goal of bolstering its balance sheet with $500-million in cost and revenue initiatives over the next three years.

The bulk of that will stem from cost cuts. Air Canada aims to reduce its annual expenses by $400-million by 2011 and has already identified initiatives from all facets of its operations, from scheduling, fleet, routes and supplier relationships, like its recently amended partnership with its regional partner, Jazz.

"Raising the new liquidity provides us with a window of opportunity to make structural changes which we cannot and will not squander," said Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada chief executive, on a conference call.

He added that the carrier has created an internal "SWAT team" of sorts that will ensure the 100-plus cost-cutting initiatives are implemented.

While those efforts won't directly target labour costs, Mr. Rovinescu acknowledged that the efficiencies gained may eventually impact staffing levels.

On the other side of the ledger, Air Canada intends to improve sales by, amongst other things, being more customer-friendly, launching a new Transatlantic partnership with United, Continental, and Lufthansa, and by reaching out to distributors, like it did by offering more commissions to travel agents in June.

The plan is to recognize $50-million in improvements in 2009, $250-million by 2010, and the full $500-million by 2011, management said.

"Everything will be thoroughly evaluated over the next short while with a sense of urgency," Mr. Rovinescu said. "Nothing will be overlooked."

The news follows Air Canada reporting a 27% increase in its second-quarter profit yesterday to $155-million, or $1.55 a share. However, excluding a one-time $355-million foreign exchange gain and other onetime items, the carrier reported a loss of $1.29 a share on a fully diluted basis.

Passenger revenue fell 16% during the quarter due to lower fares as carriers around the globe continue cut prices in order to stimulate demand.

In order to offset that weaker demand, Air Canada said it will ground some of its planes this winter in order to cut its capacity by 3% to 4% in the third quarter, and by 3.5% to 4.5% for the year as a whole, or roughly 0.5% lower than its previous forecast.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. said this week that it too will cut is capacity in the third quarter by up to 2%, and is in talks with the Boeing Co. to potentially delay the delivery of some of its new aircraft starting as early as next year.

Analysts expect this to improve the pricing environment for both carriers, but still expect an extremely competitive environment for at least the remainder of the year.

While Air Canada is doing what it needs to do, it's still not enough at this point to get excited about the stock, said Cameron Doerksen, Versant Partners analyst.

"It's still a pretty brutal operating environment," he said. "I'm still optimistic that as we enter 2010 demand will improve, but it's not certain, and Air Canada's leverage is such that if we don't get an improvement, or you have a spike in fuel prices, or some other crisis, they would be put in a pretty difficult position."

Air Canada suspends implementation of next-gen Polaris reservations system

Wednesday August 12, 2009
News from Travel Technology Update: Air Canada suspended activity related to the implementation of a new reservations system under development with ITA Software.

The carrier recorded a second-quarter impairment charge of C$67 million (US$61.9 million) related to the development of the system, dubbed Polaris.

Mike Russo, Air Canada's chief financial officer, said the decision came after several months of reviewing all ongoing and planned capital expenditures. "We had projected close to $40 million [US$37 million] in additional capital expenditures, most planned for 2010" in connection with the new system, he said. Air Canada will continue working toward the implementation of certain components of the solution, such as shopping and Web fare technology, Russo said.

The news came as Air Canada reported net income of C$155 million in the second quarter, up from C$122 million in the second quarter of 2008. The increase was boosted largely by foreign-exchange gains. But it reported an operating loss of C$113 million, compared to operating income of C$7 million in the second quarter of 2008.

In addition, passenger revenue decreased by $396 million, or 16%, from the second quarter of 2008 due to a decline in yield of 8.9% and a drop in traffic of 7.9%.

Air Canada and ITA Software signed a contract in September 2006 for the development of a new-generation system to replace its legacy RES III system, which was managed by IBM. The transition to the new system originally was envisioned for 2007, with a rollout of airport modules in 2008.

But, as is often the case with transitions to new systems, the original schedule was overly optimistic. In April 2007, Air Canada said the developmental work on ITA's side would be completed by the fall of that year. Little news on the project was forthcoming after that point.

Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada's chief executive officer, emphasized that the carrier has "a great relationship with ITA. They've done great work." He said Air Canada will revisit the Polaris project in the future, "but since we don't know when that future will come, we took the conservative approach of writing it down."

He said the implementation of the Web and fare components would result in some cost savings, as would "other improvements to our existing reservations system."

Cara Kretz, ITA Software's vice president of corporate communications, said the reservations systems can be used for any other airline. "There are nuances and specific features designed for Air Canada, but we're not building a one-size-fits-all system," she said. "It's completely flexible and configurable, and you can make changes as you go."

Kretz said ITA is talking to other airlines about using the system. "We are actively engaged with them and providing live demos," she said. The company is not planning any shift in focus, she said. "We have a clear strategy, and Air Canada's announcement doesn't change that at all," she said.

Kretz added that ITA is not planning any headcount reduction. "We are well capitalized, and we will continue to hire as planned," she said.


http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=17518

Air Canada flight diverted to Boeing Field

SEATTLE -- An Air Canada flight made an unscheduled landing at Boeing Field Tuesday evening after the pilot reported a possible problem with the wing slats.

Flight 541 was inbound from Toronto and heading to Sea-Tac Airport when the issue arose on approach around 8 p.m., said Sea-Tac Airport spokesman Perry Cooper.

A passenger on the plane said nothing was out of the ordinary until they reached the city.

"We were coming in approaching a normal way over 520 then basically heading south, and right before the airport, the plane veered toward the Sound," said Rob Cromwell. "The plane was circling for quite some time... and the pilot would come on occasionally saying there was a problem with the flaps and they were trying to figure it out."

Cooper said his information was that the problem was with the wing slats. Since slats help control plane speed, the pilot was likely asking for the longest runway possible as a precaution, but Sea-Tac's 10,000-foot runway is closed for the summer due to construction. It's next-longest at 9,600 feet was available, Cooper said, but the pilot instead asked to divert to nearby Boeing Field and use that airport's 10,000-foot runway.

Cromwell said people held together pretty well as the plane circled over Seattle, but, 'it was definitely tense," he said. "You could hear a pin drop."

The plane landed safely at 8:30 and no one was injured.

"Considering, the landing was pretty good, actually, wasn't too rough," Cromwell said. "You could tell we were coming in a lot faster than normal, (but) after we touched down, it seemed like a normal landing."

Air Canada's Web site reports the plane was an Embrarer 190, which can carry 93 passengers. Cooper said he believed there were 79 people on board.

http://www.komonews.com/news/53006477.html

By doraemon from HKADB :

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/img_2574_1_193.jpg

^YVR?

^YVR?

Tokyo actually.

Tokyo actually.

Thank you. :cheers: for AC. The future is in the pacific world.

Air Canada will add Hawaii-Calgary flights

Air Canada will launch nonstop seasonal service between Hawaii and Calgary in December.

The airline announced Tuesday that it will begin the service between Kahului, Maui, and Calgary on Dec. 5 and between Honolulu and Calgary on Dec. 6.

It estimates that travelers will save two and a-half hours of flying time in each direction, compared to alternative routes.

“We expect this new service to be particularly popular with Albertans looking to escape winter and enjoy the tropical Hawaiian Islands,” said Marcel Forget, vice president of network planning for Air Canada, in a prepared statement. “Air Canada’s new Hawaii-Calgary flights are also timed for convenient connections to and from Edmonton and other points in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Toronto and points across eastern Canada.”

The flights will be operated on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and offer executive and economy class seats.

Air Canada will offer up to five weekly flights from Hawaii to Calgary, including two flights a week from Honolulu and three from Maui.

The carrier already has 15 weekly flights during winter months between Hawaii and Vancouver.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/08/17/daily26.html

Groupe Aeroplan quarterly profit falls

Aug 14 (Reuters) - Groupe Aeroplan Inc , which operates Air Canada's frequent flier program, posted a lower quarterly profit on Friday and said it expects a decline in consolidated gross billings for the year.

For the second quarter, Aeroplan earned C$26.7 million, or 13 Canadian cents a share, down from C$31.5 million, or 16 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

Aeroplan said lower net earnings reflected reduced margins, driven by higher average cost of rewards per mile redeemed for the quarter as well as higher income tax expense tied to Canadian operations.

Revenue, including gross billings, fell to C$337.8 million from C$357.8 million.

Excluding charges, the loyalty program operator earned C$52.3 million or 26 Canadian cents a share. Analysts were expecting the company to earn 28 Canadian cents a share on revenue of C$357.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Aeroplan said it expects a 2 percent to 4 percent decline in consolidated gross billings for 2009.

"We believe the uncertainty surrounding Air Canada has had an additional impact on our Canadian business, ultimately influencing the average per card spend in our financial partner portfolio, which was also impacted, both by a decline in business travel and the recession," Chief Executive Rupert Duchesne said.

Aeroplan shares closed at C$9.88 Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

I know both Toronto-Pearson and Montreal-Trudeau are hubs to Air Canada but which one is the main base? Air Canada's HQ are in Montreal but is there a «main hub» and a «secondary hub» between the two? Or are they in the same level?

Thanks.

I think HQ tower is in Montreal. Now considering that YYZ gets 30M pax + /year and YUL just around 10M, I think the hub is in Toronto/YYZ T1. Toronto offer SYD and pacific airlinks, not sure if Montreal offers any of that market. Also Vancouver is way ahead of Montreal and it dominates Pacific airlinks. MY 0.02c

Yeah. HQ happens to be in Montréal, but the main hub is definitely YYZ (Toronto)

Announced yesterday: in June 2010 Air Canada will start daily Montreal - Brussels flights, operated by Boeing 767-300ER.

Yeah. HQ happens to be in Montréal, but the main hub is definitely YYZ (Toronto)

Yeah, thanks, I had always thought so. I just found it strange, because most airlines are headquartered in the city where the main hub is located.

^The politics.

IIRC, Canadian Airlines had a similar situation whereby HQ was in Calgary but Toronto acted as the major hub. Also (I could be completely wrong about this) I heard AC was not allowed to move its HQ as one of the conditions of taking over CP. Not that I am implying AC ever wanted to move.

AC is an airline after all and I think execs could get to YYZ or any other hub in Canada easily enough.

WestJet orders 14 more Boeing Next-Generation 737s
24 August 2009

SEATTLE (AP) - Canadian airline WestJet has ordered 14 more Boeing Next-Generation 737-700s, bringing to 54 the number of additional Next-Generation 737s scheduled for delivery, Boeing said Monday.

WestJet flies an all-Boeing fleet of 81 Next-Generation 737s.

Boeing said it has more than 2,100 unfilled orders for the Next-Generation 737 valued at more than $158 billion.

Shares of Boeing rose $1.21, or 2.6 percent, to $47.08 in afternoon trading.

Air Canada adds Barcelona, Athens to seasonal routes

Brent Jang

From Saturday's Globe and Mail


Air Canada will be adding Athens and Barcelona to its route map for non-stop seasonal service next year, the latest in a series of moves to selectively deploy aircraft. Athens and Barcelona are key ports of call, serving as jump-off points to other sites in Greece and Spain, said Ben Smith, Air Canada's chief commercial officer. He said Air Canada will be offering 220 economy seats on Boeing 767 aircraft, with another 24 "enhanced" seats at the front of the cabin available at attractive price points for leisure travellers seeking more legroom. The service will run from June 3 to Oct. 18, with flights departing from Montreal and Toronto. Mr. Smith said Air Canada is keeping three older Boeing 767s longer than anticipated, deploying them in various leisure markets. The carrier is keen to strengthen ties with cruise lines and other vacation partners, he added.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/air-canada-adds-barcelona-athens-to-seasonal-routes/article1269365/

WestJet loads, traffic fall in August

OTTAWA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Canada's No. 2 airline, WestJet Airlines Ltd , said on Thursday that its load factor and traffic statistics weakened in August as the "deep recession" continued to squeeze demand for air travel.

The discount carrier said its load factor, or the percentage of available seats filled with paying passengers, fell to 84.5 percent in August from 88.4 percent in the same month last year.

Traffic, as measured in revenue passenger miles, dropped 4.7 percent to 1.32 billion, as total capacity, measured in available seat miles, declined 0.4 percent to 1.57 billion.

"While we are encouraged by the talk of an economic upturn, and are not seeing further declines in demand, we remain cautious about a recovery," WestJet Chief Executive Sean Durfy said in a statement.

"WestJet's third-quarter revenue per available seat mile is tracking to an anticipated decline of 16 to 18 percent compared to the third quarter of 2008."

CIBC World Markets analyst Chris Murray said the 4.7 percent traffic decline bettered his estimate of a 6.6 percent fall and the 84.5 percent load factor surpassed his expectation of 82.9 percent. Capacity cuts matched his forecast.

"August 2008 was an exceptionally strong month to have to compare against and we remain cautiously optimistic given recent economic data points that travel demand is beginning to firm, which should lead to higher earnings into 2010," he wrote in a note.

Westjet shares fell 1.6 percent, or 19 Canadian cents, to C$11.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday morning. So far this year, the stock has lost about 14 percent of its value. ($1=$1.11 Canadian)

Air Canada shares climb after record traffic data

OTTAWA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Air Canada shares jumped more than 3.5 percent on Friday, one day after the country's biggest airline announced a record load factor and stable traffic statistics for August.

The airline said it flew with fewer empty seats as it cut capacity, reporting a record load factor of 86.8 percent, up from 84.4 percent in the same month last year.

Load factor, the percentage of available seats occupied by paying passengers, includes data from Air Canada's regional affiliate Jazz Air .

Montreal-based Air Canada's stock rose 6 Canadian cents to C$1.75 on Friday, and class B shares jumped 7.3 percent, or 12 Canadian cents, to C$1.76 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The carrier also said that system traffic declined 0.9 percent in August on a capacity reduction of 3.6 percent.

"These record load factor results, for the second consecutive month, combined with stable system traffic year-over-year, reflect not only our ongoing disciplined approach to capacity management, but also the strong response from our customers and travel trade partners," Ben Smith, Air Canada's Chief Commercial Officer, said in a statement.

Some analysts said the traffic statistics from Air Canada and rival WestJet Airlines on Thursday suggest that air travel demand has reached the bottom.

WestJet shares gained 11 Canadian cents to C$11.92 on Friday. ($1=$1.08 Canadian)

WestJet to raise $172 million
The Canadian Press
10 September 2009

CALGARY -- WestJet Airlines Ltd. said it plans to raise up to $172.5 million in a share issue for aircraft financing and other capital spending.

Canada's second-largest airline said it has signed a deal with a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC to sell 13.4 million common and variable voting shares at $11.20 per share to raise $150 million.

The underwritershave also been granted an over-allotment option for an additional two million shares that if fully exercised would bring the financing to $172.5 million.

WestJet revised its aircraft delivery schedule lst month to slow the addition of new aircraft to its fleet.

Oh United States! Air Canada cries foul over US position on sports team charter flights
11 September 2009

ATLANTA (AP) - Air Canada says the United States' insistence that the carrier cancel all of its season-long sports charter flights would wreak havoc on the upcoming professional hockey and basketball seasons if it is upheld.

Teams could have difficulty playing back-to-back games in the U.S. if they are forced to return to their home country between each game.

"The urgency of this matter cannot be minimized," Air Canada said in court papers.

The National Hockey League's regular season starts Oct. 1. Six of the 30 NHL teams are based in Canada. The NBA regular season starts in late October.

A hearing in the case is currently scheduled for Monday.

The airline, which flies numerous sports teams between points in Canada and the U.S., seeks in a federal lawsuit filed in Washington on Wednesday to prevent Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood from enforcing his department's decision.

The agency claims that the sports charters violate U.S. law because they last for an entire season and sometimes involve travel between U.S. cities rather than solely between one point in Canada and one point in the U.S.

The U.S. prohibits carriage of passengers or cargo for compensation or hire by a foreign airline solely between points in the U.S.

But Air Canada asserts in its lawsuit that the ban does not apply to the carriage of stopover traffic since stopovers, by definition, include an international segment. For example, the airline said, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have games scheduled in Toronto, then Anaheim, Calif., then Dallas, and then back in Toronto.

"The charter would therefore have to move the team and coaches from California to Texas without an intervening stop in Canada," Air Canada said. "But because the entire charter contract and the season-long itinerary is treated as a single journey with stopovers for purposes of the permit," there would be no violation.

Air Canada said in court papers that there was never any problem voiced about their charter flights until U.S. carriers complained. A DOT spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday. A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents U.S. airlines, said he had no additional comment beyond a 2008 letter from the ATA and several other groups to the DOT that asserted that Air Canada's charter flights that operate between U.S. cities should be deemed unlawful.

Air Canada said it has a foreign air carrier permit issued by the U.S. that allows it to operate both scheduled and charter air service between any point or points in Canada and any point or points in the U.S. The carrier has a unit called Jetz that provides business-class level charter service.

Jetz offers season-long charters for sports teams whose schedules require play in the U.S. and Canada. Initially, Jetz' clients were Canada-based hockey teams, but it has since expanded its offering to U.S. teams in both hockey and basketball. Air Canada said that's when opposition started.

"That pushback was plainly driven by domestic airline competitors who did not want to see their business impacted by Jetz," Air Canada said in its lawsuit.

Air Canada said it was told last month by the DOT that it must cancel all of its season-long sports charters regardless of the point of origin.

"We believe that such an operation would place Air Canada in violation of U.S. law," the DOT said in a recent letter to Air Canada cited in the lawsuit.

The DOT's position on the charter flights has already had ramifications in baseball. Canada responded by enforcing the rule on its side of the border.

The Toronto Blue Jays recently changed the destination of one flight in one of their final road trips of the season to comply.

The Blue Jays fly with Miami Air International, a Florida company that also provides charter service to five U.S.-based NHL teams, including the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Unable to use an American carrier for a domestic flight in Canada, the Blue Jays changed their destination to Detroit and were granted approval.

The standoff could also affect NHL teams based in the U.S.

The Dallas Stars are wondering if the standoff will affect road trips to Canada on the club's plane.

"We used to fly from Edmonton to Vancouver no problem," said Stars spokesman Rob Scichili. "Now we're looking at all our options, and we hope the issue is resolved before the start of the regular season."

------

AP Airlines Writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.

WestJet 3Q Net Dn 46%
Lower Fuel Costs Partly Offset Rev Drop
4 November 2009
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Kicking off the third-quarter reporting season for Canada's airlines, WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA.T) posted a 46% drop in earnings but said relief from significantly lower fuel costs helped offset a drop in revenue.

The Calgary-based low-cost air carrier earned C$31.4 million or 24 Canadian cents a share, down from C$57.9 million or 45 Canadian cents a year earlier. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 28 Canadian cents.

Revenue fell 16% to C$600.6 million, just below the Thomson Reuters mean estimate of C$604 million. Aircraft fuel expenses fell to C$151 million from C$245 million a year earlier.

BMO Capital Markets was forecasting earnings would be much lower than a year earlier, with a sharp drop in yields and a lower load factor more than offsetting lower fuel prices. Airlines continue to feel the effects of the downturn in the economy and sharp decline in demand for air travel.

As reported, third-quarter load factor was 79.7% versus 81.4%. Traffic fell 3.2% and capacity was down 1.1%.

Revenue per available seat mile, or RASM, was down 15.5% from a year earlier. It had been projecting third-quarter RASM declines to be similar to the 15.4% drop it reported in the second quarter.

WestJet is projecting capacity for the fourth quarter will be up 2-3%, with new capacity being deployed into its transborder and international markets.

It said challenges encountered leading up to the end of the third quarter "are creating a lot of uncertainty around the remainder of 2009 and into 2010."

National Bank Financial is forecasting the current environment will persist for Canadian airlines for most of the rest of 2009 and probably into the first half of 2010, noting the airline industry usually lags economic improvement by six or more months.

"While we are seeing more signs of an economic recovery, we believe the airline industry may still remain under pressure given concerns over the potential re-emergence of the H1N1 influenza virus and general demand weakness," National Bank said in a recent report.

Separately, Wesjet reported a load factor of 77.3% for October, up 1.5% from a year earlier. October traffic improved 0.3%, while capacity was down 1.8%.

In Toronto Tuesday, WestJet closed at C$11.09, down 0.1%.

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2009/1102/IMG_2681.jpg

Air Canada service to Iqaluit an uphill fight
10 November 2009
The Toronto Star

Iqaluit: the true north, strong and although not yet free, at least a bit more accessible.

Air Canada announced on Monday it will begin daily flights to the frigid capital of the territory of Nunavut, from both Ottawa and Montreal, beginning on March 28, 2010. It's the first time Air Canada will fly the journey, though a since-merged subsidiary once also made the trip.

The airline said it expects to attract the steady flow of government and business travellers that form the core customer base for the expensive, 2,090 km trip. An Air Canada spokesperson said the airline hopes to plug Iqaluit into its global network, to take advantage of both domestic and international interest in the north's stark beauty.

Two airlines already make the daily trip: FirstAir and Canadian North.

Robert Kokonis, who heads the Toronto-based airline and travel consultancy AirTrav Inc., said Iqaluit's natural resources made it the "capital of the 'new north'" and has a steady, profitable passenger base. He noted that Air Canada will have business-class seats on the 75-seat Bombardier CRJ 705, unlike the other airlines, but wondered whether the move made sense.

"I don't think there's enough space for three carriers flying daily to the north," Kokonis said. "Air Canada's got a bit of an uphill fight, but they have a great product."

Almost any flight to Iqaliut will cost between $1,400 and $1,700, more than the price of most flights to China, and beyond the reach of all but the most dedicated tourists, bureaucrats on expense accounts, and mining consultants.

Reservation overhaul leaves customers up in the air
2 December 2009
The Toronto Star

WestJet is known for low fares and high service standards. But a reputation that took 13 years to build is losing altitude after the airline upgraded its reservation system in mid-October.

"It's an absolutely enormous project because it means replacing the entire IT platform upon which almost the entire airline rests," said spokesman Robert Palmer.

"And no matter how much you train (we trained for 150,000 hours), you are still going to encounter some problems in the live environment that simply did not appear in the test environment."

The unexpected problem? More than 500,000 bookings made before Oct. 16, the changeover date, are not recognized by the online system.

"We discovered that these old bookings did not perform the same way in the new system - they took longer to open, change, cancel and manage in general," Palmer explained.

"Obviously, this is increasing our call centre volumes and wait times."

Six weeks after the upgrade, disgruntled customers are still posting messages at WestJet's Facebook page.

"Maybe it's time to change management. When you're on hold three days, a total of one hour and 37 minutes, just to ask a simple question, it's ridiculous," Robert Wheeler said on Monday.

"I'm sick of hearing all these, 'it's the system' excuses. WestJet is a customer service provider and has been failing miserably at providing that service lately," said Dustin Chappell the same day.

I, too, have received complaints about long wait times.

Charles Troster couldn't confirm his booking online and was told that call wait times would exceed 60 minutes. He finally got a new confirmation code after writing on WestJet's Facebook wall.

The company has a lot at stake. Fast and friendly service is its defining feature, which it uses to distinguish itself from others.

"When people tell us we dropped our service to the level of other airlines, it's a dagger to our heart," Palmer said.

"We apologize profusely in person, in emails and on the website, every chance we get."

WestJet had to upgrade since its current technology was not supported after this month. Picking a transition time after Thanksgiving and long before the Christmas rush seemed smart.

Not so smart, as it turned out, since the system snafu has torpedoed WestJet's growth plans.

Until calls get back to normal, its planned frequent flyer program and co-branded credit card - the RBC WestJet MasterCard - are on hold.

Also on hold are code-sharing plans with Southwest, KLM and British Airways. (This practice allows one airline to sell flights bearing its name on aircraft operated by another airline.)

WestJet is working closely with Sabre Holdings Corp., its technology supplier, to fix the problems. It is hoping that a new computer patch, due to arrive this week, will do the trick.

Sabre has shifted 200 call-centre agents at Travelocity, an online booking website it owns, to handle WestJet reservations.

"We're pretty much back to normal with new bookings," said Palmer, adding that WestJet's call centre now works exclusively on existing bookings.

Customers can try calling from midnight to 6 a.m. to avoid the peak times, he suggests.

Meanwhile, the 200,000 passengers flying on the weekend after the upgrade will get discounts on future travel - as will others who suffered an impact, such as not having credit cards recognized by the new system.

The lesson for other companies? If you build a reputation for service excellence, you must react quickly to mistakes.

Customers will go elsewhere if they feel their time is wasted and their loyalty betrayed.

Air Canada defends refuelling decision, calls it unusual
2 December 2009
Winnipeg Free Press

OTTAWA -- The decision to refuel a Winnipeg-bound plane with an engine still running was a highly unusual event that has never happened before or since, Air Canada said Tuesday.

However, at least one passenger who was on board says her confidence in airline safety has been shaken after learning the plane may have violated two serious safety rules, including taking off without de-icing when there were reports of ice on the wings.

Ann Griffin, returning to Winnipeg from a business trip on the Oct. 9 flight, said the airline didn't tell passengers there was any issue with refueling with the engines still on. She only found out it was not allowed by federal safety rules in media reports this week. "We were just kind of left in the dark."

AC flight 271 from Toronto to Winnipeg was diverted to Grand Forks after another plane skidded off the only open runway in Winnipeg in the middle of a snowstorm. The plane had circled the city for more than an hour before it ran low on fuel and the decision was made to fly to North Dakota.

Once on the ground there, it was discovered U.S. customs officials were unavailable, so passengers could not get off the plane. There was also no power at the airport, which meant the Airbus couldn't restart its engines.

The airline had to make a decision whether to turn the engines off and force passengers and crew to remain aboard overnight until the airport reopened in the morning, or to refuel with the engines still on, which breaks Canadian federal aviation regulations.

"It was a dilemma, the choice was either to refuel in this manner or risk leaving passengers on an unheated, dark aircraft with no power for an indeterminate period," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said Tuesday.

While the government's regulations prohibit refueling with active engines, the plane's manufacturer says it is perfectly safe to do so.

Fitzpatrick emphasized only one engine was left running during the refuelling, and it was on the opposite side of the plane from the fuel port.

Fitzpatrick said this is the only time Air Canada has ever followed manufacturer specifications instead of federal regulations.

A pilot on board the flight as a passenger also complained to Transport Canada about the incident, alleging the plane took off from Grand Forks with ice on its wings, which Air Canada denied.

The incident was cited Monday at a House of Commons committee hearing on airline safety as an example of the country's new safety system run amok. The Canadian Federal Pilots Association called for a public inquiry into the Safety Management Systems implemented with the large airlines in 2005 and scheduled to be phased in for smaller airlines and charter companies in the next two years. The system puts the onus on safety inspections by the airlines themselves, leaving Transport Canada to assess each airline's safety records rather than actually conducting spot checks and audits.

CFPA national chair Daniel Slunder said in a statement Tuesday that the incident aboard flight 271 shows how SMS lets an airline break the rules knowing there are no real consequences.

Griffin said she is concerned an airline can make its own decisions about whether to violate safety regulations. "I do a lot of travelling with my job and I'm not too crazy about this."

-- With files from Canwest News Service

Air Canada voted best airline in Canada and North America
2 December 2009
Canwest News Service

MONTREAL - Air Canada said Wednesday it has been voted "Best Airline in Canada and in North America" by readers of the prestigious Global Traveler magazine.

The award was based on responses from more than 25,000 readers who are premium travellers averaging 12 round-trip flights annually, with 96 per cent in first or business class.

"These customers are in the best position to compare Air Canada's products and services with those of its peers," said Ben Smith, the airline's executive vice-president and chief commercial officer.

"They clearly appreciate our onboard facilities, the refurbished hub in Toronto and our modern fleet."

He said the award is also "a testament to Air Canada's employees and their hard work and dedication to offering superior products."

Air Canada flies new Boeing 777s' and Embraer aircraft on its international routes, offering top-level seating, personal entertainment systems and many other amenities, including lie-flat beds.

Its scheduled and charter flights transport passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five continents. It is a founding member of the Star Alliance network of international airlines.

Any plans to open routes to San Diego?

In pursuit of reduced turbulence
Glitches in its computer reservations system made for some unfriendly skies in 2009, but a loyalty program, added destinations and a few novel seating ideas may fuel better days ahead, the CEO tells reporter
BRENT JANG
29 December 2009
The Globe and Mail

Devotees of WestJet Airlines Ltd. will be looking to have their faith restored in 2010. The Calgary-based carrier has garnered a loyal following since it launched in 1996, but the shaky introduction of a new computer reservations system in the fall of 2009 wreaked havoc with carefully laid travel plans.

WestJet website crashes and long waits to reach the airline's call centre have irked “guests” – the term for customers in WestJet lingo. The airline industry, meanwhile, had to cope this week with widespread passenger chaos and delayed flights due to heightened security measures in the wake of an attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas Day.

Sean Durfy, who has served as WestJet chief executive officer since September, 2007, is counting on reduced turbulence in 2010, though he cautions it's too early to tell whether the airline industry will bounce back.

WestJet's profit for the first nine months of 2009 tumbled 43 per cent, to $78-million, compared with the same period in 2008. While rival Air Canada spent much of 2009 trying to avoid bankruptcy protection, analysts view WestJet as a good bet to enjoy a respectable 2010, albeit with fuel prices being the wild card. Mr. Durfy spoke about the challenges ahead in a recent interview.

What's the update on the SabreSonic reservations system? The computer system is stable, so it's working. The problem is that it's not working as well as the old system worked at this point in time. Basically, we've had a number of glitches. It's one of those things where we haven't experienced this before. Really, it's about technology allowing us to transact with our guests.

How long will customers be mad about this? Some are frustrated, no doubt about it. But at the same time, they're also saying, “We just want you to get this behind you.” Some guests fly with us only once a year, so by the time they try to book with us in 2010, everything will be fine. You have to put it in relative terms. Through 13 years of WestJet providing what I believe is a great guest experience, and by fundamentally changing the airline industry in Canada and bringing down ticket prices, our guests understand. Why is it important for WestJet to launch its frequent flier program and loyalty credit card in 2010, competing for Air Canada customers who belong to Aeroplan? Our loyalty program will be competitive against Aeroplan. We're really excited about our rewards. It's something our business guests have asked about for a long time. It's a big card, a big play for us over the next several years. Business folks make their decisions based on flight frequencies, price and a loyalty program.

Experts say the North American economy is on the mend. What's your general outlook? I'm still nervous about 2010. It's tough and it's going to be tough. Average households in the U.S. have been spending more than they earn. The reason that we're in this mess is debt loads – don't give credit to a person who can't afford it. From a macroeconomic standpoint, the mess concerns me. We still see the effects of the recession, but I'd like to think we are going to see a recovery in 2010 in Q2 or Q3.

How many planes and destinations will you have at the end of 2010? We'll be taking five aircraft and that gets us to 91. We'll probably add three to five destinations, and that would make it a total of 70 to 72 destinations. And how many international partnerships are in store? We hope to operationalize Southwest Airlines in 2010. We already have Air France-KLM. There could be two to four other partners.

What's behind WestJet's trial project coming up in March on flights between Alberta and Hawaii, where you would charge a fee to sit in rows with empty middle seats? I will have to put an awful lot of fuel on the aircraft for flights between Alberta and Hawaii, in order to fulfill our regulatory obligations for flying over water. You've got to balance off the weight of the fuel with the weight of people on board. So, we have to fly with less than a full load of guests. We have to be creative in our marketing.

Would customers on selected cross-Canada flights be willing to pay a premium – maybe at least $50 one-way – for the aisle or window seat, if the middle one is guaranteed empty? Why wouldn't we test it on this market and see if it flew? Gee whiz, it would be interesting if we could do that. The new reservations system allows us to do it. I think it's neat. We're blue-skying at the moment. Will we actually sell a product like that? Why wouldn't we test something like that? We have looked at a new middle seat, where the back actually folds down and the armrests fold in and it turns into a table. We decided against it.

Toronto man in custody after 'altercation' forces Air Canada plane to land in Montreal
31 December 2009

TORONTO (AP) - Air Canada says a flight bound for Germany made an unscheduled landing in Montreal following an altercation between two passengers.

Air Canada spokesman John Reber says the incident occurred Wednesday night on a flight headed to Frankfurt from Toronto.

Reber says police were waiting when the plane landed at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport at about 7:30 p.m. local time. One passenger was taken into custody and the flight departed at 8:40 p.m. local time.

Police spokesman Const. Olivier Lapointe says a Toronto man is in custody and is expected to be charged with causing a public disturbance.

Reber says the other passenger remained on the flight.

Hi everyone,

I just read in Wikipedia that AC is planning regular flights to Quito, Ecuador, late this year or in early 2011, what do you think?

Best regards,

Napo

Air Canada adds nuts to no-fly list; Nut-free 'buffer zone' ordered for travellers with severe allergies
8 January 2010
The Toronto Star

There is business class, first class, economy class. Coming soon to an airplane near you: nut-free class.

Air Canada has been told to create a nut-free "buffer zone" on all flights to accommodate passengers who suffer from severe nut allergies. Thursday's decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency followed complaints from two passengers about the inconsistent and difficult experiences they faced when they asked Air Canada to accommodate their severe nut allergies.

"There was clearly no policy. I was getting a different story on every flight," said complainant and frequent traveller Sophia Huyer. "Certain individual flight attendants, if they understand the issue of allergies, would accommodate me, but often it was left up to the captain or staff to make that decision."

Huyer filed the complaint in June 2006 after two flights where she had asked flight staff to not serve nuts. On one, the flight attendant said she could get off the plane and take a later flight. She did. The next time, she stayed on board. When the attendant insisted on serving nuts, Huyer locked herself in the washroom for 40 minutes.

"I felt like I was in a life-threatening situation," said Huyer, whose severe allergy can make it difficult for her to breathe, give her a rash, and cause her tongue to swell if she is even around nuts.

The agency ruled Huyer's allergy can be classified as a disability, and must be accommodated.

Air Canada has 30 days to submit comments on the decision, including how long in advance a person needs to notify the airline for a buffer zone to be created, and how large the zone should be, depending on the aircraft.

Air Canada stopped serving peanuts on flights more than a decade ago, but continues to give out almonds and mixed nuts in business and first class. Porter Airlines serves almonds and says it can accommodate passengers with 48 hours' notice. WestJet doesn't serve nuts, and has used the buffer zone approach for years.

Huyer said she is glad to see a final decision, but doesn't feel the ruling goes far enough. She thinks nuts should be completely banned.

"I know no area can be totally nut-free, but if you're serving nuts, you are actively increasing the risk anyway."

The nut-free zone is among a long list of recent changes introduced on airlines, such as allowances for animals on planes, allowances for those with allergies to animals, and a Supreme Court ruling that those deemed medically obese be allowed to have two seats when flying.

"That's just the way the world seems to be going," said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.

Air-rage newscaster cites menopausal exhaustion
Judge fines broadcaster $2,400 for 'outrageous' tarmac tantrum
THE CANADIAN PRESS
21 January 2010

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- The next time a flight attendant tells her to sit down, Colleen Walsh says she'll listen.

The Toronto broadcaster apologized Wednesday after she was fined $2,400 for slapping another passenger and breaching the Aeronautics Act during an outburst she blamed partly on menopausal exhaustion.

Her tarmac tantrum last March 31 made her a lightning rod for Internet critics, who blasted her chippy refusal in the aftermath to admit she'd lost it.

A more remorseful Walsh told reporters after the verdict, "I accept the responsibility. I think the judge ruled very fairly in terms of my behaviour."

A former Global Television host and CBC Radio newscaster, Walsh said her career and reputation have been "decimated."

"For me, it's been devastating to think that I would be lumped in the same category as anybody who is a criminal. Because I didn't feel that I had committed a crime," she said.

Walsh, 49, acted up after her transatlantic flight was diverted to St. John's for a medical emergency. Police and security officers testified that after the plane landed she was loud, insulting and appeared drunk.

Judge Greg Brown called Walsh's conduct "outrageous" and said "she appears to have been impacted greatly ... by lack of sleep, travel at 30,000 feet, the meal, two small bottles of wine and consuming a sleeping pill."

Walsh testified she'd been up for 30 hours and was on hormone replacement therapy.

She accused Air Canada staff, airport security and police officers of treating her "like a caged animal."

And she vehemently denied saying, once in the back of a cruiser, that she hoped the plane that left St. John's without her would "blow up," contrary to an officer's testimony.

"I would never say something like that. My whole background has been in healing and helping," she testified.

Walsh was placed on probation for a year. She was also ordered to remove offensive blog posts about Stan Harrington, the 67-year-old passenger she struck.

Harrington had testified Walsh stalked down the aisle of the plane towards him and backhanded the side of his head after he told her to "just sit down."

Walsh testified that she merely touched his forehead with the heel of her hand in an effort to calm him. The judge didn't believe her.

The flight was diverted after a young woman drifted in and out of consciousness - a situation Walsh, who is trained in first aid, said Air Canada officials blew out of proportion.

After the judgment, Walsh said she hopes both she and Harrington can move on with their lives.

She said she has lived much of the last nine months in a fog of paralyzing depression and disbelief. She described the verdict as a new beginning.

"I'm going to try and live my life without judgment and by trying to be a better person every day of my life. If this experience has done anything, it has put me in that direction in a much clearer path."

Air Canada loads down in January, WestJet gains

OTTAWA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Air Canada , the county's No. 1 airline, said its planes flew less full last month even as smaller rival WestJet Airlines Ltd said its flights were more crowded.

Air Canada, said its load factor, the percentage of available seats filled with paying customers, slipped 0.6 percentage points to 77.5 percent from January, 2008, when the measure rose to a record for the month.

Traffic on Air Canada and its regional carrier Jazz , increased 4.1 per cent to 3.86 billion revenue passenger miles but that gain was more than offset by a 4.9 percent rise in capacity, or available seat miles, to 4.99 billion.

"This result is close to last year's record load factor for the same month underscoring the on-going effectiveness of our disciplined approach to capacity management in a difficult economic environment," Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada's chief executive, said in a statement. "

WESTJET RISES

WestJet, the country's No. 2 airline, said on Wednesday its planes flew fuller in January, helped by increased vacation travel.

The carrier said its load factor rose to a record high of 78.8 percent from 76.8 percent in January 2009.

Traffic, or revenue passenger miles, increased 9.7 percent year-over-year, while capacity, or available seat miles, rose by 6.9 percent.

"As we continue to endure the challenges of an uncertain economy, we are happy to be starting 2010 on the right foot," said WestJet Chief Executive Sean Durfy.

"These great traffic results help illustrate the success of our seasonal deployment strategy and the continuing strength of WestJet Vacations and the WestJet brand."

The company said it launched new services in January to several "sun destinations" in the United States and Mexico.

The Calgary, Alberta-based airline has said that transition problems with its Sabre reservation system would hurt fourth-quarter results, which are expected Feb. 17. It has forecast a decline in revenue per seat mile of 11 percent to 13 percent from the year-before quarter.

WestJet shares rose 5 Canadian cents to C$13.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday while Air Canada class B shares fell 3 Canadian cents to C$1.31.

($1=$1.06 Canadian)

By Star Alliance from HKADB :

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/wongjst/LHR-Jan10/IMG_9684.jpg

Air Canada launches court bid for slots
11 February 2010
The Globe and Mail

Air Canada is aiming to lure corporate customers by adding 74 new daily flights in a crucial battleground while trying to thwart fast-growing Porter Airlines Inc.'s expansion plans.

Montreal-based Air Canada launched legal proceedings yesterday, accusing Porter of having an “improper anti-competitive advantage” at Toronto's downtown island airport. The defendants are Porter and the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), a federal agency that oversees the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

The TPA is poised to “grandfather” Porter's monopoly on 120 daily “slots” – takeoff and landing positions – at the island airport, Air Canada said in legal documents to back its notice of application in the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review of the TPA's slot distribution process announced late last year.

While the TPA has agreed to finally allow competition, the agency will give 50 per cent of any additional slots to Porter, meaning the Toronto-based airline could nab 46 of an estimated 92 slots expected to be divvied up in future.

The result would be that Air Canada and other carriers would wind up with a total of 46 slots at most. Air Canada counters that it needs 74 daily slots to be viable at Bishop airport, aiming to serve Montreal, Ottawa and Newark, N.J.

“For the past nearly four years, Porter has had exclusive access to slots at the island airport,” said Air Canada, which wants to use its Jazz affiliate to compete against Porter. Jazz filed its own Federal Court lawsuit in 2007 against the TPA and Porter, which have denied any wrongdoing.

Air Canada, in making submissions to have its new case heard, said it is seeking “an injunction to prevent the TPA from proceeding” with its strategy to allocate slots in a manner that still heavily favours Porter and allegedly abuses guidelines under the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

“We're anxious to get into the airport. Our customers want us to do that,” Air Canada chief executive officer Calin Rovinescu said during a conference call yesterday.

TPA chairman Mark McQueen said in an interview that slots will be distributed fairly.

“The process is wonderfully understood and there's nothing about the process that we're going to deviate from,” Mr. McQueen said. “We have not yet appointed an individual who is an IATA-approved person, but that person will follow the protocols.”

Mr. McQueen said Air Canada's latest legal move “is an unnecessary step. We're dancing as fast as we can.”

Air Canada is also concerned that TPA insists that Jazz make leasing arrangements with City Centre Terminal Corp., a company headed by Porter CEO Robert Deluce.

Air Canada announced yesterday that its 2009 loss narrowed to $24-million, helped by foreign-exchange gains. It lost $1.02-billion in 2008.

WestJet 4Q Net Drops 52%; Results Better Than Expected
17 February 2010

TORONTO (Dow Jones)--WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA.T) reported a 52% drop in fourth-quarter profit after booking disruptions, increased airport security and a weak economy forced it to keep its prices low.

Net income fell to C$20.2 million or 14 Canadian cents a share from C$42 million or 33 Canadian cents a year earlier. Excluding a tax credit, profit dropped to C$15.1 million or 11 cents, which exceeded the Thomson Reuters mean estimate of 5 Canadian cents.

In Toronto Wednesday, the stock is up 18 Canadian cents to C$14.04 on 592,000 shares.

Calgary-based WestJet, posting its 19th straight quarter of profitability, managed to navigate through a difficult 2009 when the airline industry experienced its worst decline in passenger demand in history and Air Canada (AC.B.T), the country's largest airline, nearly filed for bankruptcy protection.

"They were good results," says National Bank Financial's David Newman. "It looks like the airline industry is coming back strongly here."

Revenue fell 7% to C$570 million, but was ahead of the mean estimate of C$562 million. Operating margin was 6.3% versus 9.6% a year earlier on lower fuel costs.

Fourth-quarter capacity rose 2.9% from a year earlier and realized a yield decline of 11.0% from fare discounting, while its load factor increased to 78.4% from 77.6%, leading to a 10% decline in revenue per available seat mile, or RASM.

The drop in RASM was better than expected. Citing challenges experienced in transitioning to a new reservation system, WestJet said in early December that fourth-quarter RASM was expected to be down 11%-13% from a year earlier. Cost per available seat mile fell 6.8%.

The airline upgraded its bookings system to Sabre in mid-October, a transition that was marred by computer glitches. The new system failed to recognize more than 500,000 bookings made before the changeover date, frustrating travellers who couldn't get through to WestJet's call center. Chief Executive Sean Durfy said on a conference call that, while revenue was hurt, it was difficult to quantify, and that call-center wait times are now "very close to pre-cutover levels."

Sabre is "a key catalyst" to attract co-share partners, and "that could be fairly material," Newman said.

Durfy said the airline will add three to four more inbound interline partnerships this year and will likely begin marketing code-share partnerships in 2011.

But, its highly touted code-share with Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) "will be pushed out further than 2010," primarily because of technological issues, Durfy said. He remains optimistic the partnership will come to fruition.

The airline is expected to launch its much-delayed frequent-flier program, as well as a co-branded credit card with Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and MasterCard in March, both of which are important in attracting business travellers, Newman said.

WestJet said first-quarter RASM is expected to decline less than 5% from a year ago because of continued pressure on fares.

It will also take delivery of additional aircraft, bringing its fleet to 88.

WestJet closing gap with Air Canada
18 February 2010
The Globe and Mail

Sean Durfy believes WestJet Airlines Ltd. is on pace to challenge Air Canada for the lead in domestic market share four years from now, likening the Calgary-based carrier to a long-distance speed skater who gradually closes in on the favoured rival.

“We're narrowing the gap. It's more of a 5,000-metre event rather than a 500-metre event,” said Mr. Durfy, WestJet's chief executive officer.

By the time the next Winter Olympic Games roll around in 2014, WestJet could be nipping at the heels of Air Canada, he predicted.

At the end of December, WestJet had a domestic market share of 38 per cent, compared with 36 per cent at the end of 2008, Mr. Durfy said in an interview yesterday, basing his figures on revenue passenger miles, a key measure of airline traffic.

While he declined to estimate his rival's share, industry experts say Air Canada's piece of the domestic market stood at 55 per cent at the end of 2009, down from 57 per cent a year earlier.

“We're targeting gaining a point or two every year, so to get to 39 or 40 per cent in late 2010 would be fantastic for us,” Mr. Durfy said.

If all goes well for WestJet, the carrier will have roughly 45 per cent of the Canadian scheduled airline market in 2014. Toronto-based Porter Airlines Inc. plans to continue its expansion, solidifying its spot in third place, albeit a long way back from Canada's two largest carriers.

A decade ago, after acquiring Canadian Airlines International Ltd., Montreal-based Air Canada commanded 77 per cent of the domestic market while WestJet held just 7 per cent.

Founded in 1996, WestJet didn't fly east of Manitoba until 2000.

WestJet has grown steadily from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland in recent years, as Air Canada shifted its attention to U.S. and overseas flights because, historically, long-haul routes carry the highest profit margins.

WestJet announced yesterday that its 2009 profit fell 45 per cent to $98.2-million. Its fourth-quarter profit declined 52 per cent to $20.2-million, but given last year's recession and glitches with a new computer reservations system, the carrier's executives said they were proud to have posted the 19th consecutive quarter of profit.

Versant Partners Inc. analyst Cameron Doerksen said it's realistic for WestJet to set its sights on Air Canada's No. 1 position domestically.

WestJet will benefit from international partnerships, attracting connecting passengers, though some pacts will take longer than expected to come to fruition. An alliance with Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co., originally slated to take effect in 2009 or 2010, has been rescheduled for launch in 2011.

Mr. Doerksen said WestJet will be limited in Canada at some point with its fleet of Boeing 737 jets, unless it orders aircraft better suited to serving smaller Canadian cities such as Regina. Air Canada has an advantage because it offers flights through its Jazz affiliate, which operates regional jets and turboprops.

“If WestJet does want to tap into the traffic coming from some of these smaller cities, they will have to get smaller aircraft into their fleet or get a partnership going,” Mr. Doerksen said.

WESTJET (WJA)

Close: $14.03, up 17¢

***

WestJet ascends in Canada's skies

Founded in 1996, WestJet began flying east of Manitoba in 2000, gradually loosening Air Canada's grip on domestic flights.

DOMESTIC AIRLINE MARKET SHARE

2000:

Air Canada 77%
Westjet 7%
Other 16%

2006:

Air Canada 60%
Westjet 33%
Other 7%

2009:*

Air Canada 55%
Westjet 38%
Other 7%

* As of Dec. 31, 2009

WESTJET AVAILABLE SEAT MILES, IN BILLIONS

'04 - 9.0
'05 - 10.7
'06 - 12.5
'07 - 14.5
'08 - 17.1
'09 ' 17.6

THE GLOBE AND MAIL / SOURCES: INDUSTRY ESTIMATES; OFFICIAL AIRLINE GUIDE; WESTJET

WestJet rewards program takes aim at Aeroplan
9 March 2010
The Globe and Mail

Air travellers seeking to book last-minute flights or fly during peak periods are counting on WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s new frequent flier program to be an improvement over Air Canada's Aeroplan loyalty plan.

WestJet is hoping to tap into consumer discontent that accompanies searches for Aeroplan rewards, at least during popular travel times, said Patrick Sojka, chief executive officer at rewardscanada.ca, which tracks a wide range of loyalty programs.

Aeroplan passengers get sticker shock whenever they try to book with little notice or attempt to fly during any hectic holiday period, resulting in redemption requirements that can be two to four times higher than the number of points needed to obtain off-peak flights, Mr. Sojka said yesterday, after WestJet kicked off its “frequent guest program.”

Bob Cummings, WestJet's executive vice-president of marketing and sales, said there won't be holiday blackout periods on the Calgary-based carrier's reward flights.

Instead of copying Aeroplan's system of encouraging consumers to accumulate “miles,” WestJet is offering “dollars off flights and holiday packages,” Mr. Cummings said.

WestJet and Royal Bank of Canada introduced new credit cards last Thursday, with consumers who applied on launch day scheduled to receive their loyalty cards as early as March 18. Two cards are available to accumulate “WestJet dollars,” called the WestJet RBC World MasterCard and WestJet RBC MasterCard.

WestJet is also attempting to lure Air Canada customers away from 25-year-old Aeroplan by persuading consumers to participate in a new program that offers tiered rewards after an individual traveller spends more than $1,500 on WestJet flights annually.

More than one-fifth of Aeroplan reward seats are booked within 14 days of travel, said Aeroplan spokeswoman JoAnne Hayes, who noted that passengers face higher WestJet base fares during peak times. WJA (TSX) fell 3 cents to $14.02.

WestJet faces shakeup as CEO steps down
Surprise resignation comes on heels of sharp profit drop and reservation glitch
16 March 2010
The Globe and Mail

An airline industry veteran has been tapped to run WestJet Airlines Ltd. after its chief executive officer resigned, a surprise move that follows weak quarterly earnings and the bungled launch of a new reservation system.

Sean Durfy stepped down as president and CEO of the Calgary-based airline last night, saying he wanted to spend more time with his young family. He'll be replaced by industry veteran Gregg Saretsky, who was an executive at the now-defunct Canadian Airlines for 13 years and has worked in the industry for 25 years.

“There's no secret that there have been challenges at the company over the last 12 months, and I'm certain that there have been issues when it comes to performance,” said Ben Cherniavsky, an industry analyst who follows the airline for investment dealer Raymond James Ltd.

It's the second time in 10 years WestJet has replaced a top executive unexpectedly. It's an awkward situation for a company that prides itself on corporate culture, Mr. Cherniavsky said.

“This is a delicate situation for the board and for WestJet,” he said. “Culture and leadership is important at any company, but it is absolutely pinnacle to the success at WestJet. It's telling that this is the second time in a relatively short history the plug has been pulled on a CEO, even if he resigned on his own.”

The airline praised Mr. Durfy for spearheading several projects, including the launch of its vacation package business and the implementation of two new reservation systems. However, the most recent reservation system was an embarrassment for the airline when it launched in October, causing website crashes and long waits for customer service.

The company said the reservations glitch eroded its fourth-quarter results, with profit coming in 52 per cent below the same quarter a year ago. While pressured by reduced business spending, high unemployment and low consumer confidence, Mr. Durfy told analysts that he was “ecstatic and extremely pleased” with the quarter's $20.2-million profit.

The company's shares have lagged its main competitor Air Canada, with a gain of 11.95 per cent since the beginning of the year. Air Canada has gained 28.03 per cent, while the S&P 500 Airline Index, which tracks the broader industry, has gained 13.73 per cent.

Mr. Durfy said he would stay with the company until April. Both men will attend a press conference today, and plan to attend a National Bank Financial transportation conference in Toronto March 24.

“Those things I set out to accomplish at WestJet have now been achieved and I believe this is an appropriate time to allow others to carry the torch,” Mr. Durfy said in the release.

At the end of December, WestJet had a domestic market share of 38 per cent, compared with 36 per cent at the end of 2008, Mr. Durfy said in February, basing his figures on revenue passenger miles, a key measure of airline traffic. While he declined to estimate his rival's share, industry experts say Air Canada's piece of the domestic market stood at 55 per cent at the end of 2009, down from 57 per cent a year earlier.

Before joining WestJet, Mr. Durfy was president and chief operating officer at Calgary-based utility Enmax Energy Corp. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Founded in 1996, the low-cost WestJet didn't fly east of Manitoba until 2000. It now serves 69 cities in North America and the Caribbean.

Mr. Saretsky is well positioned to enhance his predecessor's accomplishments, WestJet chairman Clive Beddoe said. At Alaska Airlines, Mr. Saretsky developed a network of partners among the U.S. airlines and an award-winning rewards program. He was also “instrumental in the establishment of many cost-saving initiatives, making Alaska one of the most efficient airlines in North America,” WestJet said.

“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the president and CEO role and we are confident his background will provide the leadership and experience required to achieve our strategic plans,” Mr. Beddoe stated.

WestJet plans big push on airline partnerships
24 March 2010

VANCOUVER, March 24 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd wants to establish one new partnership with another carrier every quarter starting later this year as it eyes expansion into international markets, the newly chosen chief executive of Canada's No. 2 airline said on Wednesday.

Gregg Saretsky, who takes over as WestJet's CEO on April 1, said a number of carriers have already beaten a path to the door of the airline, which at the moment flies only to destinations in North America and the Caribbean.

"The plan is to have a code-share partner in each geographic region in the world," Saretsky told a transportation conference in Toronto.

"(The plan is for) one for Asia-Pacific, one for the Indian subcontinent, perhaps one in the South Pacific. Europe and Asia we already have a good start with," he said in his first public appearance in front of investors and analysts since his surprise appointment last week.

Saretsky, a 25-year veteran of the airline industry, joined Calgary-based WestJet just nine months ago. Last week he was named new CEO to replace Sean Durfy who is stepping down for family reasons after less than three years at the helm.

WestJet already has a partnership with China Airlines Ltd and Air France-KLM , which it is developing into a full code-share arrangement.

Code-share deals allow carriers to sell tickets to passengers from another airline, helping carriers to increase revenue while limiting costs as they don't have to service all destinations.

"We are going to exploit international markets first going through code-share arrangements," Saretsky said when asked about WestJet's plans to fly international routes.

Partnerships were a key part of Durfy's expansion strategy for WestJet too, although the targets laid out by Saretsky appear more aggressive.

Saretsky was quick to reassure investors that little will change under his lead at WestJet, which is one of the few airlines in North America to stay profitable through the recent recession-led slump in airline travel.

"My plan for WestJet is pretty much business as usual," he said.

He said applications for WestJet's recently launched frequent flier program "blew the doors off", although he declined to provide figures.

WestJet, which has about a 38 percent share of the Canadian market, should "fairly easily" be able to increase this into the mid-40s over the next two to four years, Saretsky said. To do this, it will need to eat deeper into the turf of Air Canada , its only real rival.

WestJet's stock was up 9 Canadian cents at C$13.84 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon.

($1 = $1.02 Canadian)

Jetstar ties up with Air Canada
12 April 2010
The Australian

AIRLINES: Jetstar customers will be able to buy a through fare to Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Quebec after the low-cost Qantas offshoot signed its 12th interline deal.

The deal with Air Canada means Jetstar customers will be able to connect to the Canadian carrier's services through Hawaii using a joint fare on a single booking.

Air Canada, which operates direct flights between Sydney and Vancouver, is also offering a combo deal that allows passengers to combine a stop-over in Honolulu with Jetstar in one direction and fly non-stop in the other.

The Canadian carrier joins existing Jetstar interline partners such as Qantas, Etihad, Air Calin and Royal Jordanian.

Jetstar expects the deal to be financially beneficial and to boost in-bound tourism from Canada.

Jetstar said it would provide seamless booking and ticketing, providing customers and the travel industry with more options to include a Jetstar flight into itineraries.

Air Canada unions say increasing pool of stocks for execs sends wrong message
28 May 2010
The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - Air Canada's shareholders rejected Thursday the warnings of its unions that increasing the pool of available stocks to reward executives could damage efforts to rebuild the airline.

More than 80 per cent of investors supported a plan to increase the shares in its long-term incentive plan to nearly 19.5 million or seven per cent of all outstanding shares.

Five million shares were made available at Air Canada's (TSX:AC.B) initial public offering in 2006, representing five per cent of outstanding shares. Only 1.8 million of the 278 million outstanding shares remain available for distribution.

The Montreal-based airline said it needed the extra shares ``to attract, retain and motivate employees in key positions.''

But the head of the pilots' union said the move violates an agreement with employees not to increase executive compensation during a 21-month freeze on pay for employees that expires next March.

The freeze and contract extension gave unionized workers 17.6 million shares and one seat on the board of directors.

``This sends the wrong message to employees,'' Bruce White told shareholders, noting the improvements made by the airline over the last 10 months.

``In fact, instead of engaging them, we feel it may in fact alienate them. This could in fact even damage some of our efforts to rebuild this airline into a sustainable company.''

White said he's not opposed to rewarding senior management, but that any incentive targets should also be open to other employees.

Supporting the pilots' position was the union representing flight attendants.

Air Canada chairman David Richardson said the company is not currently awarding these extra shares and will stand by agreements with its unions.

But he said that outside advisers have told the airline it needs to have between five and 10 per cent of its shares available to give it the flexibility to thrive by attracting and retaining the industry's best leaders.

``There's no attempt to change the compensation plans and we stand by the agreement that we made with the unions that there would be no change in the compensation plans of the senior executives.''

Chief executive Calin Rovinescu added that increasing the share float doesn't violate the union agreements, noting the company could have used its existing available shares.

``The arrangements last year didn't preclude even the issuance of options to our senior management team,'' he told reporters. ``All it said was we were not going to improve the terms of the grants. None of that is going on.''

Air Canada's six senior executives shared $8.4 million of remuneration in 2009, including option-based awards, incentives and pension values. Rovinescu's total was $2.58 million, including $1.05 million salary and an $800,825 bonus.

The airline avoided another round of creditor protection last year by receiving a financial injection of more than $1 billion.

Rovinescu told shareholders at the company's annual meeting that the airline was on the runway to generate long-term profits, reversing last year's $316 million of operating losses.

``This franchise is very strong and we intend to make it stronger,'' he said.

It cut $50 million in costs last year and plans to save another $270 million in 2010 and $500 million by 2011.

Canada's largest airline is beginning to see a recovery in revenue from higher ticketed premium seats and is looking attract more business travellers from the eastern U.S.

Rovinescu said Air Canada has no ``immediate'' plans to follow the lead of the largest U.S. carrier to add a ``peak travel surcharge'' of up to $30 per seats for flights on most days this summer.

``We're not looking at that sort of thing right now,'' he told reporters, adding that airlines are looking at different ways to increase their revenues

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Air Canada's class B shares closed down three cents to $1.85 in Thursday trading.

Why is flight from Toronto to Buenos Aires via Santiago? Obviously, most of the passengers to Toronto are from Buenos Aires, so...? It should be direct. All the people I know who been to Canada went through Miami. You can also go through Dallas, Houston, Washington, New York or Atlanta. They would have a lot more pax with a direct. At the moment It's just a 5 weekly on B767

Why is flight from Toronto to Buenos Aires via Santiago? Obviously, most of the passengers to Toronto are from Buenos Aires, so...? It should be direct. All the people I know who been to Canada went through Miami. You can also go through Dallas, Houston, Washington, New York or Atlanta. They would have a lot more pax with a direct. At the moment It's just a 5 weekly on B767
The winter season (summer in Buenos Aires) will be daily on a 777. I'm not 100% sure about the reason why AC needed to stop in Santiago but my guess is that because it's a 5th Freedom right that they're exercising, they can in fact fly domestic passengers on the internal South American route so from a revenue/load factor standpoint, they're not really losing out by not flying direct.

Air Canada secures $170.5 mln loan to buy planes

OTTAWA, June 10 (Reuters) - Air Canada, said on Thursday it has a commitment for a senior secured term loan facility of up to $170.5 million from GE Japan Corp to help finance the purchase of 16 planes it currently leases.

Canada's biggest airline can put up to $128.5 million toward the purchase of eight Airbus A319 airplanes and four Boeing B767-300ER aircraft in 2011, with terms of seven and four years respectively.

The airline can use up to $42 million toward the purchase of four Airbus A319 aircraft in 2012, with a term of five years.

The company's more heavily traded class B shares were up 5 Canadian cents, or 2.75 percent, at C$1.87 on the Toronto Stock Exchange early Thursday afternoon.

($1=$1.03 Canadian)

WestJet in talks with China Eastern
Carrier looks to compete with Air Canada by striking 'interline' deals with international airlines

14 June 2010
The Globe and Mail

China Eastern Airlines Co. Ltd. and WestJet Airlines Ltd. are holding talks to form a partnership, hoping to tap into the promising market of Chinese leisure travellers visiting Canada.

Under the proposed “interline” deal, the two carriers will co-operate on ticketing and baggage handling, making it easier for China Eastern passengers on inbound trips into Vancouver to catch one of WestJet's connecting, domestic flights.

“We would like to achieve interline co-operation because it will benefit both of us,” China Eastern sales manager Ben Lee said in an interview. “Canada is a relatively new place to explore for the Chinese leisure market and packaged tour groups. This goes beyond the professionals and business people from China.”

Mr. Lee said the first step focuses on transferring China Eastern customers onto WestJet's network, but he envisages closer ties down the road, with the Shanghai-based company positioned for “code-sharing” – notably electronic ticketing, where one airline will be able to sell fares on flights operated by the other carrier.

WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer said he couldn't comment on “potential relationships until we have a signed agreement.”

A co-operation pact with China Eastern will be one of five international deals that WestJet hopes to forge with foreign carriers over the next 18 months, as the Calgary-based airline signs up allies to help combat Air Canada and its global partners.

The influx of Chinese trips is forecast to be strong in 2010 because China granted approved destination status (ADS) to Canada in late 2009. The move allows travel agents in China to market Canada, clearing the way for more residents from China to visit.

“The next few years should prove to be exciting ones for Canada, with ADS expected to provide a healthy boost to Chinese visitors to the country,” according to a report by the Canadian Tourism Commission. Media coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February also helped spread the word about Canada.

Last year, despite the recession, more than 161,000 visitors from China visited Canada, an increase of 1 per cent from 2008. China has been the lone bright spot among key overseas markets. By contrast, the number of visitors to Canada from Japan fell 28 per cent in 2009. Canada also suffered sharp drops last year in overseas visits from South Korea, Britain, Australia and Brazil.

China Eastern is beefing up its Vancouver-Shanghai service, hoping to attract both Chinese traffic into Canada and Canadians flying to China.

Since launching the route in 2004, China's third-largest carrier has scaled back flights in the fall and winter, but starting Nov. 1, it will be offering daily non-stop service year-round between Shanghai and Vancouver, deploying the 286-seat Airbus A340.

WestJet's other prospective Asian partners include Korean Air and Japan Airlines Corp. WestJet already has inbound interline agreements in place with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Taiwan's China Airlines.

“With Chinese incomes on the rise and paid annual leave becoming commonplace, the personal barriers to long-haul travel are rapidly disappearing,” said the Canadian Tourism Commission.

“At the same time, major events like the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo are enhancing residents' connections to other countries and cultures, encouraging them to identify as global citizens and stoking their desire to see foreign lands.”

Canadian airline WestJet cuts fare prices by 25 percent for entire schedule
19 June 2010

NEW YORK (AP) - Canadian airline WestJet said Friday it has cut all its full-price fares by 25 percent -- a move it says is an effort to give customers a more upfront pricing plan.

The low fares will span the airline's entire schedule, which is posted 330 days ahead of departure.

The airline said the new lower prices will let customers buy without waiting for a fare sale. But it isn't clear whether the announcement means WestJet is no longer going to offer fare sales. The company didn't immediately return a call for comment.

WestJet issued a statement saying that passengers "are frustrated at the unpredictability of fares with seat sales only available up to a few months in advance."

WestJet was founded in 1996. One of its co-founders, David Neeleman, later went on to found JetBlue Airways.

Airport potential still there WestJet plans to stay around
25 June 2010
The Hamilton Spectator

The dream of turning Hamilton's airport into a passenger mecca has suffered another disappointment, but its backers say their faith remains intact.

Calgary-based WestJet announced yesterday it will cut two-thirds of its Hamilton services effective Nov. 1. That will leave Calgary as the only Canadian destination directly served from Hamilton.

Karen Medweth, spokesperson for the airport, said the company was disappointed by the latest decision, but still believes in Hamilton's passenger potential.

"The important thing is that WestJet still believes in the Hamilton market," she said. "The economy has been very difficult and it's not just Hamilton that's experiencing these cuts."

Hamilton airport is operated by a private company called TradePort International Corporation under a long-term contract with the city.

TradePort won the contract in 1996 with a bid that promised the Mount Hope field would become a real alternative to Toronto's Pearson International for passengers.

For four brief years, starting in 2000 when WestJet chose Hamilton as its eastern hub, that dream seemed achievable as passenger volumes passed one million a year.

The dream crashed and burned early in 2004, however, when WestJet announced that 60 per cent of its Hamilton flights would be cancelled and its hub operations moved to Toronto.

Since then, Air Canada Jazz has come and gone from Hamilton along with Scottish discount carrier Flyglobespan, which offered British destinations. It collapsed into bankruptcy last December after its credit card service company failed.

In fact, since 1969 at least 11 scheduled passenger services have arrived in Hamilton to great fanfare only to depart again, sometimes in a matter of months.

Medweth said despite that record "we are out there every day talking to airlines about coming to Hamilton and there is lots of interest."

That interest is fed by the generally good experience of the airlines that do locate here, she said, noting for example that Flyglobespan, which offered a seasonal service during the summer and fall, reported good passenger volumes and failed not because of lack of demand, but because of cash flow problems.

"The market was there, they were very successful flights," she said. "The interest is there because the market is there."

WestJet spokesperson Robert Palmer supported those comments, noting Hamilton airport provides everything an airline could want -- easy access, a terminal designed to move people efficiently and quick turnarounds for aircraft.

The only thing it hasn't been able to deliver is passenger numbers.

"For us, the numbers just haven't been there for several winters," he said. "Despite that, we still believe in Hamilton airport and that's why we're still here."

Some of that may be because of emerging competition from airports in Kitchener, London and Windsor, the closeness of Toronto or other factors, he said.

Porter says Air Canada court complaints dismissed
22 July 2010

http://www.globalphotos.org/toronto/20060402/IMG_0322.jpg

OTTAWA, July 22 (Reuters) - Porter Airlines said on Thursday that the Federal Court of Canada had dismissed two applications by Air Canada contesting the awarding of takeoff and landing slots at Toronto's downtown airport.

Porter, a private regional airline that currently enjoys a monopoly on flying out of Billy Bishop airport on the city's waterfront, said the court found the agreements between the Toronto Port Authority and Porter were "entirely appropriate".

The court ruling, issued July 21, said the allegations of wrongdoing were "meritless" and it found no evidence of unfair treatment toward Air Canada, Porter said.

Porter said it plans to pursue cost recovery related to the the dismissal of Air Canada's claims.

Air Canada, whose stock rose 3.9 percent on Thursday, was not immediately available for comment.

Earlier this week, Canada's largest airline posted bigger than expected quarterly earnings and raised its full-year forecasts, prompting analysts to upgrade its stock ratings and targets, and sending the shares soaring.

NEW AIRPORT SLOTS

Air Canada had asked the Federal Court earlier this month to scrap the recent award of Billy Bishop airport slots, saying the allocation process was "fatally flawed".

The Toronto Port Authority, the federal agency that owns and operates the airport on the Toronto Islands, announced on June 24 that Porter had secured 44 of 90 new slots. Air Canada got 30 slots and U.S.-based Continental Airlines Inc was awarded 16.

"We look forward to welcoming Air Canada's new service at the airport later this year," TPA Chief Executive Geoffrey Wilson said in a statement on Thursday.

Air Canada, through its regional feeder airline Jazz Air , flew out of the island airport until 2006 when it was evicted by the TPA and Porter. Air Canada and Jazz fly out of Toronto's much bigger Pearson Airport, about a 45-minute car ride from the city's downtown.

In court documents, Air Canada had said the TPA awarded the new slots by selectively applying International Air Transport Association guidelines, which give precedence to an incumbent airline.

The dispute marks the latest chapter in an acrimonious legal battle between Porter and Air Canada.

Air Canada and Jazz have initiated five legal proceedings alleging impropriety against Porter, the upstart airline said. Jazz abandoned the first three proceedings and has been ordered to pay about C$600,000 ($576,923) in legal costs related to the lawsuits, said Porter.

This week, Porter Chief Executive Robert Deluce said he was suing Air Canada because it revoked a free lifetime travel pass for him and his wife. Deluce said the airline agreed to provide the passes when his family sold Air Ontario and Austin Airways to Air Canada in 1986.

($1=$1.04 Canadian)

Job offers are for the birds, say older pilots
Senior fliers coming out of forced retirement given entry-level routes
27 July 2010
The Toronto Star

Older Air Canada pilots, who have already won the right to work past their contract's mandatory retirement age of 60, say they now face discriminatory restrictions on which planes and routes they will be allowed to fly.

Last year, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that Air Canada's contract with the pilots' union - the Air Canada Pilots Association - was discriminatory.

On Friday, former pilot George Vilven, 66, who was forced to retire at 60 but wishes to resume flying, received a phone call from Air Canada's director of flight operations.

"They were offering me an entry-level job on the smallest plane, an Embraer, that does regional flights. That's what new hires start at. I said I wouldn't do it."

Vilven wants to know why, if he's fit to fly a smaller plane, he can't go back to the Boeing 777 he used to fly between Hong Kong and Vancouver as senior first officer. (It was the largest in the fleet at the time.)

He would apparently, under Air Canada's latest offer, get the same salary he made when he retired.

However, Vilven feels the union is out to get its older pilots.

"The union has decided that they're going to make it (the work) so distasteful that we wouldn't want to come back," he said.

An Air Canada Pilots Association spokesperson said professional competence isn't the issue: the mandatory retirement age is set at 60, with the approval of the 3,000 pilots represented by the union, so that younger pilots will have a chance to advance.

Vilven's lawyer, Raymond Hall, says that creates a discriminatory system.

"Essentially what it does is make a second-class of employee at Air Canada - the ones over the age of 60," he said.

The agreement was struck to minimize the adverse impact on the career progression of younger pilots, said Hall, who represents 138 Air Canada pilots over 60.

The union spokesperson said pilots are aware of the mandatory retirement clause when they sign their employment contract.

Air Canada would not comment, saying the issue of remedying the discrimination is back before the human rights tribunal.

A starting wage for a pilot at Air Canada is less than $40,000. The captain of a large airliner earns about $240,000 annually.

An international regulation prohibits pilots past age 65 from flying overseas as captains, so the pilots have waived their right to work as captains on overseas flights. But they were expecting to return to work as first officers on those flights.

The potential liability for the roughly 150 pilots over 60 could be in the millions but has yet to be determined by the rights tribunal, which decided last August the mandatory retirement for federally regulated workers violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The tribunal hasn't released a decision yet on how the airline and union should remedy the situation of those pilots retired against their will. But the expectation is that they will all be reinstated, said Hall.

The pilots' union and airline have requested a judicial review of the mandatory retirement rules. That hearing is expected in Federal Court in November.

Vilven says if he is given the chance to fly long-haul flights in large jets again, he's ready. "I was a much better pilot when I left my company than when I arrived."

WestJet profit up, capacity boost outside Canada

OTTAWA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd posted a big jump in quarterly profit on Thursday, but the discount carrier said it would delay delivery of some planes and boost capacity largely outside Canada due to economic uncertainty.

Canada's second-biggest airline said it earned C$21 million ($20.8 million), or 14 Canadian cents per share, up from C$9.2 million, or 7 Canadian cents per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company said profit rose to C$23.4 million, or 16 Canadian cents per share, from C$9.2 million, or 7 Canadian cents per share.

Revenue rose 15 percent to $612 million from $531 million.

WestJet said third-quarter revenue per available seat mile estimates are expected to be "positive again on a year-over-year basis."

The Air Canada rival said it cut second-quarter domestic capacity, while boosting capacity in its southern markets.

WestJet said the bulk of new capacity in the third and fourth quarters will also be outside Canada and it needs to see more of a rebound in the Canadian economy before it adds new domestic capacity.

In the third quarter, it expects to increase capacity 11 percent to 12 percent, with full-year capacity seen increasing 9 percent to 10 percent.

Citing the recent downward revision of Canadian GDP growth estimates, WestJet said it will defer delivery of one plane to 2017 from 2011 and two other planes to 2017 from 2012. The Calgary-based carrier will take delivery of six planes in 2011 and five planes in 2012. ($1=$1.01 Canadian)

I have recently flown with Air Canada and I must say that it's an excellent company :D; however, coming back, the food was awful. :bash:

London Heathrow:
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4749/imgp0220.jpg
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/5623/imgp0250j.jpg
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/7769/imgp0257.jpg
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/2373/imgp0261j.jpg

Calgary:
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7655/imgp0299m.jpg
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/1402/imgp0301c.jpg

San Francisco:
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1774/imgp1249.jpg
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5127/imgp1250.jpg
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/466/imgp1252e.jpg
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/8067/imgp1257.jpg


Toronto Pearson:
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/6041/imgp1268f.jpg
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/7316/imgp1269y.jpg
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/8868/imgp1279.jpg
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/8675/imgp1295q.jpg
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/5268/imgp1306.jpg

Hope you liked them :)

Air Canada flight makes emergency landing in Winnipeg due to cracked windshield
19 August 2010
The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - An Air Canada jet had to make an emergency landing in Winnipeg due to a cracked windshield.

The flight was en route to Vancouver from Toronto on Wednesday when it discovered the crack and was diverted to Winnipeg.

Winnipeg's airport authority says the plane landed safely about 2:30 p.m.

There were 152 people on the plane.

Air Canada was bringing in a new plane in from Toronto so passengers could continue on to Vancouver.

It's estimated the delay could be as long as 7 hours.

^^ ¿Do you know which plane was it?

^^ ¿Do you know which plane was it?

From CBC - Air Canada 169

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/08/18/man-air-canada-emergency-landing.html

From CBC - Air Canada 169

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/08/18/man-air-canada-emergency-landing.html

I meant which aircraft, it says that it is an Airbus, but not which one, I guess it's an A320. I just wanted to know that information to calculate the load factor.

Cheers.

Air Canada adds new Tokyo stop
Move will give airline better access to Japanese domestic market
Vancouver Sun
18 August 2010

Air Canada joined an international convergence on Tokyo's Haneda airport Tuesday by announcing a new daily flight from Vancouver into what is becoming a bigger regional hub for Asian flights to and from Japan.

The new service, which will be in addition to Air Canada's Vancouver to Tokyo Narita airport, will start in January along with new flights by other international airlines including American Airlines and Delta in the United States.

"Calling [Haneda] a regional hub is probably the best way to phrase it, because they are taking [flights] from the major hubs of airlines and plugging them into [Haneda's] partner connections," Marc-David Seidel, an airline expert in the Sauder School of Business at the University of B.C. said.

Haneda is Tokyo's dominant domestic airport, so Seidel said Air Canada can now better tap Japan's considerable market in the short term.

However, this Oct. 21, Haneda will open a fourth runway and a new terminal that is closer to downtown Tokyo than Narita.

Seidel added that Haneda has regional international connections through All Nippon Airways to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore, with airlines such as Singapore Air adding service to the airport.

Air Canada's strategy is to "complement existing daily flights," as well as improve its reach into Asia, Ben Smith, the airline's executive vice-president and chief commercial officer said in a news release.

In July, the airline reported that its traffic to its Pacific region has increased almost 25 per cent compared with a year ago.

"We are confident our newest international flight will meet the growing demand for travel in the strong Pacific market," Smith said.

And Asia has been the strongest growth market for Vancouver International Airport. The facility reported that its passenger traffic to and from Asia to the end of June increased almost eight per cent this year compared with 2009.

Air Canada is clipping Saskatchewan's wings
Saskatchewan is losing direct flights to Ottawa this winter so Air Canada can bolster its Toronto hub.
14 August 2010
Regina Leader Post

Saskatchewan's often frustrating relationship with Air Canada flew into fresh turbulence this week.

Just three months after launching direct daily flights between Regina and Ottawa through its regional partner Jazz -- a service that's proved very successful -- the airline announced it was grounding the service effective Oct. 11. Also axed is Saskatoon's direct daily service to Ottawa, which has been operating for more than a year.

Air Canada says it has "every intention" of resuming the services next spring, a promise that will be greeted with skepticism in a province that's had a rough ride from this airline in recent years.

It's not a lack of passengers that's behind the decision -- a "very frustrated" Regina Airport Authority president and CEO Jim Hunter said there were "tremendous load factors" and the flights were "extremely successful".

The brain trust at the controls of Air Canada will replace services to Ottawa with an additional daily flight to the centre of its universe -- Toronto. Hunter says an Air Canada official told him the airline wants to develop Toronto into a world-class hub -- and it needs to "feed that hub as best they can".

Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah says it's "a commercial decision" because there is more demand in the fall and winter for connections to other destinations through Toronto.

There wasn't a hint of this in May when the Regina-Ottawa flights began. At the time, Marcel Forget, vice-president of network planning at Air Canada, said the new flights would offer Saskatchewan travellers connections with Air Canada's network via Ottawa to and from Europe, Eastern Canada, and the U.S.

The impact of losing this fledgling service adds two hours to a journey between Regina and Ottawa.

Wascana MP Ralph Goodale says it's not just passengers who'll be disappointed. "It's unfair to Air Canada's local employees -- somebody at national headquarters stabs them in the back. It's discriminatory against Saskatchewan." Saskatchewan Senator Bob Peterson has also weighed in, saying: "Saskatchewan was told to use it or lose it. We held up our end of the bargain, but now it seems we'll lose it anyways. We shouldn't be sacrificing traffic at some airports to pad numbers at another."

Many Saskatchewan residents feel they're travelling second-class with Air Canada. The cramped regional jets Jazz operates on many flights from here are compared very unfavourably with WestJet's roomy Boeing 737s.

Air Canada needs a new Saskatchewan flight plan -- one that consistently serves travellers.

Air Canada focuses on cutting debt

Airline has almost $1B due in next 2 years

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2010/07/15/boeing-787-306x172.jpg
Air Canada is scheduled to take delivery of its first 787 in the second half of 2013.
(Ted S. Warren/Associated Press)

Montreal-based Air Canada said Thursday it will make paying down debt a priority over adding to its fleet of aircraft.

"We have almost a billion dollars of debt coming due in the next two years and certainly we would like to pay some, if not all, of that back," chief financial officer Michael Rousseau told the CIBC Eastern Institutional Investor Conference in Montreal.

To grow further next year, it would have to add planes, but Rousseau said it doesn't plan to do so.

"We're being very, very disciplined about adding capacity. We have route rights to virtually everywhere in the world, so we fly where we want to. But we need to make money."

The company said it expects capital spending for this year and 2011 to be just $150 million annually, not counting maintenance expenses that will be recorded under new international financial accounting rules, he said.

Rousseau said Air Canada's capital needs will start to grow in 2012, in anticipation of planned deliveries of 37 Boeing 787s, also called Dreamliners.

Air Canada is scheduled to take delivery of its first 787 in the second half of 2013.

"The airline has financing commitments already in place of $3.1 billion, covering 31 of the 37 expected deliveries," Rousseau said.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Air Canada B shares closed down three cents at $2.81.

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/09/23/air-canada-debt.html

Jazz Air, Thomas Cook seal 5-yr flight services deal

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Canada's Jazz Air LP sealed a five-year flight services agreement with tour operator Thomas Cook Canada Inc and the companies have decided on the pricing for the deal.

Jazz Air LP, a unit of Jazz Air Income Fund , also said it expects about 5 percent year-over-year growth in block hours in 2011 and sees total billable block hours of 400,000-410,000 for the year.

Jazz Air Income Fund, the regional feeder airline for Air Canada, will introduce the new fuel-efficient 74-seater Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft in June.

In April, Jazz Air LP signed a flight services deal with the Canadian unit of Thomas Cook to operate flights on its behalf during the November-April winter season.

This agreement is expected to generate about C$100 million in additional annual revenue.

Under the deal, Jazz will operate six Boeing 757-200 aircraft to destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax under the Thomas Cook Canada brand, starting from November 5.

Units of the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Jazz Air Income Fund closed at C$4.47 Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Transat A.T. Inc. announces the signing of a leasing agreement for two Airbus A330s

MONTREAL, Sept. 23 /CNW Telbec/ - As part of its previously announced Air Transat fleet renewal program, Transat A.T. Inc. announces the signing of an agreement with CIT Aerospace for the long-term leasing of two Airbus A330 wide-body jets.

Air Transat's fleet currently includes 13 Airbus A310s, which will be gradually withdrawn from service, and Airbus A330s. Five of the latter are currently in use, three more will be in operation by the end of this year and an additional three in 2011, including the two A330-200s announced today, bringing the total of A330s to eleven at the end of 2011.

Cathay Pacific-WestJet code-share pact gets nod from transportation regulator
2 October 2010
The Canadian Press

CALGARY - The Canadian Transportation Agency has given its approval to a deal that will allow Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. to sell seats on WestJet Airlines Ltd. flights.

Under the code-share agreement, Cathay Pacific planes will be clear to fly to Canada and connect passengers to routes on WestJet's (TSX:WJA) network starting Oct. 20, according to posting on the CTA's website.

Earlier this year, the two airlines signed an interline pact, which means carriers work together on baggage handling and other tasks.

Interline pacts often pave the way for code-share deals, in which airlines sell seats on each another's flights under the same code.

At first, Cathay Pacific connections will be made through Vancouver and Toronto, with the option to continue on to Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

WestJet has also entered into a baggage agreement with Dragon Air, a regional Cathay Pacific subsidiary. All reservations for interline bookings will be handled by Cathay Pacific.

Code sharing is key for Calgary-based WestJet to tap into international markets, since its own planes don't have enough range for transoceanic flights.

WestJet's chief executive Gregg Saretsky has said he wants the airline to eventually tap into markets on every continent.

It already has a deal with Air France and the Netherlands' KLM to bring European traffic into its network.

A code-share deal with Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) fell through earlier this year, because the two airlines disagreed on changes WestJet wanted to be made to the agreement, first reached in 2008.

WestJet shares rose a nickel to $12.03 on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday.

Air Canada to fly from Toronto island airport

VANCOUVER, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Air Canada will resume flights from the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in February, the country's biggest airline said on Monday, initially offering service to Montreal.

Air Canada said it will offer passengers up to 15 daily non-stop flights from the airport, which is located on an island minutes from Toronto's downtown core, to Trudeau International Airport in Montreal.

Flights will be operated by Sky Regional Airlines Inc, which was chosen following a competitive bid process, Air Canada said in a statement. Air Canada flew out of the Toronto city airport until 2006 using its regional carrier Jazz Air LP .

Porter Airlines, a small, privately owned regional carrier, currently has a monopoly on flights out of the airport, which has become popular with business travelers because of its proximity to the business district. Toronto's main Pearson International Airport can be a 45-minute drive from the city center.

Air Canada said it is in talks with the airport terminal owner, City Center Terminal Corp, about an agreement to lease terminal facilities.

Flights will be operated with Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Air Canada intends to lease five of the planes.

Air Canada lost a court bid this summer against the Toronto Port Authority, the federal agency that owns and operates the island airport, and Porter Airlines to get additional flying slots at Billy Bishop.

The TPA announced in June that Porter had secured 44 of 90 new slots, Air Canada 30 and U.S.-based Continental Airlines Inc 16. Air Canada had argued in court that the allocation process was flawed.

Air Canada's stock ended down 5 Canadian cents, or 1.8 percent, at C$2.80 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday. Jazz was up 12 Canadian cents, or 2.6 percent, at C$4.72.

The news was released after the market had closed.

($1=$1.02 Canadian)

^^^^^^^^ Bye bye PD.

Air Canada-United forge transborder deal
8 October 2010
The Globe and Mail

Air Canada is forging a joint venture with United Continental Holdings Inc. to co-ordinate scheduling, sales and pricing on transborder routes between Canada and the United States.

The revenue-sharing partnership comes after the Oct. 1 closing of the merger between United Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Corp.

“This is a very big step for us to solidify our position on transborder,” Air Canada chief commercial officer Ben Smith said in an interview Thursday. “It's going to bring some enhanced revenue-generating opportunities for us, which we think is really exciting, especially in this very competitive business.”

Last year, Air Canada held an estimated 35 per cent of Canada's transborder market into the United States, followed by Chicago-based United's 14-per-cent share. Houston-based Continental held about a 6-per-cent share, meaning the partnership would have controlled 55 per cent of the transborder market in 2009. The joint venture plans announced Thursday are slated to take effect in early 2011, subject to regulatory approvals.

Notable rivals on Canada-U.S. routes include Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. at an estimated 13 per cent and American Airlines Inc. at roughly 10 per cent. Delta Air Lines Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. have smaller slices of the market.

“We have entered into this joint venture with United, which will allow us to basically act as one carrier in the areas of schedules, pricing and sales,” Mr. Smith said.

Despite economic weakness south of the border, the United States remains one of Air Canada's most important markets, Mr. Smith said. “We also derive a lot of business that originates in the United States that flies onto our international markets via Canada,” he said.

Jeff Smisek, United's chief executive officer, said he's looking forward to creating “a more streamlined travel experience for customers travelling between the United States and Canada, providing more travel options and benefits while reducing travel times.”

Air Canada's transborder network covers 59 U.S. cities while the bulked-up United has service at 210 U.S. airports. In Canada, Air Canada serves 59 destinations and United has flights to 16 cities.

“As founding members of Star Alliance, Air Canada and United have benefited from a close relationship, as have our customers through a simplified travel experience and loyalty rewards,” Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.

In the third quarter of this year, Air Canada's transborder load factor, or the proportion of seats filled by paying customers, slipped to 76.4 per cent, compared with 76.7 per cent in the same period last year. Still, the Montreal-based carrier's transborder traffic rose 12.8 per cent to almost two billion revenue passenger miles while its Canada-U.S. seat capacity climbed 13.3 per cent to 2.6 billion available seat miles.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/uae-closes-airspace-to-mackay-blocks-his-flight-from-afghanistan/article1752151/

I'm all for allowing Emirates more flights to Canada, but the UAE government's actions are very childish. In this case Canada should respond by permitting Qatar Airways daily flights to three Canadian cities. They should also allow Turkish Airlines and AC to jointly operate routes into the Istanbul hub, which is also fast-growing.

Then the UAE will come back to the table, grovelling.

I agree. Just read that they closed airspace into UAE from the ministers. Canada should limit Emrites flights into Canada as a result for closing their airspace. Qatar does not fly to Canada. I think they would do well competeing againsts Emrites. What cities would they fly into?

Well, tit for tat. It all started when Canada wouldn't allow Emirates more flights.

WestJet sets single-day record of 49,545 passengers
8 October 2010
Canada Stockwatch

WestJetters are giving thanks as a record number of guests chose to fly with WestJet Airlines Ltd. today. The airline set a new single-day record with 49,545 guests travelling on board flights in WestJet's network leading into the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

"At a time when everyone expresses their thanks, WestJet is thankful for each and every guest who chose to fly with WestJet today and to all guests who continue to choose us as their favourite airline," said Bob Cummings, executive vice-president, marketing and sales. "It makes us feel so good to be able to bring so many families and friends together for the Thanksgiving holiday."

The previous single-day record was 46,757, set on the Friday before Thanksgiving in 2008. On average, WestJet flies approximately 40,000 guests across its 71-city network each day.

Well, tit for tat. It all started when Canada wouldn't allow Emirates more flights.

I just want to understand how exactly it is tit for tat? Please explain it to me because I want to fully understand before I make any comments.

There's a bilateral agreement between Canada and the UAE that allows each side 6 weekly commercial flights into each others territory. Why should Canada grant more traffic rights to the UAE carriers? The local market doesn't need more frequencies. Air Canada doesn't even fly to Dubai or Abu Dhabi since there's not enough demand for such flights. EK and EY only want Canadian airports as spokes for their AUH/DXB hubs, nearly 100% connecting traffic.
The UAE had 6 weekly frequencies, but EK didn't take them. They just cried they wanted more. Only after EY took 3 freqencies, EK took the remaining 3. The UAE now wants 50(!) weekly frequencies to Canada. What has the UAE to offer in return?
It's definitely not in Canada's interest to support the gulf carrier's strategy of raping markets, making it harder for Canadian carriers to stay profitable, and possibly even causing smaller Canadian cities to loose their flights to Europe to where there's much more demand than to the Middle East, but which also need aditional passengers that would be taken away by EK (AC's Ottawa-FRA or Edmonton-LHR come to mind). Competition with the gulf carriers is not even close to a level playing field, so nobody should even think of mentioning competition or market forces, etc when it comes to market share between EK/EY and traditional legacy carriers.

Just childish! There's no reason to link geo-politcs with traffic rights. Canada should react in cancelling the bilateral altogether. That would also hurt EK's and EY's US operations, since they wouldn't be allowed to overfly Canada anymore. The UAE has much more to loose in this game than Canada.
I hope this also opens the eyes in Germany and France. They should not even think of renegotiating the bilaterals anymore. Especially the Germany-UAE bilateral already is rather liberal: 5th freedom rights, no restriction on capacity or frequency, only the number of destinations is limited to four, which is absolutely enough for the size of the countries.

I don't think it is up to the Canadian government to judge whether Emirates can run a profit by flying more frequencies. Normally, if airlines want to increase flights on top of existing regimes, they would lobby their government to push for the limits to change. This is the same with any market. I don't think you can say the local market cannot absorb the additional flights, and even if it can't, the government should not even need to care about that because that's not their problem. How Emirates run their business and numbers is their problem.

What likely drove the decision is the need to protect Air Canada from this competitor - to distort the market forces. Emirates likely captures a lot of the India-bound traffic that has moved to one-stop foreign carriers after AC dropped its India routes. With Emirates expanding so rapidly and with an existing extensive India network, I doubt AC can ever get back to India. AC is not likely going to fly to the UAE alone either since they can better utilize their planes on more profitable routes, and Emirates is likely targeting transit traffic, not end-to-end traffic to Dubai/Abu Dhabi anyway.

So is the Canadian government trying to put a stop to this perceived 'dumping' of capacity? Should Canada be protectionist and not let market forces rule the day (the reality is Emirates is the 'market' now as a strong competitor)? Can Canada watch this competitor take up so much business and AC will never be able to launch amidst such a strong competitor? Should Canada prevent strong competitors from taking hold in the country to protect the national carriers? Since government departments lobby for frequency limit changes, I am not at all surprised overall relations could change, although the UAE's reaction is quite drastic, and will likely hurt Canada more than what the Canadians are capable to inflict the other way around.

But it's up to the Canadian Government to do the best for its country. Letting two competitors which by far don't play at a level playing field (so you can put your comment with "market forces rule the day" to where the sun doesn't shine) flooding the market with cheap seats, ruining the business case for local airlines with all its consequences, definitely is not in Canada's interest. The country and its people have much more to loose than to win by this.
The UAE are the ones who want the bilateral (which was signed by BOTH sides) to be widened. They are the only ones who want more frequencies, definitely not the canadian side. They even want 50(!!!) of them, the equivalent of 7 daily flights to a rather sparseley populated country. What do they have to offer in return?
A conflict would hit the UAE more than Canada. Canada doesn't need the UAE for anything. They have much stronger economic ties to countless countries and Camp Mirage is history and they don't have any use for the bilateral. But the UAE needs even this existing bilateral, because of the overfly rights to the USA (SFO, LAX and ORD wouldn't be possible).

... flooding the market with cheap seats, ruining the business case for local airlines with all its consequences, definitely is not in Canada's interest.

How can the frequency of flights and cheap seats to Dubai from Canadian cities, where no local airline ever flies, effects them? :lol:

But it's up to the Canadian Government to do the best for its country. Letting two competitors which by far don't play at a level playing field (so you can put your comment with "market forces rule the day" to where the sun doesn't shine) flooding the market with cheap seats, ruining the business case for local airlines with all its consequences, definitely is not in Canada's interest. The country and its people have much more to loose than to win by this.
The UAE are the ones who want the bilateral (which was signed by BOTH sides) to be widened. They are the only ones who want more frequencies, definitely not the canadian side. They even want 50(!!!) of them, the equivalent of 7 daily flights to a rather sparseley populated country. What do they have to offer in return?
A conflict would hit the UAE more than Canada. Canada doesn't need the UAE for anything. They have much stronger economic ties to countless countries and Camp Mirage is history and they don't have any use for the bilateral. But the UAE needs even this existing bilateral, because of the overfly rights to the USA (SFO, LAX and ORD wouldn't be possible).
Then I don't think many airlines can expand into Canada. Ultimately, the consumer will lose from less choices.

Even if the UAE can offer a lot, Canadian carriers simply don't have the business case to use it.

But it's up to the Canadian Government to do the best for its country. Letting two competitors which by far don't play at a level playing field (so you can put your comment with "market forces rule the day" to where the sun doesn't shine) flooding the market with cheap seats, ruining the business case for local airlines with all its consequences, definitely is not in Canada's interest. The country and its people have much more to loose than to win by this.
Isn't it up to the market to decide what's best for the country? If AC is losing market share to EK and EY, then that means AC needs to be more competitive. The Emirate airlines are not subsidized by the UAE government (confirmed by foreign accounting firms) and in fact pays profits to them. AC is in the world's largest airline alliance and has plenty of partners to choose from (and this includes Air India, flag carrier of the largest destination of EK/EY passengers). AC is in no position to complain about other airlines funnelling passengers through their hubs, given that it itself funnells people travelling between the US and Europe/Asia through its Toronto and Vancouver hubs.

The UAE are the ones who want the bilateral (which was signed by BOTH sides) to be widened. They are the only ones who want more frequencies, definitely not the canadian side. They even want 50(!!!) of them, the equivalent of 7 daily flights to a rather sparseley populated country. What do they have to offer in return?
A conflict would hit the UAE more than Canada. Canada doesn't need the UAE for anything. They have much stronger economic ties to countless countries and Camp Mirage is history and they don't have any use for the bilateral. But the UAE needs even this existing bilateral, because of the overfly rights to the USA (SFO, LAX and ORD wouldn't be possible).
Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary can take in 3, 2, 1, and 1 daily flights to the UAE, respectively. The Gulf carriers have more access to Australia (another sparsely populated British descended country), yet Qantas is not going broke; Air Canada only has itself to blame if it goes broke as a result of UAE competition. The Canadian government should respond by inviting Qatar Airways to offer three daily flights to anywhere in Canada, and promote more flights to India, Turkey, and China if it wants to give AC an advantage over the UAE airlines. This is no longer the 1970s where the national airline equals the country.

Isn't it up to the market to decide what's best for the country? If AC is losing market share to EK and EY, then that means AC needs to be more competitive. The Emirate airlines are not subsidized by the UAE government (confirmed by foreign accounting firms) and in fact pays profits to them. AC is in the world's largest airline alliance and has plenty of partners to choose from (and this includes Air India, flag carrier of the largest destination of EK/EY passengers). AC is in no position to complain about other airlines funnelling passengers through their hubs, given that it itself funnells people travelling between the US and Europe/Asia through its Toronto and Vancouver hubs.


Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary can take in 3, 2, 1, and 1 daily flights to the UAE, respectively. The Gulf carriers have more access to Australia (another sparsely populated British descended country), yet Qantas is not going broke; Air Canada only has itself to blame if it goes broke as a result of UAE competition. The Canadian government should respond by inviting Qatar Airways to offer three daily flights to anywhere in Canada, and promote more flights to India, Turkey, and China if it wants to give AC an advantage over the UAE airlines. This is no longer the 1970s where the national airline equals the country.
I'm not sure that you can say 100% that Emirates is not subsidized because every single news source out there says otherwise. That aside, Qantas is also notorius for having blocked airlines from profitable routes. I can't remember if I posted that here or not, but it was Qantas who essentially blocked AC from flying YYZ-LAX-SYD - I think United (a Star Alliance partner nonetheless) also blocked AC from this route as LAX-SYD is a gold mine for those two airlines and they have a monopoly on it. Also, I would be EXTREMELy surprised if each of those cities you mentioned can support the number of flights you're saying - Toronto, yes, could support double daily and maybe Vancouver could support daily with through traffic to the Indian subcontinent, but there simply isn't enough Southeast Asian demand from Calgary or Montreal to justify that kind of service.

Calgary firms see growth potential in China
14 October 2010
Calgary Herald

Is it a coincidence that, in recent weeks Calgary-based law firm Bennett Jones LLP has announced the opening of an office in Beijing and WestJet has inked a code-share deal with Hong Kong-based airline giant Cathay Pacific? Or is that both firms are reading the tea leaves and recognizing that having exposure to the Chinese market is a key ingredient for future growth?

In both cases the reasoning is simple: it's all about market potential. Bennett Jones becomes the second Canadian law firm to put up a shingle in China, following in the footsteps of Toronto-based Blakes, Cassels and Graydon. Not that Calgary-based law firms have not ventured overseas -- McLeod Dixon established its first outpost, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, back in 1995 and has since gone on to open several more, including three offices in South America.

The trend reflects the importance of the resource sector in the global economy and the role Canada is bound to play, either from the perspective of foreign direct investment or capital flowing overseas.

"We're seeing more interest and activity to China from Canada and the other way around," said Perry Spitznagel, vice-chair of Bennett Jones and managing partner of the Calgary office.

"We pride ourselves in being one of the best energy firms in the country, and as China takes more of an interest on the resource side, we felt having a footprint in China, however small, was the right thing to do," he said. "We truly believe we need to be there."

Read between the lines and it's a clear recognition China will continue to monetize its $2.65 trillion US in currency reserves by buying up -- or into -- resource companies in the Western Hemisphere.

Asian companies have committed more than $11 billion to Canada's energy sector over the past 12 months.

Those companies have invested in both oilsands and shale gas opportunities as countries seek to secure supply and diversify risk. This is a trend that is likely to continue, particularly if the U.S. dollar keeps falling.

A presence, therefore, on the ground in China, means Bennett Jones can develop new relationships while leveraging others with a view to acting for any one of the Chinese companies interested in investing in Canada.

"We felt having a physical presence was really important to show we are committed to the market for the long-term. In that respect it's not unlike Calgary," said Spitznagel.

While Bennett Jones has set up shop, the other side to this story has to do with making it easier for people to travel to Canada from Asia -- which is where the WestJet code share agreement comes in

As Spitznagel pointed out, the inbound interest from China into Canada was one of the reasons why Bennett Jones elected to set up shop in Beijing.

As currently structured, the agreement will allow passengers travelling on Cathay Pacific from Asia to seamlessly connect through to Canadian and U.S. destinations on WestJet flights.

"The attraction," says WestJet president and chief executive Gregg Saretsky, "is the size of the market."

He's not kidding.

Earlier this year Canada was put on the list of China's approved destinations, which means Canada can be promoted as a place to visit by Chinese travel agencies.

"The market is ripe to explode," said Saretsky

Here's but one number to think about: China's travel market is estimated at 54 million people -- that's one and a half times Canada's population.

If even a fraction makes it to this country, it's a boon for the airlines ferrying the passengers, not to mention the overall tourism industry. And as everyone in business knows, ease of access to a market is always good from a productivity standpoint and enhances the attractiveness of investment.

Of course, Saretsky and his team aren't resting on their laurels. The goal, he says is to strike similar agreements with a variety of carriers around the world to broaden WestJet's reach and fly to under-served markets.

One such opportunity is Japan -- picking up where Canadian Airlines left off -- the airline offered service from Osaka and Nagoya into Canada. When the company was folded into Air Canada, those flights ended and no one has picked them up. Saretsky points out the lack of service means that it's twice as expensive to fly to Canada from those cities as it was a decade ago.

All this is more than a smart move on WestJet's part, given the added capacity, thanks to new aircraft and the continued softness in the U.S. economy. Despite the fact it serves major cities with aircraft that are generally much newer than those offered by U.S. carriers, the pickup in traffic originating in the U.S. remains a challenge.

Venturing into new markets always involves a significant element of risk, but just as the manufacturing sector lives by the mantra innovate or die, the same holds true in the service business. Only in this case it means expanding market reach, even when times are uncertain, because the only way to ensure long-term growth is to look out on the horizon and see where the potential for new markets exists.

With more options from the perspective of air travel and a law firm with energy expertise on the ground, one has to wonder how long will it will take before a Calgary-based investment firm puts up its shingle in China for the purposes of serving the country's burgeoning energy sector.

I flew with these in July. I have to say they are an excellent low cost airline, great service, on time, comfortable seats with a tv on each seat, very friendly staff also.

I'm not sure that you can say 100% that Emirates is not subsidized because every single news source out there says otherwise. That aside, Qantas is also notorius for having blocked airlines from profitable routes. I can't remember if I posted that here or not, but it was Qantas who essentially blocked AC from flying YYZ-LAX-SYD - I think United (a Star Alliance partner nonetheless) also blocked AC from this route as LAX-SYD is a gold mine for those two airlines and they have a monopoly on it. Also, I would be EXTREMELy surprised if each of those cities you mentioned can support the number of flights you're saying - Toronto, yes, could support double daily and maybe Vancouver could support daily with through traffic to the Indian subcontinent, but there simply isn't enough Southeast Asian demand from Calgary or Montreal to justify that kind of service.

Emirates....creative accounting at it's absolute finest.

isint giving handouts to badly run national airlines subsdising them?

in that case AC is subsidised and EK is not, strange argument

ultimate loosers are the canadian population who are starved of more frequency and cheaper seats. Same goes for business travels to and from canada, so what if EK is dumping seats , doesnt that mean people get cheaper seats from the current price gauging AC does on routes they have monopoly on?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/uae-closes-airspace-to-mackay-blocks-his-flight-from-afghanistan/article1752151/

I'm all for allowing Emirates more flights to Canada, but the UAE government's actions are very childish. In this case Canada should respond by permitting Qatar Airways daily flights to three Canadian cities. They should also allow Turkish Airlines and AC to jointly operate routes into the Istanbul hub, which is also fast-growing.

Then the UAE will come back to the table, grovelling.

sure they will

ultimate loosers are the canadian population who are starved of more frequency and cheaper seats. Same goes for business travels to and from canada, so what if EK is dumping seats , doesnt that mean people get cheaper seats from the current price gauging AC does on routes they have monopoly on?Sure, until the low subsidized prices cause the competition to dry up, then we'll see just how cheap the prices are.

That is the oldest trick in the book and the main reason government regulations exist to prevent anti-competitive business practices.

News Releases
AMERICAN AIRLINES AND WESTJET ANNOUNCE COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT

Canada NewsWire
Canada

Agreement is WestJet's First Interline Agreement With a U.S. Airline - Opens Up Travel to More Cities in Canada for American's Customers

FORT WORTH, TX, Oct. 19 /CNW/ - American Airlines and WestJet Airlines announced today they have entered into an interline agreement. The interline agreement means American Airlines customers travelling to Canada and transferring to a WestJet flight can purchase a single ticket and check bags through to their final destination.

The agreement provides American's customers seamless connecting service to 25 new Canadian cities not currently served by American or American Eagle. WestJet serves a total of 31 Canadian cities and 71 destinations in 13 countries.

The connections will first be available through the six gateways in Canada currently served by American or American Eagle - Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Halifax and Ottawa. American and WestJet expect to implement a second phase of their interline relationship in December that will add additional connecting opportunities through WestJet's non-stop U.S. flights to Canadian cities.

"American's interline agreement with WestJet complements our North American network and greatly benefits our customers by offering additional connections to and from new Canadian markets," said Virasb Vahidi, American's Chief Commercial Officer. "WestJet offers a high-quality on-board product that our customers will enjoy."

"This agreement represents WestJet's first interline with a U.S. carrier and we are excited to be working with such a well-established and recognized global airline like American Airlines," said Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet's Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Planning. "We look forward to welcoming the many American customers on board our aircraft as guests who will experience WestJet's world-class guest experience."

The interline connecting itineraries will be available for booking on American's award-winning AA.com website, as well as through travel agencies and American Airlines Reservations, effective Nov. 9, 2010.

The companies also said they are exploring other ways to enhance customer benefits through other commercial co-operation agreements.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in more than 130 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

About WestJet

WestJet is Canada's preferred airline, offering scheduled service throughout its 71-city North American and Caribbean network. Inducted into Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures Hall of Fame and named one of Canada's best employers, WestJet pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. WestJet offers increased legroom, leather seats and live seatback television provided by Bell TV on its modern fleet of 90 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. With future confirmed deliveries for an additional 45 aircraft through 2016, WestJet strives to be one of the five most successful international airlines in the world.

Connect with WestJet on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westjet

Follow WestJet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/westjet

Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at www.youtube.com/westjet

%SEDAR: 00010649EF

For further information: Tim Smith, American Corporate Communications, Fort Worth, Texas, 817-967-1577, mediarelations@aa.com; Robert Palmer, WestJet Media Relations, Calgary, Alta., 1-888-WJ-4-NEWS, ropalmer@westjet.com


(WestJet, 2010)

Media Advisory - AIR CANADA TO PRESENT 2010 THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

Air Canada will hold a conference call for analysts on Thursday, November 4, 2010 to present 2010 third quarter results. Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer, Calin Rovinescu, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Michael Rousseau, and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Benjamin Smith will be available for analysts' questions. Immediately following the analysts' Q&A session, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Michael Rousseau, and Treasurer, Pierre Houle, will be available to answer questions from bond holders. Media and the public may access this call on a listen-in basis

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2010/28/c6448.html

gKRX6zGoUK4

WestJet To Start Paying Dividends; 3Q Profit Up 72%
4 November 2010

TORONTO (Dow Jones)-WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA.T) said it will begin paying quarterly dividends after its third-quarter profit jumped 72%, its 22nd straight quarter of profitability in an industry that's recovering from the global credit crisis and high oil prices.

Calgary-based WestJet will pay its first-ever quarterly dividend of 5 Canadian cents on Jan. 21 to shareholders of record on Dec. 15. The company also announced plans to buy back up to 7.26 million, or 5%, of its outstanding stock over the next year.

Investors applauded the news, sending WestJet shares up more than 4% in Toronto Wednesday. The stock is currently up 57 Canadian cents to C$13.36 on more than 760,000 shares traded.

In spite of a softening economy, WestJet, a low-cost carrier that's evolved into Canada's second-largest airline behind Air Canada, continues to fill seats while adding aircraft to its fleet, having rebounded from last autumn's turbulence when it ran into glitches transitioning to a new reservation system that makes code-sharing possible. Last month, WestJet announced its first code-share deal with Cathay Pacific Airways and its regional subsidiary, Dragon Air, and the first interline agreement with a U.S. carrier, American Airlines. The airline added four planes this year, with another expected by year's end, and continues to offer new destinations, adding to its winter schedule New Orleans, Santa Clara, Cuba and Grand Cayman Islands.

Third-quarter profit rose to C$54 million, or 37 Canadian cents a share, from C$31.4 million, or 24 Canadian cents, in the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement. Per-share results handily beat the mean estimate of 18 Canadian cents from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue jumped 14% to C$684.6 million.

To boost revenue, the company said it will begin charging a C$20 fee for guests checking a second bag, starting on or after Jan. 19, effective with today's bookings. It will also drop the fee for third and fourth bags to C$50 from C$75. It said it's going to continue looking for additional revenue sources.

The airline said it also plans fourth-quarter capacity to increase 13% to 14% year-over-year which it expects to absorb while improving year-over-year revenue per available seat mile, or RASM. In October, the airline's load factor, the percentage of available seats filled, rose fractionally to 77.4% from the same month a year earlier. Traffic, or revenue passenger miles rose 13.4%, while capacity, measured in available seat miles, or ASMs, grew 13.3% over the same period.

WestJet expects the impact of adopting new accounting standards, known as International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, to reduce its 2010 and 2011 earnings, compared to the Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, Chief Financial Officer Vito Culmone said on a post-earnings call.

The company declined to estimate the magnitude of impact, saying that it's still reviewing the numbers with its auditors. However, Culmone said he expects 2010 to "still be a very profitable year" under IFRS.

The majority of the IFRS impact is expected in two areas: maintenance expenses, and depreciation and amortization expenses, both of which will increase in 2010 and 2011 under IFRS, he said. As its 90-plane fleet is young, with an average age of five years, WestJet hadn't incurred any major overhaul maintenance costs until this past July. And, while the amount of the expenses are the same under both accounting methods, Culmone said it is the timing of their overhaul schedule and the fleet's young age that will result in greater expenses being recognized in 2010 and 2011 under IFRS than Canadian GAAP. The difference in expense recognition won't impact WestJet's cash flows, he added.

The impact of IFRS on net earnings after 2011 is expected to be favorable, as compared to Canadian GAAP, Culmone said.

Canadian companies, with fiscal years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2011, must report under IFRS next year.

Air Canada adds flights from Toronto to New Orleans
31 October 2010
Canada Stockwatch

With the departure of AC 7971, Air Canada today inaugurated daily, non-stop service between Toronto and New Orleans. Flights to New Orleans will be operated with a 75-seat, Jazz CRJ 705 aircraft featuring executive- and economy-class service and seatback, personal audio-visual entertainment throughout the aircraft.

"With today's launch we are now offering customers non-stop service to New Orleans, one of the most exciting tourist destinations in the U.S. As well, there are important business connections between New Orleans and Canada that this new route should strengthen. Customers will enjoy the choice of two classes of service, the opportunity to collect and redeem Aeroplan miles, and, for those who are eligible, lounge access and concierge service," said Marcel Forget, vice-president, network planning at Air Canada. "This route, the only non-stop daily service between the two cities, also further enhances our Toronto hub at Lester B. Pearson International Airport where our operations are centralized in a single terminal with streamlined customs procedures, making it an extremely convenient gateway to and from the U.S. and an ideal transfer point for domestic, transborder and international travellers connecting to our extensive global network."

Air Canada offers the only non-stop, daily service between Toronto and New Orleans. Flight AC7971 will depart Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport at 10 a.m. and arrive at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport at 12:10 p.m. Flight AC7972 will depart New Orleans at 12:45 p.m and arrive in Toronto at 4:30 p.m.

"The New Orleans tourism community is thrilled about the return of the Air Canada Toronto flight," said Stephen Perry, president and chief executive officer of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Canada is our No. 1 international visitor destination. This flight increases our capacity to welcome both leisure visitors as well as meeting and convention attendees. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with this very important market."

Air Canada tops forecasts as traffic, revenue rise

OTTAWA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Air Canada reported a bigger than expected quarterly profit on Thursday, as Canada's No. 1 airline increased its lucrative business travel traffic and continued an aggressive cost-cutting plan.

Riding a recovery in air travel, the Montreal-based airline said the results also reflect gains in international markets, notably on its Pacific flights.

On the ropes last year as it faced a hefty debt and recession-driven downturn in demand, Air Canada said it has already met its C$300 million annual savings target for 2010. It currently projects C$350 million in savings for 2011, toward its C$530 million target.

The airline reported its third-quarter operating income climbed to C$327 million ($327 million), nearly five times year-earlier levels of C$68 million. Closely watched earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and aircraft rent, or EBITDAR, rose to C$581 million from C$320 million.

National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen credited better cost control for the robust operating income and adjusted earnings per share, which "handily" beat his estimates.

"Although the beat relative to consensus was modest on the EPS line, we believe the outperformance on an operating basis could drive positive momentum in this stock this morning," UBS analyst Tasneem Azim said in a note. Azim had forecast EBITDAR of C$554 million.

Net income fell to C$261 million, or 91 Canadian cents a share, from C$277 million, or C$2.44 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a C$90 million foreign exchange gain in the latest quarter and a C$295 million gain a year earlier, adjusted earnings came to 64 Canadian cents per share, compared with a loss of 19 Canadian cents last year.

Azim expected adjusted earnings of 46 Canadian cents a share, while Doerksen forecast 40 Canadian cents.

Revenue rose to C$3.02 billion from C$2.67 billion, largely in line with analyst estimates.

Air Canada B shares were up 2 percent at C$3.91 on the Toronto Stock Exchange late Thursday morning. The stock has surged about 215 percent so far this year.

PASSENGER TRAFFIC CLIMBS

Passenger revenue increased 13 percent due to a 9.7 percent climb in traffic and 3.2 percent improvement in yield, or average revenue per paying passenger per mile.

Capacity was 8.2 percent higher, reflecting international growth, as the airline better utilized its existing fleet.

Passenger revenue per available seat mile, a key industry measure, rose 4.7 percent. Premium cabin revenue was up nearly 26 percent and represented nearly one-third of passenger revenue gains.

Unit cost, or operating expenses per available seat mile, fell 5.3 percent, excluding fuel costs.

The company said it plans to boost 2010 capacity by 6.5 percent to 7 percent over 2009 and cut unit costs, excluding fuel, by 4 percent to 4.5 percent. Previously, it forecast a 6 percent to 7.5 percent capacity increase and 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent cost decrease.

Air Canada, whose closest rival is the country's No 2 airline, WestJet , said it will focus on debt reduction over the next two years. With no new plane deliveries scheduled until 2013, capital spending will be restrained.

The company will also face labor talks, as union contracts are set to expire in the first quarter of 2011. There has been "good dialogue" with the unions, which hold 17.5 million Air Canada shares.

"They understand well the value of working collaboratively," Chief Executive Calin Rovinescu said on a conference call with analysts.

Separately, Air Canada posted a record load factor of 80.3 percent for October, up from 79.6 percent a year earlier. System traffic rose 9.3 percent as capacity rose 8.3 percent.

Air Canada to add new Vancouver-Tokyo flight

BRENT JANG — TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
From Friday's Globe and Mail

Air Canada (AC.B-T3.880.041.04%) is taking advantage of the expansion of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, preparing to add a daily non-stop flight from Vancouver to Japan’s capital, part of the carrier’s Asia-Pacific growth strategy to plump up profit.

The new Vancouver-Haneda route will begin Jan. 29, complementing Air Canada’s current daily service between Vancouver and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. Connections to partner airlines are available to fly to places such as Bangkok and Singapore.

Air Canada has been heartened by its existing transpacific routes, which helped the carrier’s third-quarter operating profit jump nearly five-fold to $327-million, with a boost in leisure and business-class travellers. Revenue climbed 13.3 per cent during the hectic July-to-September travel period, aided by the smarter deployment of planes.

UBS Securities Canada Inc. analyst Tasneem Azim said the airline is showing improvements in revenue per available seat mile, or RASM, a key industry measure of unit revenue.

Overall traffic increased 9.7 per cent in the third quarter, and the momentum carried into October. Traffic on the carrier’s routes between Canada and the Asia-Pacific region surged 25.1 per cent last month to 838 million revenue passenger miles, compared with the same period in 2009.

Total October traffic rose an average of 9.3 per cent to 4.2 billion revenue passenger miles, as consumers returned to the skies after last year’s recession. Air Canada’s load factor, or the proportion of seats filled by paying customers, climbed last month to 80.3 per cent from 79.6 per cent.

In Tokyo on Thursday, B.C. Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said Air Canada’s Vancouver-Haneda route will raise the profile of Vancouver International Airport. She set an ambitious target to boost total traffic going through the Vancouver airport to 28.4 million passengers in 2020, or a 75-per-cent surge from 2009.

...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/air-canada-to-add-new-vancouver-tokyo-flight/article1785216/

Ah .. so a lot of airlines are adding Haneda service. I presume that's not at the expense of their Narita service?

Ah .. so a lot of airlines are adding Haneda service. I presume that's not at the expense of their Narita service?
^^
Not by now.

Disguised man boarded Air Canada flight: officials

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20101105/470_disguies_airpalne2_101105_430241.jpg?2

A young man is in detention in Vancouver after he allegedly boarded an Air Canada flight in Hong Kong last week disguised as an old man.

The incident is detailed in a confidential Nov. 1 Canada Border Services Agency bulletin obtained by American news channel CNN.

The bulletin says the passenger was seen at the start of the flight as an elderly Caucasian man, wearing a brown leather cap, glasses and a thin brown cardigan. He also appeared to have young-looking hands and was carrying the boarding pass of a U.S. citizen.

It appears the man had been wearing a silicone head and neck mask. During the flight, he went into the washroom and emerged as "an Asian-looking male who appeared to be in his early 20s."

The bulletin calls it an "unbelievable case of concealment." They say it appears the man swapped boarding passes with a 55-year-old American citizen in Hong Kong.

After landing in Vancouver, Border Services Officers escorted the man off the plane where he "proceeded to make a claim for refugee protection," the bulletin said.

He is due to appear at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101105/disguised-traveller-101105/20101105/?hub=CalgaryHome

Air Canada to charge for second checked bag
The Canadian Press
11 November 2010

MONTREAL -- Air Canada has followed the lead of rival WestJet and will begin charging fliers who check a second bag on trips within Canada and to the Caribbean, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Canada's largest carrier said a $20 fee will be charged for passengers buying economy class tickets as of Thursday for flights beginning Jan. 19, the same day that WestJet will begin levying the fee.

The first checked bag remains free for both airlines.

Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. said last week that it would begin charging for the second checked bags, although it also reduced the fees it charges for the third and fourth checked bags.

Air Canada said it will match Westjet's $20 fee for Canadian and some foreign routes but it will continue to charge $30 for second bags checked on flights to the United States, and $50 on flights to Europe and beyond.

The baggage fees don't apply to Air Canada Prestige, Elite, Super Elite members or Star Alliance Silver and Gold members.

Air Canada passengers flying executive and first class will continue to be able to check three bags at no additional costs, regardless of destination.

WestJet, Air Canada launch service to New Orleans
Porter heads to Myrtle Beach Excerpt
9 November 2010
The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Travellers intent on getting a taste of the culture and cuisine of New Orleans now have new options on getting there from Toronto, with both WestJet and Air Canada introducing flights.

WestJet has launched seasonal non-stop service four times a week, continuing until April. One-way fares start at $99 plus fees and taxes. WestJet Vacations is also offering packages to the Big Easy from $359 for air and three nights accommodation.

Air Canada has inaugurated the only daily non-stop service between the two cities. The airline is promoting the fact that it offers the choice of two classes, plus the chance to collect and redeem Aeroplan miles.

Agency quashes WestJet limit on baggage claims
20 November 2010
Winnipeg Free Press

Travellers worried about their luggage should rest easier thanks to a ruling handed down by the Canadian Transportation Agency.

After a challenge from Winnipegger Gábor Lukács, the agency has voided WestJet's international baggage liability policies. He argued that compensation for jewelry and other valuables inside luggage lost or damaged in transport should not be limited to the maximum set by the airline. That limit now falls under Articles 17(2) and 19 of the Montreal Convention, an industry standard with a limit of $1,800 per passenger per bag.

"The point is that it doesn't matter what you have in your suitcase... the cap is in place already," Lukács said. "That is what was voided."

Lukács said the $1,800 is now being used as an interim limit enforced by the CTA, the governing body that regulates the airline industry. WestJet has been ordered to adjust its international tariffs within 45 days.

A WestJet spokesman said the airline is reviewing the decision.

Lukács, a University of Manitoba mathematics professor, has been down this road before with the CTA and the airline industry. He is still awaiting a final ruling on a claim against WestJet regarding its $250 domestic baggage liability, having won his initial challenge against the airline's policy earlier this year.

Lukács already claimed victory over Air Canada for damage to his baggage in May 2009.

He is the same professor challenging the university over its decision to award a PhD to a student with exam anxiety.

Transat has found a sweet spot in transatlantic market
20 November 2010
National Post

A faster-than-expected recovery in international travel bodes well for Transat A.T., said Martin Landry, Desjardins Securities analyst.

In the first 10 months of 2010, international tourist arrivals reached 642 million, up 7% year over year, and on pace to set a new record for the year, the latest World Tourism Organization figures show.

While the bulk of that growth has come in the Asia Pacific, which has helped boost the prospects of Air Canada in recent months, there has also been growth in the Caribbean, France, and the U.K. where Transat, the country's largest travel tour operator, competes as well, Mr. Landry said.

July and August arrivals in the Caribbean are up 3.3% compared to a year ago, he noted. September is showing even stronger demand in places like the Dominican Republic [+7.2%] and Cuba [+12.3%], Mr. Landry added.

WestJet Airlines has also dedicated a lot of its capacity growth to those routes.

"In Europe, the numbers are not as impressive, but are definitely trending upward," Mr. Landry said in a note to clients. "It appears that Transat has found a 'sweet spot' in the transatlantic market, where the company benefits from reduced competition and a product offering that is somewhat unique and commands sustainable pricing. We believe it may take some time before a competitor can establish a similar product offering in the transatlantic market; hence, we expect Transat to generate solid profitability again in that market in [fiscal 2011]."

While he cautioned that there is an excess of capacity to winter destintions this year, Mr. Landry raised Transat's target price to $20 a share, from $17 previously, on the encouraging figures from the UNWTO.

He has a "buy" rating on the stock.

New tour entrant prepares for takeoff
Maple Fun Travel to offer packages to Japan in 2011
26 November 2010
National Post

A lack of competition across the Pacific this year has buoyed Air Canada's earnings in recent months, but it is also attracting a number of new competitors to the market.

One tour operator, Maple Fun Travel Inc., being launched by Jacques Kavafian, a former Bay Street analyst, aims to begin selling packaged tours between Canada and Japan next year.

Maple Fun Travel is being built through the acquisitions of Vancouver-based Maple Fun Tours Ltd. and Tokyo-based Ryoko Club, providing a sales force in both countries.

The company intends to begin selling packaged tours on one dedicated chartered plane, four times a week between Vancouver and Osaka and Nagano, Japan, before expanding to Montreal in the fall, Mr. Kavafian said. All the funding is in place to begin flying in June 2011, he said.

But Mr. Kavafian would not say who would be operating the aircraft or what sort of plane would be used, only that an announcement was imminent.

At least one operator, Transat A.T., had been competing for the business, but others, like Calgary-based Enerjet, had dropped out, an industry source said.

Maple Fun Travel will bring together a disparate group of players, including WestJet cofounder Mark Hill as its chief operating officer and former Air Canada executive Robert Peterson as its chief financial officer. Both men worked at WestJet and Air Canada during their high-profile spying dispute a few years ago.

The men have put their differences aside to try to take advantage of the opportunities Air Canada has been capitalizing on this year to Asia due to a lack of competition.

In the first nine months of the year, the country's largest carrier has seen a 31% increase in passenger revenue on its Pacific routes, in particular to China, on the back of a 22% increase in traffic and a 7% improvement in yields. The third quarter proved especially strong with yields up 17%and passenger revenue up nearly 38%.

By contrast, Air Canada's system-wide passenger revenue has been up 10% year over year in the first nine months of the year, with traffic up 8.4% and yields up only 1.6%. The company has seen improved demand on almost every route, with the exception of Korea, and added new service to Tokyo and more frequency to China from the West.

While the Pacific has certainly been a boon, Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu has warned about increased competition on the routes in the months ahead.

"The U.S. carriers, particularly, are adding a lot of capacity, which typically translates into reduced yields," he said in an interview this month.

But it is not just U.S. carriers that are eyeing the Pacific. Ontario financier James Hultquist-Morrissey also has plans to launch a charter airline to South Korea, XPO Airlines, in the spring of 2011.

WestJet sought $1,000 limit for lost luggage
Airline ordered to allow customers to declare higher values
26 November 2010
Calgary Herald

WestJet recommended a $1,000 limit for lost or damaged luggage in arguments with the Canadian Transportation Agency over compensation for passengers.

The airline even provided a list of a hypothetical bag and its contents, including $200 for the luggage, $75 for shoes, socks worth $10 and underwear tagged at $25, pants for $100 and shirts valued at $75.

However, the agency last week voided the airline's baggage liability policies, which means people will now be eligible for up to about $1,800 in compensation should the airline lose or damage their luggage, instead of $250.

The ruling, calling the $250 limit unreasonable after a complaint was lodged, applies to domestic flights and brings WestJet's liability closer in line with Air Canada, which provides $1,500.

WestJet argued a number of points rejected by the Canadian Transportation Agency, including that Air Canada passengers have more expensive luggage because they pay more to fly business class, and that claims from domestic flights would be lower because those trips are typically shorter than international travel.

In proposing the $1,000 limit, the airline pointed out that it could still provide a higher amount and often used flight travel credits or a mix of cash and credits as compensation.

WestJet stated, according to the CTA, that between January 2009 and January 2010 91 per cent of baggage claims resulted in a payment of less than $1,000 and that 62 per cent of total claims paid out $250 or less.

However, the agency determined "a substantially heavier burden" wouldn't be placed on the company by increasing the limit above $1,000.

The same person who complained about the $250 limit also wants West-Jet to allow passengers to declare their bags worth more than the limit and pay for additional coverage. WestJet says its new reservation system doesn't allow it to offer that service, but the CTA has said it must allow for declarations of excess valuation at a reasonable supplementary charge within 90 days.

A week ago, the agency issued an order based on WestJet's rules around what can be packed in checked baggage for international travel.

The complaint took issue with wording that said the airline wouldn't be liable for the loss or damage of items such as fragile or perishable articles, money or business documents, which shouldn't be placed in checked bags.

WestJet was given 45 days from Nov. 18 to provide different language.

WestJet eyes revenue boost in deal with British Air
9 December 2010
The Globe and Mail

When passengers on British Airways PLC arrive at Canadian airports next year, they will be able to seamlessly transfer to WestJet Airlines Ltd. flights under a new deal that has landed the Calgary-based carrier its biggest overseas partner.

The “interline” agreement clears the way for WestJet and British Airways to co-operate on ticketing and baggage handling in early 2011, making it easier for customers flying to Canada to hop aboard a connecting flight operated by WestJet.

WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer said Wednesday that customers will be able to buy seats through a single British Airways booking to Canada. British Airways serves airports in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

WestJet will focus on collecting some of the estimated 3,400 British Airways customers who fly to Canada daily on average, capturing connecting traffic that should bolster WestJet's revenue and also hoist British Airways bookings. “Seats are not available for sale until early next year,” a British Airways spokeswoman said.

The WestJet-British Airways pairing has taken years to come to fruition, delayed while WestJet weathered woes with upgrades to its computer reservations system. In late 2006, British Airways chief executive officer Willie Walsh paid a courtesy visit to Calgary for talks with WestJet chairman Clive Beddoe.

WestJet already has inbound interline deals in place with Air France-KLM, Taiwan's China Airlines and, effective last month, American Airlines Inc. of Fort Worth, Tex. Another prospective partner is Dubai-based Emirates Airline, but Mr. Palmer said there are “no negotiations with them at the moment.”

Interlining is seen in the airline industry as the first move toward even closer ties down the road, often leading to full-fledged “code-sharing,” where airlines are able to sell fares on each other's flights through electronic ticketing. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. started a code-sharing arrangement with WestJet in October.

WestJet now has agreements with British Airways, American Airlines and Cathay, which are three of the founding members of the Oneworld alliance of global carriers. Canadian Airlines International Ltd. belonged to Oneworld before Air Canada acquired the money-losing carrier in 2000. Air Canada is part of the rival Star Alliance.

PI Financial Corp. analyst Chris Murray said WestJet's link with British Airways is notable because of the carrier's passenger traffic. The London-based airline transports roughly 1,200 more travellers daily on average into Canada than Air France's 2,200 passengers a day. “This is the first step amongst many, and these relationships will evolve over time,” he said, adding that connecting traffic is important for WestJet because of the higher-yielding business customers arriving from foreign flights.

An official in WestJet's investor relations department informed Mr. Murray that British Airways is in the midst of developing marketing efforts to support ticket sales in 2011.

WestJet is seeking to lure more business travellers with new partnerships and the introduction earlier this year of its frequent flier program.

WestJet lease of bigger plane spurs long-haul talk
22 December 2010

VANCOUVER , Dec 21 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd's announcement on Tuesday that it will lease a big long-range plane has sparked speculation the airline is thinking of abandoning its commitment to a single-type fleet of planes so that it can fly longer-haul routes.

WestJet, Canada's second-biggest airline, said on Tuesday it will operate a leased Boeing 757-200 to provide nonstop service between its base in Alberta and Hawaii from mid-February to end-April next year.

Until now, WestJet has operated a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, flying to destinations in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico.

The single-type fleet has been a key plank in its low-cost strategy as flying only one type of plane reduces costs such as training and maintenance.

But the 737's range is limited and WestJet could be looking for avenues to expand.

"We view the news as an indication that WestJet may introduce larger aircraft into their fleet going down the road in an effort to compete on longer-haul routes," RBC Capital Markets airline analyst Walter Spracklin said.

"Other airlines are growing significantly in international routes due to the sizable demand. We know these are profitable routes," he said.

Air Canada , WestJet's bigger rival, boosted operating income five-fold in its most recent quarter, partly because of strong demand on international routes.

WestJet said there was no truth to the talk that it would add variety to its fleet to fly further afield.

"This is not the beginning of a new fleet type or a fleet change, but rather, a clear demonstration that we have the creativity, flexibility and commitment to assert our competitive advantage in the market, particularly in Alberta," spokesman Robert Palmer said.

The winter and spring months are a popular time for Canadians to escape to warmer destinations such as Hawaii. WestJet last spring also operated a nonstop flight from Alberta to Hawaii using its own 737-700 aircraft, but it could not sell all the seats due to weight and fuel constraints.

WestJet is leasing the 757-200 from North American Airlines, a charter air service provider and a subsidiary of Global Aviation Holdings [GLALG.UL].

North American will provide pilots, flight attendants and maintenance engineers to operate and service the aircraft.

WestJet's stock was down 1 Canadian cent at C$13.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday afternoon against the trend of a firmer market.

Robert Milton gives up job as president of ACE Aviation, remains CEO
22 December 2010
The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - Robert Milton is giving up his job as president of ACE Aviation Holdings, but will remain chairman and chief executive of the company that holds a minority stake in Air Canada.

Brian Dunne, will assume the role of president and will retain his duties as chief financial officer.

The company declined to explain the reasons behind the change, which takes effect Jan. 1.

Nor would a spokesman indicate if Milton will take a pay cut or how Dunne's salary would change.

Earlier this month, ACE Aviation (TSX:ACE.B) said it was further reducing its once majority stake in Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) with the sale of 44 million shares of the airline for $162.8 million, taking ACE another step towards a complete windup.

The Montreal-based company said it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and including RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and TD Securities Inc.

Canada's largest airline will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of its B shares at a price of $3.70 each.

The transaction, which is expected to close around Dec. 23, will reduce ACE Aviation's total stake in Air Canada to 11.15 per cent, from approximately 27 per cent.

ACE was formed in 2004 to be the airline's parent company as part of Air Canada's court-supervised restructuring.

There have been expectations that ACE Aviation Holdings will eventually be dissolved after disposing of its assets, although there's no firm timetable.

ACE Aviation has previously spun off the Aeroplan (TSX:AER) frequent flyer program and regional airline Jazz Air (TSX:JAZ.UN) as well as the technical service division.

ACE Aviation shares closed at $13, up 10 cents in Tuesday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Air Canada shares gained 10 cents, or 2.85 per cent, to $3.61.

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Special flight has passengers home for Christmas
Air Canada rescues snowbound travellers, but 'thousands' still stranded in London
23 December 2010
The Toronto Star

Molly Lowson, an 18-year-old university student stranded in London, England, was desperate to get home to Toronto for the holidays.

And she finally made it in the wee hours Wednesday, thanks to some artful dodging and hasty work by Air Canada, which put on its first special relief flight since the Haiti evacuation.

Lowson feels embarrassed to admit it now, but she and others discovered a tunnel leading from the arrivals area to the departures area in snow-plagued Heathrow Airport and "snuck in" Tuesday to put her name on an Air Canada standby list.

BAA, the operators of Heathrow, would not let people into the departure area without a confirmed ticket for that day's travel in a failed bid to prevent airport congestion and chaos.

The problem was that Lowson was booked to leave Dec. 28 - the first flight she could get to Toronto.

Her frantic efforts paid off when Air Canada got late clearance from the Heathrow operators for one additional slot.

The airline deployed a 767 in Paris to London and arranged for the special rescue flight that got more than 150 Toronto-bound passengers home by 3 a.m. Wednesday.

"It was an extraordinary event," said Air Canada executive Duncan Dee of getting takeoff and landing clearance for Air Canada Flight 2059 past curfew times. "Unfortunately, many other people will not get home for Christmas."

"It was the right thing to do," Dee said. "Trying to get people home for Christmas is a pretty noble reason."

Travellers who could board the flight quickly or those who were within close proximity of Heathrow were called first.

"We didn't have a lot of time to get ahold of people," Dee said. "When facing a backlog of potentially thousands of people, you have to be as fair as possible, but you also have to be realistic."

For Lowson, it meant the difference between getting home in time for Christmas or leaving Dec. 28.

Her ordeal began Saturday when she boarded a plane that never left the ground.

"Everyone started cheering and clapping when we took off," Lowson said.

"But after that, people just pretty much fell asleep. We were all past the point of anger."

Air Canada said Wednesday that it is now operating its full schedule to London, but clearing the backlog will take more than a week after it was forced to cancel at least 35 flights between the U.K. and Canada, a move that affected more than 8,000 travellers.

Dee said it's not known how many Air Canada passengers will miss Christmas at home, but he estimates that it's "in the thousands."

Dee said the operators of Heathrow will have to answer some hard questions after being forced to close the runways for three days.

The week-long disruptions in London will result in significant costs to Air Canada that will be reflected in fourth-quarter results in March, he added.

BAA has been heavily criticized for not having enough de-icing fluid to handle the emergency, and the CEO, Colin Matthews, has pledged to forgo his bonus this year so he can focus on restoring confidence in the airport authority.

"Fifteen centimetres of snow would not have shut Pearson down," Dee said. "Under-resourced would be an understatement.

"It would probably be akin to the storm surges in the Maritimes a couple of days ago and people trying to use a teaspoon to get their basements bailed out."

Aeroplan to warn benefits will expire
Members may lose rewards points in three years
23 December 2010
The Globe and Mail

Aeroplan Canada plans to issue consumer alerts on its website in 2011 to notify members that thousands of their reward miles are in danger of expiring within three years.

In the past, Aeroplan members have been able to take as many years as they wished to diligently save up for their dream trips on Air Canada or one of its Star Alliance partners, knowing their points would never expire.

But Aeroplan's website states “general terms and conditions” for continued membership, including a warning that mileage piled up in an account will lapse seven years after accumulation.

Unfortunately, the caution is buried in the fine print, said Patrick Sojka, chief executive officer at rewardscanada.ca, which tracks a wide range of loyalty programs. He is encouraged, however, that Aeroplan will be sounding the alarm in 2011 for members to cash in their points to obtain reward flights.

For Aeroplan members who have been hoarding, it means that the clock is ticking down on their points because any mileage earned before 2007 carries a “date stamp,” a reference to the seven-year expiry rule that will cancel pre-2007 miles on Dec. 31, 2013. “Use them or lose them” is Aeroplan's mantra.

Mr. Sojka said that since consumers face a flood of restrictions on an array of loyalty programs, it's understandable that many members would have only a vague memory about an important Aeroplan decision back in 2006 – points accumulated prior to 2007 expire on Dec. 31, 2013. And starting Jan. 1, 2007, miles automatically have a seven-year expiry from the month that those miles are collected.

“Some people will be mad and aggravated about the seven-year expiry rule,” Mr. Sojka said. “There will be some consumers who will learn about this in 2011 for the first time.”

Aeroplan is considering disclosing the number of vanishing miles in individual accounts, a move that would alert members who log onto the Aeroplan website, subject to software compatibility bugs being ironed out, industry officials say.

Aeroplan spokeswoman Isabelle Troitzky said no decision has been made yet on the precise method to notify consumers, but the loyalty company is committed to ensuring its members “have more options to access information on the status of their miles.”

She added that Aeroplan is still studying the option of developing software for its website to incorporate the expiry data, but “unfortunately, we are not at the stage when we can provide information on the strategy or implementation.”

Aeroplan is owned by Groupe Aeroplan Inc. , which became a publicly traded company in 2005 after being spun off from ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., which owns 11 per cent of Air Canada. The Montreal-based airline founded Aeroplan in 1984, and there are now more than five million active members of the frequent flier program. Air Canada and Aeroplan now operate at arm's-length.

Many Aeroplan members book their flights months in advance, locking up seats on flights during the most popular travel times. For spring break of 2011, for example, key routes are already booked up for reservations that require the least number of points to redeem reward flights.

Mr. Sojka notes that Aeroplan releases seats 355 days in advance of Air Canada departures, seats that will be especially coveted from 2011 through 2013 as points get closer to lapsing.

New rules for jet financiing to hit Air Canada
Bombardier could also be affected by global agreement on government funding
23 December 2010
The Globe and Mail

MONTREAL -- Two major Canadian companies are grappling with the potential fallout from a global deal that aims to level the field on export subsidies for commercial aircraft.

The agreement in principle, reached in Paris Wednesday between negotiators for Canada, the European Union, the U.S., Brazil and Japan, proposes to bring the cost of state-provided financing for jet exports more in line with commercial rates.

The proposed deal means that airlines, which have traditionally been able to borrow money cheaply from government agencies to purchase new aircraft, will find it more difficult to obtain financing on such favourable terms. It is meant to address concerns by some major U.S. and European airlines that the system was tilted against them, giving their competitors in the Middle East and Asia more advantageous financing on the purchase of Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS jets than they were eligible to receive.

But Air Canada said it is not happy with the new regime, which will come into force in February if it is ratified by Jan. 20. The airline has ordered 37 new Boeing 787s, to be delivered starting in the second half of 2013.

The airline has used lower-cost financing help from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for past buys but is still working out financing for the 787 deal, spokesman John Reber said. “They would add financial costs to deliveries of the Boeing 787s we have ordered,” he said. “Our position is to maintain the existing OECD agreement.”

The deal was announced Wednesday under the auspices of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Aerospace manufacturer Bombardier Inc. faces a curb on the financial incentives it can offer customers for its new C Series jet under the revised rules.

The new regulations are expected to narrow the distinction between financing for large and regional jets. Under the existing rules, smaller jets such as the ones that Bombardier specializes in are eligible for more advantageous financing terms than big aircraft.

Both the United States and the EU – backed by Boeing and Airbus – had opposed plans by the Canadian government to provide export credit financing to foreign buyers of the new 110-to-130-seat C Series jetliner on terms that would place it in the smaller-model category.

Now, the new rules blur the lines between larger and smaller jets, with both categories to be subject to similar, more stringent financing terms.

Bombardier's Brazilian rival Embraer SA, which is also moving into the larger-plane segment, will be subject to the same constraints.

“For the moment, we're not going to comment in detail,” said Marc Duchesne, a spokesman for Bombardier Aerospace. “But we have always pushed for a level playing field based on market principles. It should not be based on whether or not one country or another offers more favourable financing.”

Airlines that are not eligible for the government-backed financing have for years been griping about the system. For example, European airlines British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa and others complained they could not take advantage of government-supported export credit agencies to finance the purchase of new jets, while rapidly expanding rivals in the Gulf states did.

On the other hand, state-supported financing was a godsend during the global recession, when commercial credit dried up, said Richard Aboulafia, vice-president of analysis at aviation consulting firm Teal Group Inc. in Fairfax, Va.

Robert Palmer, spokesman for Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd., said in an e-mail message that while export credit will be more expensive, “with WestJet's excellent credit we will continue to be able to access reasonable rates to finance our future aircraft deliveries.”

WestJet uses a single fleet of narrow body Boeing 737s that seat between 119 and 166 passengers.

Full details of the agreement were not released. The OECD said in a news release there will be a transition period for certain previously-ordered aircraft that will be covered by existing financing terms.

“The objective of the agreement is to create and maintain a market- and risk-based fee system that produces a level playing field between manufacturers, airlines and governments,” the Paris-based OECD said.

The Air Transport Association of America welcomed the new rules but said more work needs to be done to get to a truly fair playing field.

The agreement is an improvement over the existing pact in terms of pricing, but subsidies and market terms have not been completely brought into line, ATA general counsel David Berg said.

Export credit financing should be restored to what it was originally intended for – making financing available when airlines are not able to access credit markets, he said.

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WestJet flies emptier planes in December

OTTAWA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd flew fewer passengers in December versus a year earlier, but Canada's second-biggest airline still sees improved fourth-quarter unit revenue, it said on Thursday.

WestJet's load factor -- the percentage of available seats filled with paying customers -- fell to 80.3 percent last month from 81.7 percent in December 2009.

Revenue passenger miles, or traffic, increased by 10.9 percent, as available seat miles, or capacity, grew 12.9 percent from the year-prior period.

Load factor for the fourth-quarter was 0.1 percent higher as traffic increased 13.9 percent and capacity rose 13.8 percent.

For the full year, load factor rose 1.2 percent, traffic was up 12.9 percent and capacity 11.1 percent.

WestJet flies out of Saint John, N.B.; city left with two carriers
7 January 2011
The Canadian Press

SAINT JOHN, N.B. _ WestJet has pulled out of Saint John, N.B.

Bernard LeBlanc, president and CEO of the Saint John Airport Authority, says the airline told him just before Christmas that it would not be back in May to offer its seasonal service to Toronto.

LeBlanc says traffic was down about 20 per cent last year over previous years.

The airline began offering flights to Toronto from May to October in 2007.

The loss of WestJet (TSX:WJA) means Saint John now has two carriers: Air Canada Jazz and during the winter, Sunwing.

Saint John Board of Trade president Imelda Gilman says the news is ``disappointing.''

``We were hoping we could convince WestJet to do year-round service and have been working with the airport to do that,'' she said.

``We're trying to improve our service.''

Gilman said the board will be working very closely with the staff and board of the airport to make sure the city has ``timely, efficient and affordable'' air service in and out of Saint John.

WestJet represents about eight per cent of the airport's total traffic, LeBlanc said.

Now, the challenge is to secure a third carrier. LeBlanc said Porter is considering flying out of Saint John.

``It's nice to have a variety of carriers and options for our passengers,'' LeBlanc said.

AIR CANADA REPORTS DECEMBER TRAFFIC

MONTREAL, Jan. 6 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of December, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 80.8 per cent versus 81.2 per cent in December 2009, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points. System traffic increased 7.2 per cent on a system wide capacity increase of 7.6 per cent. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity.

"For the month of December and full year 2010, Air Canada recorded load factors of 80.8 and 81.7 per cent, respectively," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "These strong results, including an all-time record for the full year 2010, were achieved as we continued to increase utilization of our existing fleet and deploy capacity to pursue strategic opportunities in international markets. In December, led by 23.8 per cent traffic growth in the Pacific, we recorded a system wide traffic increase of 7.2 per cent, the twelfth consecutive month of traffic increases.

"I am proud of our employees who demonstrated their professionalism and care for our customers while maintaining a safe operation during the peak holiday travel period impacted by significant weather-related issues in Europe, the United States and Canada. I want to thank them for achieving both Customer Satisfaction and On-Time Performance objectives for the month despite these challenges. It is especially rewarding that our customers have recognized these efforts and have ranked Air Canada as the Best North American airline in recent readership surveys conducted by two international business magazines for the second consecutive year."

In 2010 readership surveys, Global Traveler magazine readers voted Air Canada Best Airline in North America, and Business Traveler magazine readers voted Air Canada as the top airline in North America for Best Flight Attendants, Best In-Flight Services, Best Business Class Service, Best North American Airline for International Travel, as well as for Best Airline Web Site.

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Air Canada delays Toronto Island airport launch

OTTAWA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Air Canada Inc has no schedule for starting to fly from Toronto's downtown airport after failing to reach a deal with the terminal operator in time for the February launch it had planned.

The country's No. 1 airline said negotiations are continuing with City Centre Terminal Corp to lease space at Billy Bishop Airport, but it would not identify the issues in contention.

Billy Bishop is a small airport on Toronto Island in Lake Ontario, close to the city's core.

"We are not in a position to confirm a revised timeline for start-up, but suffice it to say we look forward to resuming service as soon as possible," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.

The airline had planned to offer up to 15 daily nonstop flights from the airport.

Air Canada flights will be operated by Sky Regional Airlines Inc, a switch from Air Canada's regional carrier, Chorus Aviation Inc , which flew from the airport until 2006 under its previous name Jazz Air.

Sky is a regional operator that won Air Canada's competitive bid to operate the Island airport service.

Air Canada has said flights will be operated with Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft and that it intends to lease five of the planes.

Privately owned regional carrier Porter Airlines currently has a monopoly on flights from the Island airport. Porter Chief Executive Robert Deluce also heads City Center Terminal Corp, which is in talks with Air Canada.

Deluce said the negotiations are confidential and he could not discuss details.

"We understand that Sky Regional is still in the process of finalizing licensing with Transport Canada," he said. "This licensing is required before any service can begin."

Air Canada lost a court fight last summer against the Toronto Port Authority, the federal agency that owns and operates the Island airport, and Porter Airlines to get additional flying slots at Billy Bishop.

The port authority announced in June that Porter had secured 44 of 90 new slots, Air Canada 30, and U.S.-based Continental Airlines Inc 16.

Air Canada had argued the allocation process was flawed.

Air Canada shares were down 2.6 percent at C$3.00 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday afternoon.

($1=$1.00 Canadian)

Star Alliance carriers Air Canada and Continental starting this week has launched codeshare service on Trans-Atlantic service, between North America and Europe. All European service carries AC and CO code, except AC service to Denmark and St. John’s – London Heathrow, as well as CO service to Germany.
With this codeshare service, all Star Alliance members involved in “Atlantic Plus-Plus” 4-way Joint-Venture agreement (Air Canada, Continental, Lufthansa, UNITED) sees US/Canada – European service carrying these carrier’s flight numbers.
Codeshare flight numbers and routes:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_sAqCif-2N9U/TTlUuw6dBJI/AAAAAAAAAvg/G8QnSNADky8/s640/110121%20coac.jpg

Route AC Codeshare CO Operating
Houston – Amsterdam AC2520 CO058
Amsterdam – Houston AC2453 CO059
Houston – London Heathrow AC2524
AC2526 CO034
CO004
London Heathrow – Houston AC2501
AC2503 CO035
CO005
Houston – Paris CDG AC2522 CO032
Paris CDG – Houston AC2473 CO033
Newark – Amsterdam AC2448
AC2450 CO102
CO070
Amsterdam – Newark AC2449
AC2451 CO103
CO071
Newark – Athens AC2454 CO104
Athens – Newark AC2457 CO105
Newark – Barcelona AC2456 CO120
Barcelona – Newark AC2459 CO121
Newark – Belfast AC2458 CO094
Belfast – Newark AC2461 CO095
Newark – Birmingham AC2460 CO026
Birmingham – Newark AC2463 CO027
Newark – Brussels AC2464 CO060
Brussels – Newark AC2467 CO061
Newark – Copenhagen AC2470 CO122
Copenhagen – Newark AC2475 CO123
Newark – Dublin AC2472
AC2474 CO022
CO126
Dublin – Newark AC2477
AC2479 CO023
CO127
Newark – Edinburgh AC2476
AC2478 CO036
CO108
Edinburgh – Newark AC2481
AC2483 CO037
CO109
Newark – Geneva AC2486 CO080
Geneva – Newark AC2491 CO081
Newark – Glasgow AC2484 CO016
Glasgow – Newark AC2489 CO017
Newark – Lisbon AC2496 CO064
Lisbon – Newark AC2505 CO065
Newark – London Heathrow AC2488
AC2490
AC2492
AC2494 CO018
CO028
CO112
CO110
London Heathrow – Newark AC2493
AC2495
AC2497
AC2499 CO029
CO113
CO111
CO019
Newark – Madrid AC2498
AC2500 CO062
CO144
Madrid – Newark AC2507
AC2509 CO063
CO145
Newark – Manchester AC2502
AC2504 CO020
CO100
Manchester – Newark AC2511
AC2513 CO021
CO101
Newark – Milan Malpensa AC2508 CO044
Milan Malpensa – Newark AC2517 CO045
Newark – Oslo AC2510
AC2512 CO038
CO138
Oslo – Newark AC2519
AC2521 CO039
CO139
Newark – Paris CDG AC2466
AC2468 CO056
CO054
Paris CDG – Newark AC2469
AC2471 CO057
CO055
Newark – Rome AC2480 CO040
Rome – Newark AC2485 CO041
Newark – Shannon AC2514 CO024
Shannon – Newark AC2523 CO025
Newark – Stockholm AC2452
AC2455 CO068
CO069
Stockholm – Newark - -
Newark – Zurich AC2518 CO078
Zurich – Newark AC2527 CO079
CO Codeshare AC Operating
Calgary – Frankfurt CO4092 AC844
Frankfurt – Calgary CO4091 AC845
Calgary – London Heathrow CO4118 AC850
London Heathrow – Calgary CO4117 AC851
Edmonton – London Heathrow CO4098 AC898
London Heathrow – Edmonton CO4097 AC899
Halifax – London Heathrow CO4108 AC860
London Heathrow – Halifax CO4107 AC861
Montreal – Athens CO4074 AC828
Athens – Montreal CO4073 AC829
Montreal – Barcelona CO4078 AC816
Barcelona – Montreal CO4077 AC817
Montreal – Brussels CO4132 AC832
Brussels – Montreal CO4133 AC833
Montreal – Frankfurt CO4090 AC874
Frankfurt – Montreal CO4089 AC875
Montreal – Geneva CO4130 AC830
Geneva – Montreal CO4131 AC831
Montreal – London Heathrow CO4112
CO4114 AC866
AC864
London Heathrow – Montreal CO4111
CO4113 AC867
AC865
Montreal – Paris CDG CO4126 AC870
Paris CDG – Montreal CO4125 AC871
Montreal – Rome CO4084 AC892
Rome – Montreal CO4083 AC893
Ottawa – Frankfurt CO4088 AC838
Frankfurt – Ottawa CO4087 AC839
Ottawa – London Heathrow CO4110 AC888
London Heathrow – Ottawa CO4109 AC889
Toronto – Athens CO4076 AC826
Athens – Toronto CO4075 AC827
Toronto – Barcelona CO4080 AC814
Barcelona – Toronto CO4079 AC815
Toronto – Dublin CO4082 AC894
Dublin – Toronto CO4081 AC895
Toronto – Frankfurt CO4094
CO4096 AC872
AC876
Frankfurt – Toronto CO4093
CO4095 AC873
AC877
Toronto – London Heathrow CO4100
CO4102
CO4104
CO4106 AC868
AC856
AC848
AC858
London Heathrow – Toronto CO4099
CO4101
CO4103
CO4105 AC869
AC857
AC849
AC859
Toronto – Madrid CO4120 AC836
Madrid – Toronto CO4119 AC837
Toronto – Munich CO4122 AC846
Munich – Toronto CO4121 AC847
Toronto – Paris CDG CO4128 AC880
Paris CDG – Toronto CO4127 AC881
Toronto – Rome CO4086 AC890
Rome – Toronto CO4085 AC891
Toronto – Zurich CO4123 AC878
Zurich – Toronto CO4124 AC879
Vancouver – London Heathrow CO4116 AC854
London Heathrow – Vancouver CO4115 AC855

(Airline Route (http://airlineroute.net/2011/01/21/coac-codeshare-europe/), 2011)

AC Air Canada to increase Calgary-Tokyo flights March 26
Canada Stockwatch
Wednesday January 26 2011 - News Release

Mr. Ben Smith reports

AIR CANADA INCREASES CALGARY-TOKYO NON-STOP FLIGHTS; PLANS YEAR-ROUND SERVICE IN RESPONSE TO STRONG DEMAND

Air Canada is boosting its Calgary-Tokyo non-stop flights in response to strong demand after introducing the new route last summer. Air Canada will increase its existing schedule to five weekly flights from three, effective March 26, 2011, as it takes steps toward continuing the non-stop service on a year-round basis, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals in Japan.

"Demand for Air Canada's non-stop Calgary-Tokyo Narita service has been strong from business and leisure travellers, as well as freight forwarders. We are very pleased after just one season operating the only scheduled direct service between Alberta and Asia to be able to increase flights on this route," said Ben Smith, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer. "Service to Narita offers a multitude of connecting flights with our Star Alliance partners to key destinations throughout Asia including Hong Kong, Manila, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and several points across Japan. This is a good example of how we can work well with the business and tourism communities to achieve success in some markets. With the support of the Calgary business community, the Calgary Airport Authority, Travel Alberta and our travel partners, we look forward to being able to maintain a year-round schedule, pending approvals in Japan."

As a result of lower than expected demand for planned Vancouver-Tokyo Haneda non-stop flights, offering point-to-point service between the two cities, the launch of that route will now be delayed until more convenient arrival and departure times can be obtained that will enable customers to connect to flights at Haneda for onward travel to points within Japan and throughout Asia.

Calgary-Narita non-stop service complements Air Canada's daily year-round Vancouver-Tokyo Narita and Toronto-Tokyo Narita non-stop flights, both operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. This summer, the carrier will offer 19 flights each week from Canada to Tokyo's Narita International Airport.

In addition to offering efficient connections at Narita to points throughout Asia with Air Canada's Star Alliance partners, ANA, Asiana, THAI and United Airlines, Air Canada's Narita flights from both Calgary and Vancouver are timed to offer convenient connections to and from communities across Western Canada served by Air Canada.

Air Canada's increased scheduled of Calgary-Tokyo flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, departing Calgary at 12:45 p.m. and arriving in Narita the following day at 2:25 p.m. Flights will depart Narita on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 4 p.m., arriving at Calgary the same day, at 10:40 a.m.

Air Canada operates its Calgary-Tokyo flights with fully refurbished 211-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft offering a choice of economy class and executive first service featuring 24 lie-flat bed suites. Further details and a virtual tour of Air Canada's new cabin amenities, including complimentary personal seatback entertainment at every seat throughout the aircraft, are available at Air Canada's website.

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Flying monkeys raise eyebrows
Air Canada obliged by federal law to accept lab animals as cargo
25 January 2011
The Toronto Star

The arrival of 48 monkeys on a flight from China this weekend has brought Air Canada under fire for shipping primates destined for research labs, but the airline says it is obliged by federal law to accept monkeys as cargo.

A Pearson International Airport employee tipped off the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection that a shipment of monkeys destined for Montreal was being held at the Toronto airport after arriving from China Saturday.

Sarah Kite, director of communications and special projects for the BUAV, said research monkeys are usually transported in cramped wooden crates in the plane's cargo hold, where they can be subject to fluctuations in temperature, stopovers and long delays.

"I think most people would be alarmed to know that monkeys could be travelling alongside their luggage in a cargo hold," Kite said, adding these monkeys, typically macaques, are often factory farmed for research purposes in countries such as Laos and Mauritius.

Air Canada is one of a small number of airlines that continues to transport these primates, Kite said. Under pressure from animal rights groups and the public, many airlines have banned the practice. British Airways, for example, has a policy of "not carrying live animals that are for use in any laboratory, or for experimentation or exploitation," according to media liaison manager Sophie Greenyer.

But Air Canada's hands are tied because of an old government ruling. In 1994, the airline refused to carry a shipment of monkeys from Barbados because they were destined for a lab.

The Primate Research Center and Wildlife Reserve of Barbados filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, which ruled in 1998 that Air Canada could not refuse to carry the monkeys because they were not a nuisance to passengers in flight. According to the ruling, the "opinion" that the monkey shipment was offensive on "humane or moral grounds" wasn't good enough.

"We cannot by law refuse the carriage of animals for the sole reason that they could ultimately be destined to a laboratory or for research," said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick in an email.

In 2007, Air Canada stopped shipping beagles used for medical research after a passenger complained about the dogs yelping from the cargo hold.

According to the Pearson tipster, this weekend's shipment was destined for Montreal, but it is unclear whether the monkeys travelled by truck from Toronto or were held overnight for a connecting flight.

At LAB Research, a facility in Laval, Que. that tests drugs for diabetes and cardiovascular disease on rodents and other animals, a veterinarian who did not want his name used for fear of retaliation by animal activists, said monkeys are usually shipped by truck from Pearson to avoid long layovers.

The veterinarian would not confirm that the monkeys had arrived at LAB, but did say the primates there lead comfortable lives with TV, toys and candy.

After a drug trial is over, he said the researchers try to reuse the animals by keeping them or transferring them to another lab certified by the Canadian Council on Animal Care. He said sometimes the animals are put to sleep so their organs can be studied.

With files from Allison Cross

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Air Canada moves to protect Mumbai route
5 February 2011
The Globe and Mail

Air Canada has renewed its partnership with Jet Airways (India) Ltd., a strategic move designed to keep their Canada-India route competitive against Emirates Airline.

Effective Feb. 21, a new three-year pact kicks in, ensuring that travellers will be able to continue booking seats on an Air Canada plane from Toronto to connect onto Jet at London's Heathrow Airport, from where Jet then flies to Mumbai. Air Canada and its Star Alliance partner, Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, also serve the Canada-India market through their Frankfurt hub.

Air Canada signed its first partnership pact with Mumbai-based Jet in 2008, clearing the way for the carriers to sell tickets on each other's flights on the Toronto-Mumbai route. But Emirates, which launched its Toronto-Dubai service in October, 2007, introduced the Airbus A380 double-decker to the route in mid-2009, stepping up the battle against Air Canada and its allies.

Emirates, owned by the Dubai government, competes for passengers by offering service between Toronto and India via the Gulf carrier's Dubai hub. Last fall, Ottawa rejected requests from the United Arab Emirates for more Canadian landing slots. Emirates currently has three flights a week on the Toronto-Dubai route, but wants daily landing rights at Canada's largest city.

Emirates has said that its expanded presence in Canada would broaden consumer choice and generate a range of spinoff benefits for the economy.

But Air Canada needs to shield the Canada-India air corridor from further incursions by Emirates because the Montreal-based carrier is eyeing non-stop service to New Delhi, said Rick Erickson, an aviation consultant who heads RP Erickson & Associates.

In 2007, Air Canada cancelled its own Toronto-New Delhi service, through Zurich, but Mr. Erickson said the economics will be vastly improved when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is introduced within three years to the fleet of Canada's biggest carrier.

Air Canada expects to start receiving Boeing 787s by late 2013, though it could be delayed into 2014, given production snags at the aircraft maker, analysts say. In the meantime, until the Dreamliner arrives, Air Canada is keen to keep Emirates at bay.

“The 787 is going to be a real game changer for Air Canada, but the airline needs to protect its market share on the Indian subcontinent because Emirates wants to take traffic away,” Mr. Erickson said.

On Friday, Air Canada reported that its transatlantic routes saw a 4.1-per-cent increase in traffic in January, compared with the same month in 2010. Over all, Air Canada's worldwide load factor climbed to 78 per cent in January, up from 77.5 per cent a year ago.

WestJet, Delta sign interline agreement
7 February 2011

Feb 7 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd , Canada's No. 2 carrier, said it has entered into an interline agreement with Delta Air Lines Inc that allows customers of both airlines to purchase connecting flights on one ticket.

The agreement, effective immediately, also allows the customers to receive boarding passes for all segments at their first check-in and tag bags through to their final destination. Passengers now can connect between WestJet and Delta flights at more than 25 gateways in Canada and the United States, the airlines said in a statement. Seats are on sale immediately via most Delta ticketing channels.

Air Canada, unions begin contract talks
7 February 2011
The Globe and Mail

Contract talks begin this week between Air Canada and the union representing airport customer service agents and call centre staff, the first in a series of bargaining sessions as labour leaders focus on the carrier's climb out of its financial hole.

Negotiators for the Canadian Auto Workers union will meet Friday with management amid a business climate in the industry that has vastly improved since the last round of talks during the recession in 2009. Air Canada narrowly averted filing for bankruptcy protection in the summer of 2009, when pension and labour pacts were secured with the CAW and four other unions.

The CAW's collective agreement lapses on Feb. 28, while March 31 is the contract expiry date for the rest – the Air Canada Pilots Association, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

“Our work needs to be valued, appreciated and paid accordingly. Significant wage gains will go a long way to addressing our need for recognition and appreciation,” the CAW said in a newsletter to its 3,800 members. “As the global economy recovers, so too will investments for pension plans. We will be vigilant in protecting our pension plans, as secure pension benefits for our current and future retirees must be maintained. We do not intend to have this round of bargaining sidetracked by pension discussions.”

Analysts say new labour contacts will likely lead to increased expenses for wages and pensions in the coming years at Air Canada, which reports its fourth-quarter and 2010 results on Thursday. Chorus Aviation Inc., which owns regional carrier Jazz Air LP, releases its financial report on Tuesday.

WestJet's board of directors will meet in Toronto this week as the carrier seeks to promote its flights in Central Canada and the East Coast. Calgary-based WestJet announces its results on Wednesday.

Westjet seems to be interlining with every airline entering Canada available.

WestJet sees partnership potential with Emirates
Calgary-based airline ‘would not oppose' more landing rights in Toronto for Persian Gulf carrier
8 February 2011
The Globe and Mail

WestJet Airlines Ltd. envisages signing up Emirates Airline as a partner in the long term, holding out hope that Ottawa will eventually grant extra landing rights in Toronto to the Persian Gulf carrier.

WestJet would benefit from flying passengers to and from Toronto, where they could connect with Emirates' flights to and from Dubai, said Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet's executive vice-president of strategy and planning.

Calgary-based WestJet and Emirates, owned by the Dubai government, have exchanged several e-mails on potentially working together. But with the Middle East carrier limited to only three flights a week in Toronto, WestJet would prefer to await more landing slots for Emirates before embarking on any partnership talks, Mr. Dunleavy said in an interview Monday.

“We would like to see more open access to the Canadian market,” he said. “We would not oppose more landing rights in Toronto for Emirates. WestJet can move traffic out of Toronto to the rest of our network.”

Last fall, Ottawa rejected requests from the United Arab Emirates for increased landing rights in Toronto for the Arab country's carriers.

Air Canada and its Star Alliance partner, Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, oppose Emirates' strategy to expand in Canada, saying their Frankfurt airport hub would lose lucrative international traffic to their rival's Dubai hub.

Emirates also wants to introduce Calgary-Dubai and Vancouver-Dubai routes, but Mr. Dunleavy cautioned that WestJet stands to lose connecting traffic under such western expansion plans, so he's counting on Emirates to devote its energy to acquiring daily service in Toronto and leave Western Canada alone.

Mr. Dunleavy said WestJet will focus this year on potential international partners that already have a minimum of daily service into Canada, relegating Emirates to the backburner for now, though talks are possible in 2012.

He made the comments after WestJet added Delta Air Lines Inc. of Atlanta to its growing list of “interline” arrangements, whereby WestJet and foreign carriers co-operate on flights and baggage handling, making it easier for passengers on inbound trips to catch WestJet's connecting, domestic service.

WestJet also has interline deals with Air France-KLM, Taiwan's China Airlines, Hong Kong-based Dragonair and American Airlines Inc. of Fort Worth, Tex. A preliminary interlining deal with British Airways PLC is expected to take effect later this year.

The interlining contracts are designed to evolve into even greater co-operation in the form of “code-sharing” pacts that go deeper into areas such as electronic ticketing. WestJet has confirmed one code-sharing deal so far, with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

Cathay, British Airways and American are three of the founding members of the Oneworld alliance of global carriers. Delta and Air France-KLM are part of SkyTeam.

Delta will be a “robust” interline partner for WestJet, providing more Canadian gateways than American's schedule offers, said Robert Kokonis, president of airline consulting firm AirTrav Inc. He noted that WestJet likes the flexibility of signing partners from both Oneworld and SkyTeam, instead of siding with a single global airline alliance.

WestJet is looking to gradually broaden its partnerships in Europe and Asia, while seeking to co-operate with foreign carriers in the Middle East and South America.

WestJet Airlines Q4 profit more than doubles

OTTAWA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd said a rebound in travel demand and new partnerships helped it more than double quarterly profit and position Canada's No. 2 carrier for more profitable growth.

The low-cost carrier, which is aggressively seeking new ways to grow revenue through alliances and expansion, also said it would defer delivery of six Boeing 737 planes as fuel costs rise.

The order for the 737s, extending from 2012 through 2018, remains intact but can now be better matched to the timing of lease returns, the Calgary-based carrier said.

WestJet said it is well equipped to withstand fuel price volatility due to its low-cost structure and fuel-efficient fleet. It said it expects first-quarter fuel prices, excluding hedging, of 82 Canadian cents to 84 Canadian cents per liter.

The airline said it earned C$47.9 million ($48.15 million), or 33 Canadian cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up from C$20.2 million, or 14 Canadian cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 22 percent to C$692.8 million, said WestJet, whose main rival is Air Canada Inc , the country's biggest airline.

Analysts had expected earnings of 17 Canadian cents a share on revenue of C$664.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

WestJet said the key performance measure of revenue per available seat mile, or RASM, rose 7 percent in the quarter.

"We also expect the positive RASM trend to continue into the first quarter of 2011 and estimate that year-over-year improvements will be roughly in line with those reported in the fourth quarter," Chief Executive Gregg Saretsky said in a statement.

Yield, or the average price paid by one passenger to fly one mile, rose 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

The company declared a cash dividend of 5 Canadian cents a share for the first quarter. It announced its first-ever dividend in November.

WestJet shares, which have lost 2 percent in value over the past year, closed at C$13.20 on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. ($1=.9947 Canadian Dollar)

Air Canada posts Q4 profit, to raise domestic capacity

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Air Canada reported a quarterly profit and said it plans to raise its 2011 system capacity, as measured by available seat miles, as well as its domestic capacity.

Net income at Canada's No. 1 airline was C$134 million Canadian ($134.7 million), or 42 Canadian cents a share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of C$56 million, or 25 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted losses came in at 6 Canadian cents a share, compared with a loss of 62 Canadian cents last year.

Fourth-quarter operating income was C$85 million, compared with an operating loss of C$83 million, a year ago. ($1=.9947 Canadian Dollar)

New flight plan doubles WestJet profit
'Dead money' stock on the move as focus shifts from market share to earnings growth
10 February 2011
Edmonton Journal

As WestJet Airlines Ltd. begins to lay the foundation for its business strategy through 2020, chief executive Gregg Saretsky says he has put the profitability of the airline at the forefront of his agenda.

For years, the Calgary-based carrier trumpeted its goal of overtaking Air Canada as the largest player in the Canadian domestic market, much to the chagrin of analysts who questioned whether its aggressive growth plans were coming at the expense of shareholder returns.

As a result, while WestJet has been profitable in every quarter five years running, its shares have been called "dead money" by some, having stalled in recent years.

But that has shifted dramatically under its new chief executive. Bolstered by the airline industry's recovery and pricing improvements, WestJet's fourth-quarter net income grew 138 per cent to $48 million, or 33 cents a share, year-over-year, doubling the Street's consensus estimate.

Shares in the company soared 12 per cent as a result, to close on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday at $14.76 a piece.

But Saretsky said in an interview Wednesday that the fourth quarter was no "one-off," and he dramatically scaled back the company's growth plans in the coming years by delaying the delivery of six aircraft originally slated between 2012 and 2015 to 2017 and 2018.

That comes in addition to the three aircraft deferred last August that were originally slated to be delivered this year and next, and now won't arrive until 2017 as the airline tries to better match supply with demand and maintain its pricing power.

"This is no slight against the previous regime, but our focus has moved to be less about market share and more about profitability," Saretsky said.

He said he remains committed to growing the airline with a 12-percent return on invested capital. "What share we get is sort of irrelevant," he added.

Because its growth has remained somewhat constrained, WestJet was able to raise its prices between three per cent to five per cent in 2010 as the industry recovered. Saretsky said that should allow the airline to offset its fuel cost increases until oil hits $90 US a barrel.

WestJet's improved profitability should also allow it revisit both its dividend and share buyback programs, which Saretsky expects could grow over time.

WestJet's new focus does come with a price. Its domestic market share has fallen from 37 per cent at the end of 2009 to between 30 per cent and 35 per cent currently, according to its own estimates.

But David Tyerman, Canaccord Genuity analyst, said he doesn't think that's a bad thing, especially given the disciplined growth at Air Canada in the domestic market as well.

"Airlines, in general, have been a lousy investment, and have had an extremely bad reputation with the investors because they focus too much on market share," Tyerman said. "As a result, there's always too much capacity in the market."

Tyerman said he didn't expect WestJet to entirely give up its fight for market share, noting that it announced plans this week to increase its capacity in the so-called Eastern Triangle between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. But he said a more measured approach is welcomed.

"The implication is that, as long as they stay with it, which is always the challenge for an industry that seems to be trying to change itself, then it's going to show up in better multiples over time," he said. "If you think of the rail industry, it is considered one of the most disciplined industries out there, which wasn't always the case."

Saretsky said WestJet has yet to make a decision on whether to go bigger or smaller as it looks to diversify its fleet over the next decade. In the meantime, he expects its recently announced partnerships with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines to help fill its planes, tap into the $2.5-billion transborder market, and to expand into new U.S. markets.

Its partnerships with other international carriers, such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air France/ KLM, and China Airlines, will help it fill its planes as well as it continues to look for new partners in other regions, including the Middle East, South America, and Australia, he said.

Article: http://www.aviation.ca/content/view/9542/117/

AIR CANADA ADDS NEARLY HALF-A-MILLION SEATS TO AND FROM TORONTO WITH ITS SUMMER 2011 SCHEDULE

Written by Air Canada
Friday, 11 February 2011
MONTREAL - Air Canada announced today that through its continuing international expansion strategy it will add for this summer 450,000 more seats than summer 2010 to and from its Toronto hub, including new daily service to four major international destinations. The expansion is part of a system-wide capacity increase for summer 2011 that will result in additional international, transborder and domestic flying.

"Air Canada is expanding its international, transborder and domestic services this summer, with much of that growth occurring in our Toronto hub. Following the success of new route additions last year we are enhancing our schedule and adding 450,000 more seats than last summer, primarily by making flights to Copenhagen, Madrid, Dublin and Santiago daily, doubling the number of flights to Barcelona to six a week, and adding a fourth weekly frequency to Athens," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada. "This growth comes on top of 680,000 seats we added to and from Toronto in 2010. As the world's most multi-cultural city, Toronto by itself generates and attracts a great deal of international traffic. With Lester B. Pearson International Airport's ideal geographic location, easy in-transit customs and connection processes for international travelers, and the fact Air Canada's operations are consolidated in a single terminal featuring comfortable Maple Leaf Lounges, we are poised to make Toronto a leading global aviation hub."

Air Canada received top honours in Business Traveler magazine's Best in Business Travel 2010 annual reader survey, winning five awards: Best Flight Attendants in North America, Best In-flight Services in North America, Best North America Airline for Business Class Service, Best North American Airline for International Travel, and Best Airline Web Site. Readers of Global Travel magazine voted Air Canada Best Airline in North America, for the sixth consecutive year in their 2010 reader survey. Air Canada was named Best Airline North America in a worldwide survey of more than 17 million air travelers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax for its 2010 World Airline Awards. Air Canada was named Canada's Preferred Airline by frequent business travellers in the 2010 Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international full-service airline providing scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo from 60 communities large and small across Canada to more than 175 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 31 million customers annually. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,172 airports in 181 countries. Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.

A look at some of the fees and taxes airline passengers in Canada already pay
18 February 2011
The Canadian Press

TORONTO - A 2012 U.S. federal draft budget outlines a proposal to charge a $5.50 fee for every Canadian entering the U.S. by air or sea. Here are some air travel fees and taxes that passengers already face.

Fees included in the tax portion of an airline ticket:

- Fuel surcharges (vary by destination);

- Surcharge to cover NAV Canada services, $7.50 each way for cross-border flights, variable for domestic flights;

- Insurance Surcharge, $3 each way within Canada;

- Air Travellers Security Charge, $7.12 each way within Canada, $8 each way for cross-border travel.

Airport improvement fees vary by location, but range from $5 to $40. Most Canadian airport fees are included in the ticket price.

A peak travel premium is sometimes added when travelling to certain destinations at specific peak travel times; details vary. Federal, harmonized or provincial sales taxes apply as necessary.

For travel to and from the United States, the following taxes and fees may be added:

- U.S. International Tax;

- U.S. INS Fee;

- Passenger Facility Charge (up to US$4.50 per passenger);

- U.S. September 11 Security Fee;

- U.S. Transportation Tax, and U.S Department of Agriculture APHIS Fee (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service).

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration charges ``overflight'' fees for all flights that fly in U.S. air space but take off or land elsewhere. There are two types of overflight fees:

- Enroute: $33.72 per 100 nautical miles (nm), Great Circle Distance (GCD), from point of entry into to point of exit from U.S.-controlled airspace,

- Oceanic: $15.94 per 100 nautical miles, Great Circle Distance.

Baggage fees vary from among airlines and are influenced by type of baggage, class of travel and destination. Some common baggage fees:

- Air Canada (economy to the U.S.): 1 bag checked for free, $30 per direction for each additional bag. Within Canada, to Mexico and the Caribbean, $20 per direction for each extra bag. To Europe, $50 per direction for each extra bag.

- WestJet, most destinations: $20 for a second bag, $50 for third and fourth bag.

A single adult flying one-way from Vancouver to Los Angeles can expect to pay $694 in basic air fair before tax, according to Air Canada. Once taxes, surcharges and fees have been factored in, the price jumps another $100.10 for a total of $794.10.

Air Canada, unions on different paths
Carrier prefers performance-based incentives, while unions want to use contract negotiations to make up for lost wages
16 February 2011
The Globe and Mail

Air Canada is forecasting that its employees will reap $2,125 each in extra compensation for 2010 after the airline met an array of financial and operating targets. But the pay-for-performance system clashes with union desires for sharp jumps in base wages.

Management is striving to instill a corporate culture that rewards workers for flights arriving on time, friendly customer service and company profitability. As contracts with its five unions near expiry, however, labour leaders say they're determined to make up for years of wage sacrifices and workplace concessions.

While a new program to issue $500 worth of Air Canada shares to each employee is being billed as a sound way to help engage the work force, union leaders said staff would rather see base wages grow.

The differing priorities highlight the challenges ahead in contract talks as Air Canada seeks to continue on the path to financial recovery, less than two years after a cash crunch nearly forced it to seek bankruptcy protection. Last week, the Montreal-based carrier announced that it posted a $107-million profit last year – its first annual profit since 2007.

“Our members have done their part to help Air Canada get back to making a profit. Are they looking for increases in wages and benefits? You bet they are,” said Dave Ritchie, general vice-president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW).

Leslie Dias, national representative for the Canadian Auto Workers union, said her members make an average of $24.58 an hour, only 4.5 per cent more than they did in 2003, so the “bonuses” for 2010 don't replace wages that have risen at less than half the inflation rate. She said employees are working harder than ever, awaiting recognition not only for having their paycheques frozen over past two years, but also for enduring wage cuts from 2003 to 2005. (In April, 2003, Air Canada entered 18 months of bankruptcy protection.)

Officials from the CAW, which represents 3,800 airport customer service agents and call-centre staff, met last Friday with management representatives to kick off negotiations. The two sides are to reconvene next Monday.

When Calin Rovinescu took over as Air Canada's chief executive officer in April, 2009, he acknowledged that it would take time to change the corporate culture at the airline. Last week, he reiterated the importance of rewarding a productive work force.

“It is my desire to build a focused, performance-driven culture. In 2010, we delivered on all of our priorities we set for the company, and we will both reward and celebrate this so we can build on our successes in the years ahead,” Mr. Rovinescu told analysts on a conference call.

On top of wages negotiated in labour contracts, the airline's employees are garnering about $55-million in other remuneration pegged to 2010's performance, or $2,125 for each full-time worker, according to Air Canada.

At WestJet Airlines Ltd., which has a non-unionized work force, more than 84 per cent of employees own shares in the Calgary-based carrier. Air Canada employees have tended to avoidstock ownership, but last week the airline announced that it will soon grant $500 worth of shares to each eligible employee worldwide, in a $14-million payout. “Half of these shares will vest immediately and the other half will vest in February, 2014,” Air Canada said in a statement.

As well, in a “special incentive,” $500 in cash will be awarded to each member of the carrier's Canadian defined-benefit pension plan. “The award is being made pursuant to the 2009 pension funding and other arrangements as a result of the company achieving certain financial targets in 2010. This award is being made at a cost of $13-million to Air Canada,” the airline said.

About $1,125 is flowing to each eligible employee in a $28-million “sharing our success” program that rewards employees for meeting certain operational and customer service targets, notably on-time performance of scheduled flights and favourable passenger satisfaction surveys. Workers are eligible to receive $75 a month for achieving on-time performance targets and another $75 a month for meeting consumer-oriented goals.

“In 2010, the company contributed $243-million to its pension plans. Moreover, based on the close of markets on Feb. 10, 2011, the 17.6 million shares granted to the unions for the pension fund in 2009 are now worth about $60-million,” Air Canada added.

The CAW's Ms. Dias said union leaders are bracing themselves for a long set of talks over the next collective agreement. “We plan to meet for an extended period of time if we're making progress,” she said.

The CAW's contract expires Feb. 28. Collective agreements expire March 31 at the IAMAW, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Air Canada Pilots Association and the Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/524/5247282.html

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Tax ruling in Europe hits Aeroplan
The Canadian Press
26 February 2011

MONTREAL - Costs related to an unfavourable European tax ruling contributed to an $11 million fourth-quarter loss for Groupe Aeroplan, the former Air Canada subsidiary that runs loyalty-points programs for other companies.

The loss amounted to seven cents per share and contrasted with a year-earlier profit of $20.5 million or 10 cents per share.

Despite the tax ruling, which was the culmination of a multi-year dispute, chief executive Rupert Duchesne said Friday the company performed well in 2011 and is positioned this year to grow globally.

"It truly has been a rewarding year for Groupe Aeroplan," Duchesne told analysts during a conference call to discuss the financial results.

"Each of our businesses has shown strong growth and excluding the impact of the adverse VAT (value-added tax) judgment, we've achieved our financial objectives for the year."

The Montreal-based company said the quarter's loss included a $3.8 million expense related to a court decision against Loyalty Management Group, acquired by Aeroplan in December 2007.

The litigation between the U.K. tax authorities and Loyalty Management Group since 2003 was related to the way value-added tax remittances were calculated by the acquired company.

Duchesne said that Aeroplan expects to mitigate the negative impact of the ruling by the end of 2011.

Revenue was up year over year, rising to $607.8 million from $424.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

WestJet signs deal with American linking routes
The Canadian Press
1 March 2011

CALGARY -- WestJet has inked a pact with American Airlines that will allow both companies to provide connecting service on each other's flights to select cities.

The Calgary-based airline said Monday that under the code-sharing agreement, it will be able to offer its customers connecting flights on American or American Eagle flights from Canada to Chicago and Boston. The airline said it expects to be able to add other cities under the agreement with American in the "near future."

"These initial routes should immediately enhance our reach and value proposition to business and corporate travellers, particularly in Central Canada," Hugh Dunleavy, executive vice-president of strategy and planning, said in a release.

Meanwhile, American Airlines will now have connecting services to as many as 20 Canadian cities that it does not already serve.

"Our code share with WestJet will further expand our North American network and provide our customers seamless connections to and from cities throughout Canada," said Virasb Vahidi, American's chief commercial officer.

"Canada has become an ever more important business and leisure destination for travellers from the U.S."

Financial details of the agreement, which requires regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/178/1782447.html

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WestJet planes slightly fuller in February

March 3 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines said it flew more passengers in February versus a year earlier, especially on transborder and international routes.

Canada's second-biggest airline's load factor -- the percentage of available seats filled with paying customers -- rose to 83.6 percent last month from 82.5 percent in February, 2010.

The low-cost airline said revenue passenger miles, or traffic, rose 12.2 percent to 1.36 billion, year-over-year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles, was up 10.7 percent to 1.63 billion, over the same period.

WestJet, which entered a code-share agreement with American Airlines early this week, said overall consumer demand has been strong and business bookings continue to show strength, moving forward in 2011.

Calgary-based WestJet shares had closed at C$15.45 on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Air Canada flies lesser passengers in Feb

March 4 (Reuters) - Canada's biggest airline Air Canada said passenger levels for February dipped, adding last year its planes were fuller due to the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

On Thursday, WestJet Airlines Ltd , the nation's No.2 airlines, said it flew more passengers in February.

Air Canada said load factor fell 2.5 percentage points to 75.9. System traffic rose 3.1 percent on a system-wide capacity increase of 7.1 percent, the company said.

"We experienced continued traffic increases in the key transborder and Pacific markets and overall traffic growth system-wide," Chief Executive Calin Rovinescu said.

Shares of Air Canada closed at C$2.83 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/378/3787766.html

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Air Canada sales agent union asks for conciliator

VANCOUVER, March 14 (Reuters) - The union representing 3,800 customer service and sales agents at Air Canada said on Monday it has asked the federal government to appoint a conciliator as "little progress" has been made in month-long labor talks.

Talks between the Canadian Auto Workers union and Canada's biggest airline have, however, "not broken down" and will continue, union spokesman Darryl Bink said.

The federal labor minister will appoint a conciliation officer, who will lead a conciliation process for up to 60 days, followed by 20 days of mediation, the CAW said in a statement.

Air Canada could not immediately be reached for comment.

The agents' contract expired on Feb. 28, the first of five Air Canada labor agreements, including those of pilots, mechanics and flight attendants, that expire by April 1. The market is closely watching negotiations as any strikes could derail fragile recovery at the airline.

Industry analysts have said they expect that unions, emboldened by Air Canada's stronger financial position, will push aggressively for better wages and benefits after they accepted status quo contracts 21 months ago to keep the carrier out of bankruptcy protection.

Air Canada cuts routes on fuel price spike

TORONTO, March 17 (Reuters) - Air Canada , the nation's largest carrier, said late on Wednesday it is suspending unprofitable routes and cutting the frequency of others as it wrestles with high fuel prices.

The company, which earlier this month reported a lower load factor for February, said that effective May 1 it would suspend its Ottawa-Thunder Bay, Ottawa-Washington Dulles, Montreal-Washington Dulles, Calgary-Chicago, Calgary-San Francisco and Calgary-London, Ontario routes.

It said the routes were no longer profitable in the current high fuel price environment.

The airline also reduced its forecast for system capacity growth from the previous target of between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent over 2010.

"In response to higher fuel prices, Air Canada now expects 2011 system wide capacity growth of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent versus 2010," the airline said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The company said it would continue to adjust fares and fuel surcharges in response to market conditions and make adjustments to capacity as required.

($1=$0.98 Canadian)

Air Canada, pilots reach tentative agreement

CALGARY, Alberta, March 18 (Reuters) - Air Canada , agreed to a tentative labor contract with its pilots on Friday, the first such deal the country's largest airline has reached this year as it engages in contract talks with unions representing 22,000 employees altogether.

Terms of the agreement weren't released.

The deal between the airline and the Air Canada Pilots Association must be approved by the association's governing council, which will decide if it should be put to Air Canada's more than 3,000 unionized pilots for a ratification vote.

The talks with the pilots were the first in a round of five contract negotiations between Air Canada and its employees, including sales agents, mechanics, dispatchers and flight attendants. The market is closely watching negotiations as any strikes could disrupt the airline's fragile recovery.

Industry analysts have said they expect that the unions, emboldened by Air Canada's stronger financial position, will push aggressively for better wages and benefits after they accepted status quo contracts 21 months ago to keep the carrier out of bankruptcy protection.

Air Canada's class B shares rose 11 Canadian cents to C$2.71 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

($1=$0.98 Canadian)

Canadian Airline Profits Seen Losing Altitude In 2011: Report
22 March 2011

TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Canada's airline industry is unlikely to sustain last year's record profit levels as labor, fuel and investment costs rise steeply, the Conference Board of Canada said.

When the recession ended, revenues recovered faster than costs, bolstering pretax profits to a record C$1.24 billion (US$1.26 billion) last year, it said in its Winter 2011 report, released Monday. In 2011, it expects pretax profits to fall 37% to C$785 million and remain in the C$700 million to C$800 million range for the next three years as costs rise and revenues moderate.

"Cost-control measures implemented during the recession helped airline profits take off when sales started improving in 2010," said Maxim Armstrong, an economist at the Ottawa-based Conference Board. "With costs expected to catch up with revenues, these profit levels won't be sustainable. Still, profits will remain high by historical standards."

It forecasts the industry's total costs to grow by an average of 6.5% a year between 2011 and 2014, driven primarily by material costs as airlines push ahead with investment that they delayed during the recession.

With fuel accounting for more than one-quarter of airlines' operating costs, oil prices will push material prices higher even as airlines progressively improve the fuel efficiency of their fleets, the Conference Board said.

Throughout the recession, the airlines slashed their workforces and scaled back wages. In 2010, labor costs fell by 17.5% compared to 2009.

Labor costs are expected to pick up in 2011, as the industry rehired massively in late 2010 to meet recovering demand for air travel.

According to the Conference Board, the number of passengers at Canada's airports rose to 105 million last year, slightly above the pre-recession level, mostly from international flights, which garner higher prices. The number of domestic passengers rose by just 1.6% and remains below pre-recession levels, it said.

Revenues are expected to rise 5.9% in 2011 and 6.3% a year on average through 2015, driven in part by baby boomers entering their prime travel years and a resumption in healthy income growth, which will allow more people to fly, the Conference Board forecasts.

"Increasing air travel from overseas sources, particularly Asia, will also be a key support for the industry," it said.

Though airlines cut fares by an average of 7.5% during the financial crisis and recession, by the fourth quarter of last year, airfares had risen 3% from their lows.

Prices are expected to rise about 1.8% on average through 2015, just below the expected 2.1% pace of inflation, the report said.

Canada's strong dollar has mixed effects for the air transportation industry.

The high exchange rate makes Canadian destinations relatively more expensive for visitors from the U.S., which is by far the biggest source of foreign visitors. It's "a key deterrent" to international tourism demand, the report said.

But it also makes travelling more affordable for Canadians, increasing demand for overseas travel.

The high loonie also helps mitigate U.S.-dollar costs, such as oil and aircraft.

The Canadian dollar, high oil prices, and intense competition will limit the Canadian airline industry's ability to increase prices, especially for foreign customers.

"The industry will have to wait several years before prices surpass their pre-recession peaks," it said.

IN for a dogfight
Veteran air exec leading Air Canada's new Express airline in fight with Porter
26 March 2011
National Post

After 30 years in the Canadian aviation industry, Russell Payson, is preparing for battle once again as Air Canada's hired gun in its fight against Porter Airlines Inc.

Mr. Payson's Sky Regional Airlines Inc. surprised the industry last October by winning a high-profile contract to operate the new "Air Canada Express" service from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport starting May 1.

Most industry observers at the time expected the contract to go to Air Canada's long-time regional affiliate, Jazz Air Income Fund, now known as Chorus Aviation Inc.

But knowing the admirable reputation Mr. Payson has earned for himself over the past three decades in the Canadian aviation industry makes the win a little less surprising.

It has been more than four years since Mr. Payson sold his interest in Skyservice Airlines, and he said in an interview this week he is champing at the bit for another opportunity to build an airline from scratch, and to get Sky Regional airborne this spring.

Air Canada's new service from the Island airport was originally slated to launch in February. But a hold-up negotiating terminal space pushed it out to May. In the interim, Mr. Payson said he has been training staff and putting the finishing touches on the service he and Air Canada will offer, putting an end to Porter Airlines' five year monopoly there.

"All of our staff is really up for this because it has become a personal pride issue for us," Mr. Payson said. "Everybody is pretty hyped up on this."

Mr. Payson's history in Canadian aviation dates back to the launch of his air ambulance and executive jet business in 1986 under the Skyservice brand. In addition to maintaining a fleet of 60 business aircraft for well-heeled individuals and corporations, he now overseas a successful maintenance business for regional and business jets and turboprop aircraft.

He was also behind the launch of Skyservice Airlines in 1994,whichquicklybecameone of the largest charter airlines in the country, and garnered him reputation for running a tight ship. He managed to negotiate a graceful exit from Skyservice Airlines in 2007 when it was purchased by Vancouver-based Gibralt Capital Corp.

The charter airline then fell into bankruptcy last year well after his departure.

But, like most in the industry itself, Mr. Payson's path has not been without a few mishaps along the way, noted Rick Erickson, an aviation consultant who heads Calgary-based RP Erickson & Associates. The failed launch in 2001 of Roots Air, a luxury airline that lasted just 39 days before it folded, figures high on the list, he said.

That doesn't detract from the fact that Mr. Payson is a heavy hitter in the aviation sector with a great deal of respect from his peers. "He had some hiccups, Roots Air being at the top of the list. But there were some other players who had egg on their face over that too," Mr. Erickson said. "In the meantime, he has run a steadyas-it goes business, and, obviously, Air Canada has a great deal of confidence in him, too."

Prior to the launch of Sky Regional, Mr. Payson had been focusing his attention on running his air ambulance business and Skyservice Business Aviation, which has bases in Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal, where Sky Regional will also co-locate.

He credits Skyservice maintenance facilities in Montreal, and his track record for maintaining Bombardier Q400s (which Air Canada will use on the Island) dating back to the aircraft's launch, for giving him a leg up in the competition to win the Toronto Island contract. "I would say in any airline operations, maintenance is the toughest component," he said.

Sky Regional had considered basing itself and its maintenance facilities on Toronto Island alongside Porter, but found the airport there lacking in the necessary space.

"Most of the maintenance will be done in Montreal, and the Island will basically be a turnaround station," he said.

As the most important market for the coveted Canadian business traveller, the so-called Eastern Triangle between Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, is a priority for all three of the country's largest airlines.

Porter Airlines has raised expectations by offering its customers free services like beer, wine and snacks on its flights, refreshments and wireless Internet in its complimentary lounge, and a shuttle service from the nearby Fairmont Royal York to the airport.

WestJet Airlines Ltd., which operates only from Pearson International, has also been trying to court corporate travellers in the corridor and will implement a series of business-friendly measures in May, from free beer and wine on its flights to allowing passengers to change their flights without penalty for same-day travel.

Air Canada will match all of these amenities, including sharing Porter's shuttle service and lounge access at the Island. But it will be raising the bar, so to speak.

"We're offering a full bar service [on our flights], which is over and above what our competitors are doing," said Ben Smith, Air Canada chief commercial officer.

The airline intends to leverage its more robust frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, and its strong corporate programs for the new service, Mr. Smith said. But will also be able to leverage its vast network of flights in Montreal to enable its customers to transfer to and from other destinations, both domestically and abroad.

"We will have an equivalent ground product on the Island, and a superior product in Montreal."

Mr. Smith said he would like to see Air Canada eventually increase its presence on the Island, including flying to Ottawa -and, through its codeshare partner United Airlines, New York.

The most important component in making Air Canada's new service on the Island a success will be to have an experienced operator on board.

"Russ Payson, he's a class act," Mr. Smith said. "He's a legend in the Canadian aviation industry. We've known him for well over a decade, but we just haven't been able to find the right deal to work with him on until now."

Mr. Payson said he expected flying a scheduled service between Montreal and Toronto on behalf of Air Canada would be a departure from the work he did running a charter airline. But he said he was excited by the challenge. He also said he has been impressed with the management team at Air Canada.

Admittedly, the Air Canada Express service between Billy Bishop and Montreal will be somewhat small in scale for the time being. It will consist of only 15 flights a day using five leased aircraft that were picked up during the bankruptcy proceedings of Frontier Airlines, and were operated by its subsidiary Lynx Aviation.

On average, the planes are only two years old and have been sitting outside of Skyservice's headquarters at Pearson for months painted with the Air Canada Express logo awaiting the launch of the new service.

But Mr. Payson said he would be ready to expand the fleet whenever Air Canada is, and he would even consider bidding for any of additional flying contracts at Air Canada if the opportunity arose. In the meantime, however, he says he is singularly focused on developing the best product he can at the Island.

"One of the things I have learned is, to grow a proper, quality airline, you want to grow at a reasonably sustainable speed," he said. "Our focus right now is to fulfill the requirements of this project successfully, and what we want to come out with is with an airline that is top-notch."

American Airlines and WestJet begin selling each other's flights under code-sharing agreement
30 March 2011

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - American Airlines and Canada's WestJet Airlines have begun selling seats on each other's flights across the U.S.-Canada border.

Under the so-called code-sharing agreement that took effect Tuesday, American put its "AA" code on some connecting flights operated by WestJet, making them appear to be American flights.

The deal will eventually let AMR Corp.'s American sell seats on WestJet flights to nearly 20 Canadian cities not served by American, starting with flights from Montreal to Winnipeg and Toronto to Edmonton.

WestJet will put its "WS" code on American flights from Toronto to Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles and plans to add other U.S. cities.

Such arrangements are common in the airline industry. They let airlines offer their customers a greater selection of flights without adding planes or employees. For travelers, it's as if their entire itinerary is on one airline instead of two, making connections easier.

Members of frequent-flier programs at American and WestJet will earn miles or rewards on code-sharing flights operated by the other airline, the companies said.

Air Canada board backs plan for shareholder rights
The Canadian Press
1 April 2011

MONTREAL -- Air Canada says its board has adopted a shareholder rights plan agreement to ensure the fair treatment of all stockholders in the case of a takeover bid.

The country's largest airline said the plan isn't in response to any proposal or intention to acquire control of the carrier, nor is it aware of any such effort.

The plan comes into effect immediately but must be ratified by shareholders at Air Canada's next annual meeting on May 5. It will expire after the annual meeting in 2014, unless terminated early.

The airline said the plan has been designed to give the board and shareholders more time to consider any takeover bid and to give the board more time to possibly pursue more lucrative alternatives.

Under the plan, one right will be issued to each Class A and Class B share. The rights would become exercisable only when a person or group acquires or announces its intention to buy 20 per cent or more of the outstanding shares in each class without approval of the board.

According to Thomson Reuters, the top 31 owners of Air Canada control 38 per cent of the airline's shares. ACE Aviation Holdings is the largest shareholder with 31 million shares or 11 per cent.

AC & TG to Thailand - Trip Report

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/187770/

WestJet planes fuller in March despite fare hikes
5 April 2011

VANCOUVER, April 5 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd flew fuller planes in March even as it increased ticket prices in the face of a recent surge in oil prices, Canada's second biggest carrier said on Tuesday.

WestJet said its traffic levels, measured in revenue passenger miles, rose 13.3 percent last month. At the same time, the airline increased its capacity, measured in available seat miles, by 12.1 percent.

Taken together, that boosted WestJet's load factor by 1 point to 84.8 percent in March.

"Thus far, we are pleased with the strength of consumer demand and the market's ability to absorb fare increases as we navigate through a period of elevated fuel costs," WestJet President and Chief Executive Gregg Saretsky said.

Oil prices have soared to near 2-1/2 year peaks on worries about supply disruptions because of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Jet fuel is generally an airline's biggest cost and has recently led carriers to raise fares.

Porter Airlines, Canada's third largest scheduled carrier, said its load factor dipped 0.6 points to 49.6 percent in March as passenger numbers did not quite keep pace with capacity increases.

Porter's capacity expanded 22.5 percent last month to 97.6 million available seat miles, while traffic increased 21 percent to 48.4 million revenue passenger miles.

"First-quarter numbers have improved and set a good foundation for further growth as peak seasons approach," Robert Deluce, Porter's president and CEO said.

"Combined with improved yield, we're pleased with the overall 2011 trend, based on current market conditions," he said in a statement.

Union lashes out at Air Canada CEO's salary

VANCOUVER, April 11 (Reuters) - Salary and benefits of C$4.6 million ($4.8 million) paid to Air Canada's

chief executive last year were a "disgrace" after years of belt-tightening in the industry, one of the unions, currently in labor talks with the airline, said on Monday.

"The Air Canada bargaining committee and our union will be demanding equal improvements and solid gains from Air Canada," Ken Lewenza, national president of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) said.

Air Canada's shares are down by more than a third this year, partly on worries about strikes at Canada's biggest carrier as it negotiates new labor contracts with all its unions.

The CAW represents 3,800 customer service and sales agents at the carrier. The federal government recently appointed a conciliator to help talks along after little progress was made.

Air Canada's management proxy circular, released last Friday, disclosed that CEO Calin Rovinescu received total compensation of nearly C$4.6 million in 2010, up 75 percent on the C$2.6 million he received the year before.

Air Canada said the compensation "reflects the terms of Mr. Rovinescu's original employment contract of April 2009 when he was recruited to return to Air Canada" and that "these arrangements are not new". It declined to comment further.

The contract also includes a retention payment of C$5 million for Rovinescu if he stays until March 31, 2012.

($1=$0.96 Canadian)

Any rumor about the Vancouver - São Paulo service or Toronto - Rio de Janeiro ? I've read that it was being considering by AC.

Any rumor about the Vancouver - São Paulo service or Toronto - Rio de Janeiro ? I've read that it was being considering by AC.
I don't see YVR-GRU happening in the near future. YYZ-GIG is a strong possibility but more likely with TAM with AC codesharing.

Air Canada offering extra hours for pilots in work deal
14 April 2011
The Globe and Mail

Air Canada is offering extra working hours for pilots to fly for its fledgling discount airline division, an incentive that many union members say doesn't go far enough to overcome lower base wages.

About 500 pilots showed up Wednesday at a Toronto hotel to hear union officials explain details of a tentative labour pact, including plans by Air Canada to launch a low-cost leisure carrier.

Besides complaining about the proposal for reduced base wages at the new unit, pilots interviewed during and after the six-hour meeting warned that management's intention to place new hires on less-attractive defined contribution pension plans will create a two-tier system, with existing defined benefit plans being superior.

The Air Canada Pilots Association's master executive council has authorized a 13-day ratification vote to start Friday for the tentative agreement reached last month. More than 3,000 pilots are eligible to vote.

While management is seeking flexibility in work rules, union members who are opposed to the tentative agreement say pilots at the discount division, including new hires, will suffer financially.

A group of pilots declared it had gathered about 1,000 supporters on a website petitioning to recall council chairman Bruce White.

Air Canada has experimented with low-cost fleets in the past, notably Zip Air Inc., which was launched in 2002, primarily as a rival to Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. But Air Canada shut it down in 2004, just two years after startup.

Former Zip president Stephen Smith said in an interview that Air Canada will need concessions from pilots and flight attendants to make the discount concept viable to compete against tour operators such as Transat A.T. Inc. and Sunwing Travel Group.

“For Air Canada to grow into leisure markets, they are going to need a lower cost structure,” Mr. Smith said. “In the tentative contract, pilots will have to look at the total picture. They can't just look at one part.”

Canaccord Genuity analyst David Tyerman said the pension proposals could result in further reductions to the carrier's $2.1-billion pension solvency deficit.

ACPA's pact “is probably better than the fears of investors and some analysts, with positive implications for Air Canada's share price,” he wrote. Separately, Mr. Tyerman said Air Canada will benefit if it's able to nab an extra 16 daily landing slots being relinquished at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, where it will resume flights May 1.

***

PACT HIGHLIGHTS

Low-cost leisure airline

Air Canada will create a lower-wage pilot classification, with “competitive pay rates and working conditions,” but with the prospect of extra hours.

Pensions

New hires will join a defined contribution pension plan.

Early retirement

Raise early retirement qualification by five years to 30 years of service.

Canada tour operators dip on Air Canada report

VANCOUVER, April 12 (Reuters) - Shares of Canadian tour operators fell on Tuesday following a report that Air Canada Inc plans to launch a discount service to fly to popular holiday destinations.

The Globe and Mail said Air Canada, the country's biggest carrier, is drawing up a business plan to launch a budget arm to compete with Transat AT Inc and other carriers on routes to Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and other vacation spots.

An Air Canada spokeswoman declined to comment on the newspaper report, which gave its source as a letter attached to a recent tentative labor agreement between the airline and its pilots' association.

Shares in Transat, Canada's biggest tour operator, fell as much as 4.7 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange to C$11.33. Shares in WestJet Airlines Ltd , which is Air Canada's biggest competitor and also runs a vacations business, slipped 1 percent to C$14.10.

Air Canada's stock was 3 percent higher at C$2.35 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"If Air Canada were to go ahead with a more discount leisure-focused airline, the investment community might be having some concerns about that and its impact on Transat," National Bank Financial airline analyst Cameron Doerksen said.

"Transat already effectively competes against Air Canada so it's not that huge a change. It is hard to say, knowing virtually none of the details of Air Canada's plan and if it's going to go ahead," he said.

The newspaper report did not give any timetable for the budget carrier.

It said Air Canada's low-cost carrier (LCC) plan is to start with four Boeing 767s and six Airbus A319s, with the potential to increase that fleet to 50 aircraft.

"The LCC is not intended to replace mainline routes the company considers financially viable," the Globe quoted the letter as saying.

Air Canada flies to more than 170 destinations on five continents, according to its website.

($1=$0.96 Canadian)

Transat A.T. Inc. - Results for first quarter 2011- A challenging start to winter, but no shortage of travellers
Excerpt

MONTREAL, March 10 /CNW Telbec/ - Transat A.T. Inc., one of the largest integrated tourism companies in the world and Canada's holiday travel leader, posted revenues of $810.2 million for the quarter ended January 31, 2011, compared with $792.6 million in 2010, an increase of $17.6 million, or 2.0%. The Corporation recorded an operating loss(1 )of $14.6 million, compared with $12.4 million in 2010, and a net loss of $13.5 million ($0.36 per share on a diluted basis), compared with $13.9 million ($0.37 per share on a diluted basis) in 2010. Before non-cash and non-operating items, Transat reported adjusted after-tax loss(3) of $19.4 million ($0.51 per share on a diluted basis), compared with $18.2 million ($0.48 per share on a diluted basis) in 2010.

"It was a difficult quarter, mainly because of ongoing intense competition in the sun destinations market, which consumers are taking advantage of," said President and Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Eustache.

First quarter highlights

The Corporation's first-quarter revenues increased by $17.6 million. This increase is mainly attributable to more travellers to sun destinations. The increase in revenues was offset in part by the strength of the Canadian dollar against the euro and pound sterling, which caused a decrease in the revenues of foreign business units when expressed in Canadian dollars. For the quarter, Transat recorded a 2.9% revenue increase in North America, and a 0.9% decrease in Europe.

The Corporation recorded an operating loss of $14.6 million, compared with $12.4 million in 2010, as increased supply by tour operators on sun destinations translated into downward pressure on selling prices, especially when nearing departure dates. The decrease in margin is also attributable to higher fuel and hotel costs, offset in part by the strength of the Canadian dollar and better aircraft utilization.

Revenues of North American business units, which are generated by sales in Canada and abroad, increased by $18.8 million (2.9%) compared with the same period in 2010. The increase is attributable to a 1.8% increase in the number of travellers. North American business units recorded an operating loss of 0.9%, compared with 0.6% in 2010. The increase is attributable mainly to the combination of higher capacity and lower selling prices for sun packages.

Revenues of European business units, which are generated by sales made in Europe and in Canada, increased in local currencies but decreased by $1.2 million (0.9%) over 2010. The favourable impact from higher average selling prices was offset by the weaker euro and pound sterling, as well as, to a lesser extent, by the unrest in North Africa. In the United Kingdom, Canadian Affair managed to increase both traveller numbers and average selling prices (including in Canadian dollars). European operations generated an operating loss of $8.6 million (6.4%) for the quarter, compared with $8.5 million (6.2%) in 2010.

Financial position

The Corporation's free cash totalled $199.0 million as at January 31, 2011, compared with $147.7 million as at January 31, 2010. Total balance sheet debt decreased by $92.5 million during the 12-month period, to $13.8 million. The net cash(4) position improved by $143.7 million, from a net cash position of $41.5 million as at January 31, 2010 to $185.2 million as at January 31, 2011. Most of the improvement over the past year is due to the operating profit and better working capital management.

Off-balance-sheet agreements stood at $606.0 million as at January 31, 2011, compared with $370.0 million as at January 31, 2010, reflecting new leases for additional Airbus A330s to be introduced in Air Transat's fleet.

Cash flows from operating activities increased by $68.8 million, from cash used by operations of $21.3 million in 2010, to cash flows generated by operations of $47.6 million in 2011. The increase stems mainly from improved working capital management during the winter.

Outlook

The Canadian sun destinations market accounts for a very significant portion of Transat's business in the winter. For the second quarter 2011, the Corporation's capacity is approximately 9% higher than the actual capacity offered last year; bookings and load factors are superior to last year at the same date; and selling prices are similar.

In France, bookings are slightly higher than last year, after having lost momentum following the events in North Africa.

Transat expects the results of the second quarter to be similar to last year, as the favourable impact stemming from a strong Canadian dollar will be offset by higher aircraft fuel costs.

On the summer transatlantic market, capacity and bookings are 10% higher than last year; load factors and selling prices are similar.

There is currently significant uncertainty surrounding oil prices and the upward pressure that this will have on the Corporation's costs for the summer season. Transat has introduced additional fuel surcharges, and continues to use hedging instruments, in order to manage this risk.


To view the full news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/March2011/10/c9627.html

Here's my (late) trip report on Air Canada trip to Hong Kong. It's my first ever flight on Ari Canada as I would normally take OneWorld carriers/Alaska Airlines for the majority of my trips. But I've moved over to Star Alliance now.

Overall, I thought the flight was okay. The Flight Attendants were alright, but were a bit egotistic. I'll admit, I do have quite a high standard in customer service, especially having worked in the aviation industry. This flight was alright, but my trip on the way back was quite a bit better (more on that later).

Here's the first segment:

Air Canada Trip Report: YVR-HKG Vancouver-Hong Kong

http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k604/deasine/P1140848.jpg
Flight: Air Canada AC007, YVR-HKG Vancouver-Hong Kong
Date: March 10 2011 1200 (Delayed to 1220)
Duration: 13H 05M
Seat: 42B

...


View trip details on aTravel Journal (http://atraveljournal.tumblr.com/post/4684859613/air-canada-trip-report-yvr-hkg-vancouver-hong-kong)

Here's my (late) trip report on Air Canada trip to Hong Kong. It's my first ever flight on Ari Canada as I would normally take OneWorld carriers/Alaska Airlines for the majority of my trips. But I've moved over to Star Alliance now.

Overall, I thought the flight was okay. The Flight Attendants were alright, but were a bit egotistic. I'll admit, I do have quite a high standard in customer service, especially having worked in the aviation industry. This flight was alright, but my trip on the way back was quite a bit better (more on that later).

Here's the first segment:



View trip details on aTravel Journal (http://atraveljournal.tumblr.com/post/4684859613/air-canada-trip-report-yvr-hkg-vancouver-hong-kong)

Nice report. :)
I was on that exact same flight 12 rows behind you and found the crew to be pretty good.
See my report here: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/187770/

^ What are the chances? :)

Nice report. :)
I was on that exact same flight 12 rows behind you and found the crew to be pretty good.
See my report here: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/187770/

I did read it actually but didn't notice we were on the same flight! What are the chances!

One thing I didn't like was the fact that they changed their AC07 flight times back to noon time instead of the red-eye. I would think the red-eye works better coming from YYZ wouldn't it?

Note, I didn't find the FAs to be bad... just not great, but again, I'm quite particular with customer service having worked in the aviation industry (and used to flying on Asian airlines). I'll admit, the flight attendant base in Vancouver has improved quite a bit, but still has a lot more for improvement (especially comparing it with my experiences on SQ). At least AC's finally waking up to the fact that they need to hire Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese for their Asian routes (I've actually heard many good stories about the NRT bound routes from YVR and YYZ so I can't wait to try that out). It's YVR's ground crew that needs major overhaul. It's one thing to provide bad service, it's another thing to not provide any service at all. Really, it unnecessarily ruins the image of the airline.

^^ Not many airlines can compete with SQ's service!
When you compare AC with similar carriers like LH, BA, AF, KL, UA, AA, DL etc. they are much better.

I laughed when the old guy grabbed his jacket and was wandering around the cabin and the F/A cracked "Are you leaving sir?" :)

^ Ironically, SQ does not have Cantonese language service on their HKG-SIN service.

^^ Not many airlines can compete with SQ's service!
When you compare AC with similar carriers like LH, BA, AF, KL, UA, AA, DL etc. they are much better.

That I agree with. And its really a sad reality if you think about it. Compared to other North American legacy (keyword: legacy, so not porter), AC really tops the list (that or CO). Now that UA and CO are in the process of service integration, one will wonder whether UAs service standard remain the same, or go to CO levels, or be an inconsistent mix of both.

That I agree with. And its really a sad reality if you think about it. Compared to other North American legacy (keyword: legacy, so not porter), AC really tops the list (that or CO). Now that UA and CO are in the process of service integration, one will wonder whether UAs service standard remain the same, or go to CO levels, or be an inconsistent mix of both.

CO is reducing their service levels to match UA (e.g. no more free peanuts).
It will be interesting to see if the new United will keep F or not.

Wanna use your Aeroplan points? It’s gonna cost you more
Toronto Star
April 20, 2011

Aeroplan: There’s good news and there’s bad news.

First the bad news: After years of not having to re-learn how many points it takes to fly to, say Buenos Aires, Aeroplan is raising the stakes. The average is less than 5 per cent (though Buenos Aires, for instance, is going up from 50,000 to 60,000, which is 20 per cent), but still, a bump’s a bump.

“The motivation is really to keep up with the increase in costs of providing flight rewards over the years,” says David Klein, vice president of marketing. He includes such things as fuel costs, which are up exactly 50 per cent from this time last year. Another reason, Klein says, is Air Canada’s points chart was different — lower — than many of its Star Alliance partners, so they wanted to bring things into line.

Klein points out that while how many points you earn for things has changed over the years, the points cost of flights has stayed almost exactly the same since the very beginning, 26 years ago.

So, what’s the good news? This won’t affect most of us at all. Short-haul domestic flights — places like New York and Montreal — and even some longer-haul domestic flights, such as the lowest-fare flights to Vancouver aren’t changing at all. And neither is the Caribbean, Central America or the lowest-fare flights to Europe and Asia.

My trip report of TG & AC from Thailand: BKK-PEK-YYZ

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/188921/

My trip report of TG & AC from Thailand: BKK-PEK-YYZ

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/188921/

Just to note from reading and scrolling the comments and responses from the forum, you do not need a transit visa at PVG either, so as long as you can prove that you can be transferring on a flight within 24 hours (at PEK) or within 48 hours (at PVG, SHA, or between PVG and SHA).

One thing I'm rather confused is why you had to go through a transfer desk at PEK. As between Star Alliance airlines, the TG staff should have been able to check you through to your PEK-YYZ flight. Often times though, the reservations and ticketing system doesn't display the second segment of the flight, but if you do let the agent know that you will be transferring immediately onto another Star Alliance flight, they should have offered you to check you through.

Just to note from reading and scrolling the comments and responses from the forum, you do not need a transit visa at PVG either, so as long as you can prove that you can be transferring on a flight within 24 hours (at PEK) or within 48 hours (at PVG, SHA, or between PVG and SHA).

One thing I'm rather confused is why you had to go through a transfer desk at PEK. As between Star Alliance airlines, the TG staff should have been able to check you through to your PEK-YYZ flight. Often times though, the reservations and ticketing system doesn't display the second segment of the flight, but if you do let the agent know that you will be transferring immediately onto another Star Alliance flight, they should have offered you to check you through.

Thanks I wasn't sure about PVG.
Actually none of the transit passengers from our flight we given onward boarding passes. Maybe it's just a TG thing?

Air Canada's labour deal with pilots comes to a head
16 May 2011
The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/air-canadas-labour-deal-with-pilots-comes-to-a-head/article2023625/

Air Canada pilots will finish voting this week on a tentative labour pact that calls for pension reforms and the launch of a discount leisure airline.

A large group of pilots opposes the tentative agreement, even though the union's negotiating committee is recommending they support it.

Union negotiators are backing a contentious proposal to place new hires on defined-contribution pension plans, which don't provide a guaranteed level of payout upon retirement. To qualify for early retirement, those in the existing defined-benefit pension plans would face having to work an extra five years to reach 30 years of service.

“Our pension plans are in trouble,” the negotiators said in a newsletter to more than 3,000 members of the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA). The Montreal-based carrier has a $2.1-billion pension solvency deficit, of which about $550-million is attributable to pilots' plans.

“The creation of a defined-contribution plan will help control volatility over the long term,” according to one in a series of 10 labour newsletters sent to pilots this month.

Voting on ACPA's tentative deal began May 9 and ends this Thursday. Hundreds of pilots signed an online petition last month to express their opposition to the accord, leading to the May 1 ouster of Captain Bruce White as chairman of ACPA's master executive council. Three other union officials also stepped down after recall votes forced them out last week.

But the negotiating committee remains steadfast in its support for the labour pact. “Pay increases, securing our pensions, putting common sense into our scheduling rules and protecting our work were the bedrock of our proposals and remain the foundation of this tentative agreement,” negotiators wrote.

The negotiating committee also staunchly backs management's proposal to launch a low-cost carrier next winter.

“It helps the Air Canada pilots by protecting our jobs, and providing growth and opportunity that will not otherwise exist. It secures this flying ‘in house,' rather than leave open the possibility that Air Canada will attempt to manoeuvre around our collective agreement,” the negotiators said.

The labour uncertainty is expected to linger this spring, with pressure on both sides of the bargaining table as consumers make vacation plans for the summer. While management and union leaders say they are well aware of the high stakes, RBC Dominion Securities Inc. analyst Walter Spracklin cautions that he will be watching for signs in the weeks ahead of a potential shift in reservations to WestJet Airlines Ltd. and away from Air Canada.

Collective agreements expired on March 31 for ACPA, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (flight attendants) and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (mechanics and baggage handlers).

The Canadian Auto Workers union's collective agreement lapsed on Feb. 28. The CAW, which represents customer service agents and call centre staff, is conducting a strike vote that started last Friday and will end Thursday.

CAW negotiators said in a statement that they have “a detailed strike preparedness plan in the event of a dispute.”

Question

Is AC operatin 5 weekly or daily at EZE? And B767 or B777? Thks

Air Canada pilots reject tentative labor agreement

TORONTO, May 19 (Reuters) - Pilots at Air Canada Inc rejected a tentative labor agreement on Thursday, sending the union and the airline back to bargaining.

In the meantime, both parties said it would be business as usual for Canada's No. 1 carrier.

The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA), which represents 3,000 pilots at the airline, said that 67 percent of its members that voted cast ballots against the tentative deal.

"The pilots have spoken," Captain Paul Strachan, president of the ACPA, said in a statement. "We must return to the bargaining table to address their concerns."

He said the union would consult its members over those concerns before going back to the table. In the interim, he said the pilots would operate as usual under their existing contract, which expired on March 31.

The union said 98 percent of eligible pilots took part in the vote.

It did not provide specific details on the pact, which had been delayed because some pilots found it "controversial."

An analyst at National Bank Financial said the deal proposed a 12 percent wage hike over four years and would have put new hires in a defined contribution pension plan, versus the current defined benefit plan.

It also proposed the creation of a new low-cost leisure subsidiary, "crewed by lower cost employees."

Shares of Air Canada were down 0.83 percent at C$2.39 in light trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday afternoon.

Question

Is AC operatin 5 weekly or daily at EZE? And B767 or B777? Thks

You can find the answer on AC's timetable : http://www.actimetable.com/AC.pdf

5 weekly from YYZ using 763.

Air Canada unions talk pension options; CUPE open to possible new low-cost carrier
27 May 2011
National Post

Air Canada unions have been discussing alternatives to the company's proposal to move new hires into a different pension scheme.

At the same time, the head of Air Canada's flight attendants union said Thursday he is open to the possibility of a proposed low-cost carrier at the airline, provided management can find a model that works for union members.

Jeff Taylor, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, said leaders of the airline's four largest unions have brought in their experts to come up with alternative pension proposals that would help alleviate the pressure of the airline's $2.1-billion solvency deficit with minimal impact to employees.

He said, at this point, he is "totally against" management's proposal to move new hires into a defined-contribution pension plan rather than the existing defined-benefit plan.

"We're working collectively within the four union groups to come up with some alternative," he said.

He would not elaborate on what was being considered, but said the unions are not interested in a twotier scheme.

Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor, who delivered a speech at CUPE Ontario's annual convention in Toronto Thursday, said he had not ruled out supporting a low-cost carrier (LCC) at the airline.

Management has said the LCC is key to its growth strategy until it starts to receive its new Boeing 787s in late 2013. The LCC would allow Air Canada to add leisure markets not now viable with its existing cost structure.

Singapore Airlines announced Thursday it would be launching a low-cost subsidiary airline to take on Qantas Airways Ltd.'s budget airline, Jetstar.

But the plan has come up against stiff opposition from Air Canada's pilots, who rejected their own tentative agreement last week, in part because of the plans for paying LCC employees less and giving them different work rules.

Mr. Taylor said CUPE, which represents 6,800 flight attendants at the airline, would not consider it in its present form.

"They did present us with a package, but that's not what we're going to be considering," he said. "If we do consider that, we'll probably be tweaking it and working within the confines of our own collective agreement."

Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada's chief executive, has said that for the LCC to be viable, it would have to have lower wages and different work rules for employees.

"It's sort of on hold right now," Mr. Taylor said. "But the company has to be viable at the end of the day, or else we don't have jobs."

Mr. Taylor said CUPE is not interested in sacrifices for new hires. "We're going to protect all the new hires. It's the right thing to do," he said.

CUPE returned to the bargaining table Thursday afternoon with Air Canada's management.

Air Transat has a new livery :'(.. saw it on airliners.net .... its totally different and really bland.. Its something we all got to get used to. :ohno:

Forum link:
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5143667/

Before:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EMT8w3WSoDU/Tag6s29hlQI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/cVU3nYsG7LQ/s1600/airtransat.jpg

After:
http://www.wings900.com/vb/attachments/forum9/23539d1305565070-c-gkts.jpg

Another airline joins the parade of airlines with a bland livery. Why does it seem airlines are painting their planes white with an ugly looking tail job?

Not sure how this fell of my radar, but:

Changes to the minimum mile accumulation
Effective for travel as of August 1, 2011, the minimum number of Aeroplan Miles accumulated based on distance flown on Air Canada and Star Alliance member airline flights is changing from 500 to 250 miles:

For distance flown up to 249 miles, Aeroplan members will earn 250 Aeroplan Miles.
For distance flown of 250 miles and more, Aeroplan members will earn miles according to the actual miles flown
Since the mile accumulation varies with the fare option purchased, the minimum number of 250 miles will also vary accordingly:

Tango: 25% of 250 miles = 63 miles
Tango Plus: 100% of 250 miles = 250 miles
Latitude: 100% of 250 miles = 250 miles
Executive Class (lowest): 125% of 250 miles = 313 miles
Executive Class (flexible): 150% of 250 miles = 375 miles
This new policy will not impact Air Canada Super Elite, Elite and Prestige members, nor customers travelling on Rapidair flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Montreal or Ottawa, or between Toronto City Airport and Montreal as they’ll continue to earn a minimum number of 500 Aeroplan Miles.

See examples:

Example 1: Flights between Vancouver and Victoria
Here's how many Aeroplan Miles you will earn for the distance flown on an Air Canada one-way flight between Vancouver and Victoria with the purchase of a Tango Plus fare. The distance travelled between Vancouver and Victoria represents 38 miles.

For travel before August 1, 2011:

All members = 500 Aeroplan Miles
For travel as of August 1, 2011:

Aeroplan Members = 250 Aeroplan Miles
Air Canada Top Tier Members = 500 Aeroplan Miles
Since the Aeroplan Miles that you accumulate qualify for an Air Canada Top Tier Status, you will also earn the same amount of Air Canada Status Miles.

Example 2: Rapidair flights between Montreal and Toronto Pearson
Here's how many Aeroplan Miles you will earn for the distance flown on an Air Canada one-way flight between Montreal and Toronto Pearson with the purchase of a Tango Plus fare. The distance travelled between Montreal and Toronto Pearson represents 314 miles. For travel before or after August 1, 2011, the minimum mile accumulation will remain unchanged at 500 Aeroplan Miles for all members.

Since the Aeroplan Miles that you accumulate qualify for an Air Canada Top Tier Status, you will also earn the same amount of Air Canada Status Miles.
(Air Canada (http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/110502.html), 2011)

Not so much of a big deal, especially considering that 500 miles are pretty much meaningless. Those who earn status via short haul flights do it through number of flight segments anyway, but still, it's a change for the worse.

Yeah, definitely one of the worse designs I've ever seen. A welcome message on their tails are really meaningless.

awful livery :ohno:

Air Canada and union reach tentative deal

TORONTO - A tentative collective agreement ending a strike by Air Canada front counter staff includes wage increases, but it will be up to an arbitrator to settle a contentious dispute over pension plans for new hires.

Canadian Auto Workers union president Ken Lewenza said the tentative deal includes higher wages and addresses quality of life and other issues raised by workers.

But he said the agreement does not settle the issue of defined benefit pensions - the major stumbling block in the negotiations.

Lewenza said the union agreed to send the pension issue to an arbitrator in order to minimize the strain on the 3,800 workers who were on strike.

"For us to prolong the strike as a result of future hirees would absolutely make no sense at this time but it will give us an opportunity in future years to bargain on behalf of those new hires," Lewenza told a news conference shortly after the union announced that a deal had been reached.

The tentative agreement means customer service agents and other staff who walked off the job Tuesday will return to work Friday.

The main sticking point in the dispute was over pension plans, with Air Canada wanting to put new hires on a defined contribution plan versus a defined benefit pension.

Defined benefit plans provide retirees with a predictable income, but they expose employers to additional costs if their pension funds doesn't have enough money to pay promised benefits.

With defined contribution plans, the company's contribution is limited to a set, negotiated amount and payouts to retirees depend on the performance of the underlying investments. It normally costs the company less money.

"Do I feel good about passing on a risk to new generations of workers that deserve our representation today? The answer is, I'm not happy about that," Lewenza said. "But at the end of the day bargaining is tough and you have to make tough decisions."

Lewenza said there would be "very slight modifications" to the current pension plan, which would become effective in 2013. Further details of the deal will not be released until a ratification vote is held in the coming days.

"We are very pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with the CAW," Duncan Dee, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Air Canada, said in a statement. "The agreement will help ensure the long-term sustainability of Air Canada while maintaining industry-leading compensation and benefits for our employees."

Travellers had seen minor delays but no major disruptions since the strike began.

The tentative four-year settlement came less than an hour after the federal government tabled back-to-work legislation that would have forced the striking employees back on the job next week.

The airline is still facing other labour disputes. Pilots rejected a tentative agreement earlier this year that contained new rules permitting Air Canada to establish of a low-cost carrier.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Union of Public Employees - which represents 6,800 Air Canada flight attendants - has asked for a conciliator to assist in its contract talks.

Mechanics will be back at the bargaining table with Air Canada in July, said Dave Ritchie with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

But his union won't bargain any differently with the airline because Ottawa threatened the CAW with the back-to-work bill and potentially could do the same with them.

"We can't let intimidation come into the bargaining session," said Ritchie.

National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen said Thursday's deal sets a benchmark for Air Canada's other unions to come to an agreement sooner.

"With one agreement now in place ... we believe the tone has been set for better progress towards reaching new contracts with all of the unions," he wrote in a research note.

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said the government intervention gave both sides the final push needed to reach a deal.

"We're very pleased with how it unfolded and I know that putting the legislation on the order paper ... was a tool that was needed in order to focus the parties and narrow the issues," she told reporters.

But Lewenza railed against the government's move to announce back-to-work legislation within 24 hours of the strike, even though Air Canada said there had been no significant decline in business.

The federal opposition argued there was no emergency requiring swift action and the government should have never tabled legislation.

NDP leader Jack Layton said government legislation was biased towards the employer, and Liberal leader Bob Rae accused Ottawa of interfering with the union's ability to defend pensions.

Earlier, Raitt said the country's economy would have been damaged by a prolonged strike. She said major disruptions would likely occur next week if workers did not return.

She denied the government was setting a precedent by intervening in the strike so quickly after it began and so soon after winning a majority election.

"When there's going to be a prolonged work stoppage that is going to effect the Canadian economy, and that's going to impact on Canadians, the government is going to give their intention on how we're going to react," she said.

Raitt said the decision would have been the same even in a minority government.

With files from Julian Beltrame and Pat Hewitt

© Copyright (c) Shaw Media Inc.

(Global TV BC (http://www.globalnational.com/story.html?id=4956449) 2011)

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/536/5364239.html

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Air Canada discontinues Iqaluit flights
CBC News
Posted: Jul 4, 2011 1:35 PM CT

Air Canada says it is discontinuing its service to Iqaluit next month, after offering flights to and from Nunavut's capital city for just over a year.

Officials with the national airline told CBC News they are pulling out of Iqaluit effective Aug. 1 because the route was not profitable enough in face of rising fuel costs and other factors.

"Air Canada will be discontinuing its nonstop daily flights — which ran from Montreal, Ottawa [and] Iqaluit — for commercial reasons, as the route did not meet the profitability targets which were set," Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah said Monday.

Air Canada, under its Jazz banner, launched the Iqaluit route on March 28, 2010, making it the third airline to offer daily flights to and from the territory.

First Air also flies between Iqaluit, Ottawa and Montreal, while Canadian North offers daily flights between Iqaluit and Ottawa. Both airlines also fly to northern communities.

Mah said Air Canada is now contacting customers who had booked flights for after Aug. 1 to reschedule them on Canadian North flights.

Air Canada is working with Canadian North to allow passengers to travel on one ticket between the North and South, Mah said.

Mah said the airline may consider relaunching the Iqaluit route if fuel prices drop and other factors change, but she would not say if competition from First Air and Canadian North was one of the factors that led to the cancellation.

Ottawa couple gets $12K in Air Canada bilingualism lawsuit
Updated: Wed Jul. 13 2011 6:35:50 PM
The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Air Canada must pay $12,000 and apologize to an Ottawa couple after admitting it failed to provide them with services in French, a Federal Court judge ruled Wednesday.

However, the judge decided against imposing punitive damages, saying the carrier has tried to comply with its obligations under the Official Languages Act.

The case arose out of two trips Michel and Lynda Thibodeau made in the first half of 2009 between Ottawa and the United States.

They argued they could not get service in French when they checked in, at the boarding gate and aboard the flight, and that an announcement about a change of baggage carousel was made only in English.

The Ottawa couple each sought $25,000 in compensation.

"The applicants' language rights are clearly very important to them," Madam Justice Marie-Josee Bedard said in her ruling.

"The violation of their rights caused them a moral prejudice, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of their vacation."

Under the Official Languages Act, Air Canada is required to communicate and provide services in both official languages where there is significant demand in the minority language.

Air Canada conceded the Thibodeaus had four legitimate complaints, but argued they did not suffer damages that should be compensated.

The judge disagreed.

"I recognize that it is impossible to be perfect, and despite all efforts, there are always likely to be flaws," Bedard wrote.

"Awarding damages in this case will serve the purpose of emphasizing the importance of the rights at issue, and will have a deterrent effect."

After considering the various factors at play, Bedard set the amount at $6,000 each -- $1,500 for each of the four admitted breaches.

At the same time, she rejected the Thibodeaus request to award $500,000 in exemplary and punitive damages, which they based in part on what they described as arrogance on the part of Air Canada's employees.

Thibodeau expressed disappointment with the amount awarded, saying it's the third time a court has ruled in his favour against Air Canada over the years.

"'For a major company like that to continue violating the rights of francophones year after year, you have to hit them hard," Thibodeau told The Canadian Press.

Bedard found the carrier had acted in good faith and was trying to do better, but agreed the breaches pointed to a systemic problem.

"The breaches in question cannot be characterized as being isolated or out of Air Canada's control," the judge noted.

Bedard ordered the carrier to make "every reasonable effort" to fulfil all its duties under the languages act.

She also said the carrier had to implement a monitoring process to allow it to identify and document occasions where its planes do not have the required bilingual personnel -- a requirement triggered if one in 20 passengers wants services in French.

The francophone advocacy group Imperatif Francais welcomed the ruling.

"We hope that Air Canada will get the message and stop insulting francophones and the French fact in Canada," Imperatif president Jean-Paul Perrault said.

As of March 15, 2010, 47 per cent of Air Canada's flight attendants were bilingual as were about one-quarter of its airport employees in contact with the public, court heard.

Also, 59 per cent of its call-centre employees were bilingual.

In its draft letter of apology to the Thibodeaus which was submitted to the court, Air Canada general manager Chantal Dugas said the carrier was striving to do better.

"I would like to assure you that Air Canada and Jazz take their language responsibilities very seriously and are constantly working to offer their clients service in the official language of their choice," Dugas said.

The Montreal-born Thibodeau, who has lived in Ottawa for the past 15 years, called it "extremely important" for him to be able to live in French.

WestJet, Porter both see rising ‘revenue passenger miles’
The Canadian Press
July 06, 2011

Both WestJet (TSX: WJA) and Porter Airlines have reported increases in revenue passenger miles in June, but WestJet saw a slight contraction in its load factor while Porter enjoyed a significant increase.

WestJet said Wednesday that its load factor — a measure of capacity usage — declined 2.5 points to 75.7 per cent as available seat miles increased 9.2 per cent to 1.7 billion and revenue passenger miles rose 5.8 per cent to almost 1.3 billion.

“Although loads were slightly down for June . . . we are comfortable with the balance achieved between yield, growth and our load factor,” said WestJet president and CEO Gregg Saretsky.

“We are pleased with the advanced bookings for July and August, and the pricing environment continues to be strong,” Saretsky added.

Porter, Canada’s third-largest scheduled carrier which is based at Billy Bishop Airport in downtown Toronto, said its load factor improved 12.4 points to 64.6 per cent.

Passenger numbers — 203,000 last month compared with 136,000 in June 2010 — available seat miles and revenue passenger miles all set records for the second consecutive month, the company said Wednesday.

Porter said revenue passenger miles increased 47.9 per cent to 75.3 million, while available seat miles were up 19.5 per cent at 116.6 million.

“These excellent results include our single busiest passenger day on June 30, prior to the Canada Day and (U.S.) Independence Day long weekends,” said president and CEO Robert Deluce.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/424/4241376.html

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Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/325/3257444.html

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I would love to see Air Canada at BOG with a bigger plane.

It's apparently one of the most successful routes for AC in South America.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/538/5387005.html

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Purdy: Ruling against Air Canada for lack of French is more proof that Canada would be better off without Quebec

BrianPurdy
Photograph by: Courtesy, Brian Purdy
I’m not the only person who thinks Canada would be a better country without Quebec. The recent ruling by a French Canadian Judge in a Federal Court held that a French Canadian civil servant working in Ottawa, should receive $12,000 from Canadian taxpayers because he wasn’t offered a soft drink on an Air Canada flight in French has rubbed the sore yet again.

The ruling was based on the Official Languages Act, introduced by French Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1969 as one of his first priorities after his 1968 election. That Act requires that Canadians are entitled to receive service from the federal government in both English and French. Of course it doesn’t get any use in Quebec, our only unilingual province, where English is discriminated against in favour of the French language.

After the Official Languages Act became law, Trudeau pushed bilingualism, the main result of which has been a large increase in the number of French Canadians employed in the Ottawa civil service. It did nothing to stem the rise of the separatist movement in Quebec, which elected the Parti Quebecois and Rene Levesque in 1976. Neither bilingualism nor the $8 billion the rest of us have been forced to pay into Quebec EVERY YEAR, has prevented this discontented, ungrateful, unpatriotic province, which is disinterested in the rest of the country, from howling its dissatisfaction in any way that might get still more money out of Canadian wallets. Thus this ridiculous award to a French Canadian who claims a right to have his soda pop delivered in French.

To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, the French are not like you and me. They are a very different sort of people, and in the main they don’t care if they don’t play well with other Canadians. They call their legislature in Quebec City a National Assembly, and their premier a Prime Minister. They conduct themselves politically as a separate nation, except of course for all that money they get from the rest of us.

Many Canadians view the Quebec situation emotionally and irrationally. “My Canada includes Quebec”, and all that. Looked at sensibly, it is easily seen that Quebec has become a tail that wags the Canadian dog. Federal politicians need Quebec votes to win elections and know that shovelling money to the Quebecois is how to get the votes. It is not, however, the way to earn patriotism, honest politicians, or a sharing attitude from Quebec.

Canada needs a national dream and national ideals. Things like E Pluribus Unum, “from many, one” as the Americans have. We can’t have such a national ideal in Canada, because of course Quebecers have no intention of becoming one with the rest of Canada. In fact it is hard to think of any sort of national ideal that we could adopt that wouldn’t be objected to in Quebec. That’s why we claim to be a mosaic rather than a melting pot. We have to be a bunch of rigid tiles fitted together, rather than a blended society where everyone is Canadian first.

The English defeated the Irish at the Battle of the Boyne, and absorbed Ireland into the United Kingdom. The French were defeated at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, and eventually absorbed into Canada. Some 232 years after the Battle of the Boyne, after centuries of refusal to accept English rule, the Irish formed the Irish Free State which eventually became the Republic of Ireland. It is now 252 years after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, and for all of those years Canada has suffered from Quebecois discontent. It is time that we reconsidered the contract which we call the Constitution, and separate Canada from Quebec.

Canada will become a better country, with a single language and national dreams and ideals we can all live with, and Quebec will be able to forge its own destiny in any way it sees fit. The transition problems will have to be the subject of another column, but they are by no means insuperable. And there won’t be any more $12,000 soda pop awards.

Brian Purdy is a Queen’s Counsel who spent more than 30 years working in criminal law. He is a retired general counsel with the federal Department of Justice, and lives in Calgary

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Purdy+Ruling+against+Canada+lack+French+more+proof+that+Canada+would+better+without+Quebec/5139419/story.html#ixzz1SvubcBuN

Smoke in oven sends Air Canada jet back to Sydney
28 July 2011

SYDNEY (AP) — An Air Canada flight returned to Sydney airport on Thursday after crew members saw smoke coming from an oven in the galley, an airline official said.

No one on Flight AC34 was injured in the incident, which forced the pilot to dump fuel before safely landing the plane in Sydney, said Jeannie Foster, Air Canada's general manager for Australia and New Zealand.

"There was smoke seen by a crew member in an oven so the captain made the right decision and decided to come back to Sydney to check it out as a safety precaution," Foster told The Associated Press.

"They had to dump fuel because it's a very heavy airplane with 15 hours worth of fuel to get to Canada," Foster said.

She denied earlier reports of a fire breaking out on board.

"There was no fire at all," she said.

There was no damage to the Boeing 777 and no smoke entered the cabin, Foster said. Engineers who examined the plane determined a faulty oven caused the smoke and removed the appliance, she said.

The flight, which was bound for Vancouver and Toronto, returned to the air later Thursday afternoon.

Australian air safety investigators said they don't plan to investigate the incident.

WestJet’s profits soar as higher fares offset fuel prices
Thu Aug 04 2011
The Canadian Press

CALGARY—WestJet (TSX: WJA) has seen its second-quarter profits soar almost 275 per cent as higher fares and cost controls helped offset increased fuel prices, the Western Canada-based airline said Thursday.

“We saw improvements in our key operational metrics this quarter and also kept our controllable costs in check, which contributed to our strong results,” president and CEO Gregg Saretsky said in a release.

WestJet said profits were $25.6 million, or 18 cents per share in the quarter, up 274.7 per cent from net earnings of $6.8 million or five cents in the same 2010 quarter.

Revenues were up 21.4 per cent at $742.3 million from $611 million in the 2010 period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were on average expecting WestJet (TSX: WJA) to report earnings of nine cents per share and revenue of $734 million.

Revenue per available seat mile, or RASM, was 14.17 cents, up from 12.24 cents.

“WestJet anticipates continued year-over-year RASM growth for the third quarter of 2011 based on advanced bookings,” the airline said.

“However, this year-over-year growth is expected to come at a moderated pace versus that seen during the first half of 2011 since the pricing environment was more robust during the second half of 2010 as compared to the first half of 2010.”

In an effort to compete more effectively with Air Canada, the country’s biggest airline, WestJet (TSX: WJA) has been looking to draw more international traffic into its network.

WestJet’s fleet consists only of Boeing 737 aircraft, which are not capable of making long-haul journeys to Asia or Europe. So the company has been seeking partnerships with other carriers to expand its global reach.

In the United States, WestJet is working with American Airlines and Delta. On the international front, WestJet has announced partnerships with British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Air France and KLM.

WestJet is also looking to beef up its presence in the ultra-competitive Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal circuit by offering various perks to business travellers.

Air Transat flight attendants approve new contract
CBC News
Posted: Aug 4, 2011 5:02 AM ET

Nearly two-thirds of Air Transat flight attendants have voted to approve a new collective agreement, some six weeks after voting in favour of a strike mandate.

The new pact was reached July 8.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) represents about 1,500 Air Transat flight attendants in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Union members turned down a contract offer June 16, and voted 93 per cent in favour of strike action. No strike date was set.

CUPE says 65 per cent of flight attendants gave the thumbs-up to the recently reached five-year deal.

Retroactive to November 2010, when the last contract expired, the new deal includes wage increases and pension upgrades.

The union also says the maximum shift length will remain at 14 hours, not 15 hours, which was initially requested by the airline.

Earlier this week, Air Canada announced it had reached a tentative deal with the union representing about 6,800 flight attendants.

No details will be released until the contract is approved by CUPE members and the airline's board.

With files from The Canadian Press

Passengers pay for airline performance
Fri Aug 05 2011
Toronto Star

Canada’s biggest airlines have boosted their financial performance by charging their customers more in the face of rising costs.

Air Canada said Thursday it reduced its net loss to $46 million in the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $318 million a year ago.

“The improvement was driven by higher fares and fuel surcharges,” the company said, as it sought to offset higher fuel prices.

Operating revenue increased to $2.918 billion, up from $2.625 billion a year earlier.

Air Canada also sharply reduced foreign exchange losses as the Canadian dollar rose. The latest quarter included foreign exchange losses of $9 million, compared with a loss of $190 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, rival Westjet also said a “strong pricing environment” allowed it to boost profit in the second quarter.

Westjet’s net profit rose to $25.6 million on revenue of $742.3 million, up from a profit of $6.8 million on revenue of $611.7 million a year earlier.

Both airlines said that higher fuel prices were a challenge during the quarter.

But while both saw increases in the key measure of cost per available seat mile, they were able to more than offset it by boosting revenue even more.

Westjet’s chief executive Greg Saretsky said revenue growth should continue in the third quarter, based on advance bookings, but said it will moderate.

Air Canada is also expecting better revenue, based on improved economic conditions in the U.S., and on increasing capacity.

But airline officials said the capacity increases will come from increased use of available aircraft – not from new aircraft acquisitions – so the airline will be in a position to reduce capacity quickly if the market softens.

Chief executive Calin Rovinescu dismissed any notion that he’s thinking of leaving the airline, when asked about succession planning by analysts after results were released.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Rovinescu said that Air Canada will challenge the decision of the competition bureau to block Air Canada’s proposed joint venture with United Continental Holdings

“We’ll have a chance to explain why it is we think this is pro-consumer,” he said, noting that the U.S.-Canada border routes are “very competitive.”

“The indication on a global basis is that these sorts of joint ventures that form revenue sharing partnerships are a way of the future.”

The airline says it is still studying the launch of a low cost carrier, and must make sure it can get agreements from unions and employees to make sure it really is low-cost.

Rovinescu said the airline continues to campaign for lower taxes and airport fees, which it complains are far too high in Canada

“We’re not letting go of the issue,” he said. “We need to have a competitive environment, at least on a North American basis.”

Meanwhile, Porter Airlines said it had a strong month of July. It doesn’t report its finances publicly.

The airline, which flies out of Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto Island, says it set a record for the number of passenger miles flown, and had the best July in its history for load factor – a measure of what percentage of the available seats are filled.

Air Canada has also been flying out of Billy Bishop, and Rovinescu said he’s “not unhappy” with business so far on the company’s route to Montreal.

U.S. authorities fine Air Canada over deceptive website advertising

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/movie-guide/5189763.bin

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday it has fined Air Canada for breaking the laws against deceptive price advertising.

"When passengers buy an airline ticket, they have a right to know how much they will have to pay," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement. "We take our airline price advertising rules seriously and will take enforcement action when they are violated."

For an unspecified period early this year, advertisements on Air Canada's websites "did not disclose the amount of taxes and fees that passengers would have to pay in addition to the advertised fare, or lead the consumer directly to the information on these taxes and fees," the department's Aviation Enforcement Office found.

It said when customers clicked on the ads they were taken to a web page displaying routes and prices, but details of additional taxes and fees could only be found in the fine print at the bottom of the page.

"As soon as the U.S. Department of Transportation advised us of their concern regarding the way information was displayed on one of our ads on several U.S. websites, we looked into this immediately and within 24 hours had the banner ads modified to improve clarity," Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said in an e-mailed statement, calling it an "isolated occurrence."

Department of Transportation rules, which apply to both domestic and foreign carriers, require any advertising that includes an airfare to state the full price the customer will pay, including all surcharges. Government-imposed taxes and fees, such as the passenger facility fees, currently exempt from the pricing rules, will have to be included in the advertised ticket price beginning Jan. 24, 2012.

Canada passed a law four years ago requiring airlines to advertise the full price of airfares, but the federal government signalled last month that the legislation may be too complicated to enact.

The legislation to update key sections of the Canada Transportation Act to require airlines include all extra fees, surcharges and taxes in its advertising, received all-party support in June 2007. A last-minute amendment in the Senate stipulated that the federal cabinet set the date for the new rules to come into effect, and the Conservative government has yet to do so.

In a statement to Postmedia News in June, Transport Canada said the government is "aware that this provision of the legislation remains outstanding," and hinted the file may be too tricky to resolve. "The government wants to do what's best for consumers, while also ensuring there's no confusing information in the marketplace. Differences in provincial regimes permit tour operators and travel agents to advertise differently from airlines, which could be confusing for consumers."

Canada's airlines maintain it would be unfair to require them to advertise the final cost of a ticket because some foreign carriers could continue to advertise base fares on their websites, from which Canadian travellers can make purchases.

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/movie-guide/authorities+fine+Canada+over+deceptive+website+advertising/5211815/story.html

The Europeans seem to be a lot more advanced in implementing all-inclusive fares.

Air Canada may be legally OK not to ship monkeys
CBC News
Posted: Aug 9, 2011 3:49 PM ET

Animal protection groups renewed calls for Air Canada to stop transporting monkeys destined for research labs.

The Humane Society International/Canada and the Animal Alliance of Canada urged the airline Tuesday to cease shipping animals for research, toxicity testing and other laboratory experiments.

In January, international animal protection organizations said Air Canada flew 48 monkeys from breeding farms in China to Quebec as cargo in wooden crates.

In a 1998 ruling, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruled in favour of a shipper and against Air Canada when it attempted to refuse live cargo because it was headed to a laboratory.

Now the groups say a legal opinion from Lawyers for Animal Welfare concluded Air Canada is within its rights to reinstate its former policy by changing the wording of its cargo tariff.

"Air Canada has previously refused to ship animals for this purpose, and given the conclusions of our legal analysis and the suffering of the animals involved, we urge the airline to take immediate action to reinstate this policy," Liz White, director of Animal Alliance, said in a statement.

The groups said they submitted a copy of the legal opinion to Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu on July 8 requesting a response within 30 days but added they have not received an answer.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter.Fitzpatrick said the airline has no comment to offer on the unsolicited legal opinion.

"While the CTA now says we can change our tariff, you should note that in their ruling the CTA said explicitly that they do not believe that the carriage of monkeys causes annoyance to passengers (which is what determines whether we can discriminate against shippers) and the same test would be applied should we attempt to amend our tariffs," Fitzpatrick said in an email.

"There is nothing to make us believe the CTA would suddenly have a different opinion."

Air Canada is one of a small group of companies that still ships animals for research, according to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), a British-based animal protection organization.

Major carriers that do not ship primates for research include British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas Airways, Delta Airlines and China Airlines, according to the British group's website.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/541/5414474.html

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WestJet won’t ban pets from airplane cabins
The Canadian Press
Published On Wed Aug 24 2011

CALGARY—WestJet Airlines says it’s not interested in banning Fluffy and Fido from airplane cabins.

The Canadian Medical Association had suggested animals should travel in airplane cargo holds because they present serious risks for people with pet-related allergies in a setting in which it would be difficult to get them medical care quickly.

But the Calgary-based airline says passengers are kept apart if they say ahead of time that they’re travelling with a pet or that they have allergies. It also says its planes have good air filters to eliminate allergens.

Another option, it says, is to offer passengers with allergies a different flight with no dogs or cats on board.

WestJet says there have been only a handful of allergy-related incidents on its aircraft in the past 18 months.

Air Canada had a policy between 2006 and 2009 that banned pets in the passenger cabin, but reversed it.

Air Canada flight attendants hope government won’t intervene in labour dispute
Published On Sun Aug 28 2011
The Canadian Press Excerpt

MONTREAL — The head of the union representing flight attendants at Air Canada hopes the federal government won’t intervene in the escalating labour dispute between the two sides.

The customer service agents hastily reached a new contract with the airline in June before the government lowered its legislative hammer.

The flight attendants have overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement reached with the airline this month.

CUPE says it is organizing a strike vote for next month and intends to talk to management about restarting negotiations.

The union said on Saturday that 87.8 per cent of those who voted gave the tentative agreement a thumbs down, with 78.6 per cent of members casting a vote.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/543/5434743.html

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Air Canada flight attendants blocked from striking
CBC News
Posted: Oct 11, 2011 11:56 AM ET

The federal government is referring the labour dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, a move that will prevent the employees from going on strike Thursday, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt says.

"What it's meant to do is before there's a work stoppage, just to make sure that the work stoppage is not going to affect the health and safety of the public and that's what the CIRB will take a look at after hearing from the parties involved," Raitt said on CBC-TV's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon.

Raitt said the CIRB would have to consider what communities might be cut off from service to urban centres and what effect that would have on Canadians' health and safety. Raitt said she didn't know how long it would take the CIRB to render a decision.

Air Canada issued a statement late Tuesday that said the airline's representatives would appear before the CIRB as required.

"Further details are not available at this point. It will remain business as usual at Air Canada and all flights will continue to operate as scheduled," the company said.
P.O.V.:

Should Ottawa have intervened in the Air Canada labour dispute? Take our survey.

On Monday, Raitt said the government would intervene with back-to-work legislation if Air Canada flight attendants went on strike, and she suggested it would change the Canada Labour Code if it finds it necessary.
The issues

Air Canada flight attendants have rejected two proposed tentative agreements since their contract expired March 31, 2011. The first was rejected in August by a vote of 88 per cent, and the second deal, reached Sept. 20, was rejected by 65 per cent of those who participated in a ratification vote held across the country from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9. Voter turnout was 78 per cent in the first round and 73 per cent in the second. Below are some of the issues that have been prominent in the negotiations.

Low-cost airline: Probably the biggest sticking point in the negotiations is Air Canada's plan to set up a low-cost carrier to service "leisure routes" to sun destinations like Mexico and the Caribbean in order to compete with the likes of Air Transat and WestJet. Flight attendants fear such a move would poach routes away from the main carrier, threaten their job security and drive wages down. According to the union, the top wage at the low-cost airline would be only three-quarters of what veteran Air Canada flight attendants make (which is somewhere between $46,400 and $51,500 according to figures quoted by union and management representatives). Air Canada reportedly plans to hire 1,400 flight attendants and 460 pilots for the discount carrier. In the second tentative agreement, the union withdrew clauses in which it had given its support in principle for the discount airline.

Wages: The second agreement includes wage hikes of 9.3 per cent over four years. The first agreement had proposed an increase of 12.6 per cent over five years. The starting salary for a flight attendant is $18,000 a year, which union members complain puts them below the poverty line.

Pensions: CUPE agreed to a blended pension model for new hires which will combine a defined benefit plan, which guarantees a set payout at retirement, and a defined contribution plan, in which the payout is variable and which is less costly for the employer.

Duty days: Management agreed to compensate flight attendants for a greater portion of overnight shifts on domestic flights that include airport layovers. It agreed to the union's proposed "duty days minus four hours" model of compensation, meaning attendants would receive nine hours of wages for a 13-hour duty period as opposed to the current 6.5 hours of wages for such a shift. The changes wouldn't take effect until October 2012, which some union members feel is too long of an implementation period.

Banked time: Management reportedly withdrew an offer included in the first agreement to allow flight attendants to bank time for vacation days.

Per diems: Air Canada withdrew its offer to reduce the minimum length of a stopover required in order to have hotel room costs covered. It currently pays hotel costs only for stopovers of five hours or more but in the first agreement had offered to reduce this to four hours.

Premiums: Management scrapped new rules that had been proposed in the first agreement that would have obliged it to pay premiums to junior flight attendants for some on-call shifts.

But how soon a possible strike could be ended by government back-to-work legislation would have depended on how fast Parliament could get recalled — it is currently on a break until Oct. 17 — and how long the NDP might filibuster.

Earlier on Tuesday, CUPE, the union representing the flight attendants, said it was willing to continue negotiations with the airline to stave off the strike.

"We are ready to respond quickly to the employer," Jeff Taylor, president of CUPE's branch for Air Canada flight attendants, said in a statement.

"While no formal talks have taken place yet, we are ready to return to the table and find a way to keep our members and the public flying with a fair collective agreement."

The flight attendants, who are represented by CUPE, served a 72-hour strike notice on the airline on Sunday after 65 per cent of the votes cast were against the latest tentative collective agreement.

It marked the second time in recent months that the flight attendants have turned down a tentative deal with the airline.

They voted 87.8 per cent against ratifying the previous agreement in August.

Two people who said they are junior flight attendants told CBC News that a petition is being circulated to remove union management.

"I don't think they get us. I don't think they get what we're fighting for," said one flight attendant.

While a strike by flight attendants would undoubtedly have a major impact on Air Canada's ability to operate, the airline has said it will maintain a partial schedule operated by its regional carriers in the event of a work stoppage.

The airline has not released details on what that partial schedule might include.

The airline said regular Air Canada Express service between the Toronto Island airport and Montreal's Trudeau airport, and flights operated by its Star Alliance partner airlines on international and U.S. transborder routes, would remain unaffected.

Passengers with tickets to fly over the next six days on a rolling window will be allowed to change their travel dates at no charge until Dec. 15, the airline said.

People weighed in via social media on the latest labour developments.

"You think you are WAY more important than you really are," Melanie Pope wrote of the flight attendants on Air Canada's Facebook page.

"Take the deal and quit whining. I will never book another flight with Air Canada."

In response, Christopher Dempster wrote: "While I do not agree the strike is a wise move, I don't think it has anything to do with anyone thinking they are 'important.'"

Many other consumers posted on the page seeking information about flights and schedules in the event of a labour disruption.

On CBC.ca, community member "MattAbroad" wrote that his wife and two daughters, who are both under age four, have switched from a daytime flight to Vancouver on Thursday to an 11 p.m. flight on Wednesday night.

"Sorry, fellow travellers, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. is not really when my girls shine, but we didn't plan it this way," the post says.

"I don't like being made a pawn in disputes between labour and management."

WestJet said Tuesday it would add more domestic and cross-border flights, based on available crews and aircraft, in the event of a strike at its competitor.

"October is a slower part of the travel season," said Cam Kenyon, WestJet's executive vice-president of operations.

Here's my (late) trip report on Air Canada trip to Hong Kong. It's my first ever flight on Ari Canada as I would normally take OneWorld carriers/Alaska Airlines for the majority of my trips. But I've moved over to Star Alliance now.

Overall, I thought the flight was okay. The Flight Attendants were alright, but were a bit egotistic. I'll admit, I do have quite a high standard in customer service, especially having worked in the aviation industry. This flight was alright, but my trip on the way back was quite a bit better (more on that later).

Here's the first segment:



View trip details on aTravel Journal (http://atraveljournal.tumblr.com/post/4684859613/air-canada-trip-report-yvr-hkg-vancouver-hong-kong)

Would you mind sharing what made you switch from CX/OW to AC/SA? Thank you.

I had a few friends that experienced AC and they enjoyed it. I really didn't like CX's fixed shell seats, and plus, AC's fares to HKG were generally cheaper than CX.

I also got rexently caught up with the world of miles and points. CX.Asia Miles program was not rewarding (status wise). Other OW carriers programs didnt fit my flying patterns at all either. Star Alliance has much more flexible programs, and I found OZ's program and how easy it is to obtain status

Thank you. I think you did okay. AC is doing quite fine, and you can't go wrong with their newish B777s.

Yes, it's very difficult to get status with Asia Miles / Marco Polo. There simply are too many frequent flyers out of HK. The mileage requirement for gold is 50% more than AAdvantage. I recall getting to gold on AA in no time whereas 2 J flights to Sydney and a bunch of regional flights later, I couldn't even get to silver with CX.

Aeroplan's award availability is also tops among all the programs I have. Their engine is easy-to-use and there always is something available if you can tolerate a stop or two along the way.

Air Canada not the only carrier buckling up for labour turbulence
Published On Mon Oct 31 2011
Toronto Star

The bumpy ride that Air Canada has faced from its labour unions in recent months is not unique, as carriers worldwide struggle with competition and rising costs including fuel.

Air France’s flight attendants have disrupted service for three days in a row, affecting about one in five flights including long-haul service to Montreal, over company plans to reduce staffing levels on certain Airbus planes.

Over the weekend in Australia, Qantas Airways CEO Alan Joyce took the unusual and daring step of grounding its entire fleet after labour unions held rolling strikes and refused overtime for weeks.

The lockout — which Qantas estimated cost $20 million (Australian) a day — caught government officials off-guard, even stranding some Commonwealth leaders who were meeting in Perth.

The case moved to the courts, and an arbitration judge ordered everyone back to work on Monday. The unions are barred from any further job action, after forcing the cancellation of 600 flights in recent weeks.

At issue are concerns that the airline wants to expand its Jetstar brand — a discount airline started by Qantas in 2004 — to other destinations including China and cities in Asia. Unions at Qantas worry such a move will undercut their wages and jobs.

Air Canada, which reports its third-quarter earnings on Friday, is on record as wanting to start its own low-cost carrier to “sun” destinations down south and to Europe, to compete with Air Transat and other discount airlines.

But unions are balking at such a plan, especially pilots who rejected a tentative deal in May that included an item on a possible discount carrier for which wages would be lower and duty hours would be longer.

In June, customer-service agents, represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union, went on strike for three days, but settled just as Labour Minister Lisa Raitt was preparing to introduce back-to-work legislation.

Flight attendants had threatened to strike twice, setting firm deadlines in September and October, but were blocked from walking off the job when Raitt referred the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The two sides have agreed to binding arbitration, with a ruling expected in a week.

York University business professor Fred Lazar says the labour questions at Qantas and Air Canada appear to be mirror images, with both companies trying to save their bottom lines.

Qantas, like Air Canada, operates in a small domestic market, where labour laws are pro-union, compared with competitors in Asia or the Middle East, he said. Add in bigger labour costs and higher fees to land at airports in Canada and Australia, Lazar said it’s tough to compete.

“Jetstar and the Qantas loyalty program, that’s what keeping Qantas alive,” he said. “Without Jetstar, Qantas may have gone into bankruptcy.”

While Air Canada’s main competition has been U.S. and European carriers, Lazar said, “It’s only a matter of time before Air Canada will face the type of competition that Qantas is facing.”

Ultimately, he believes the key will be for governments to make it clear they won’t bail out these carriers, so unions will have to live with the realities.

Yet in recent weeks, Air Canada appears to have the government’s support in its battle with labour.

Charlotte Yates, McMaster University’s dean of social science who specializes in labour studies, said Air Canada’s actions show “they feel emboldened to push back on the unions that we have not seen before.”

She pointed to Air Canada’s judicial review application over a pension ruling by respected arbitrator Kevin Burkett who sided with CAW on a hybrid pension formula for new hires.

Air Canada withdrew the application a day after CAW president Ken Lewenza threatened job action, but Yates says the attempt, which had slim chance of success in court, shows the airline isn’t serious about collective bargaining.

The Harper government has signalled its willingness to introduce back-to-work legislation as it did for postal workers who were locked out by Canada Post in June. That union has launched a constitutional challenge over the law.

Yates argued this type of intervention hurts labour relations, because parties don’t feel they need to focus on bargaining.

Unions ground Air Canada's low-cost carrier plan

By Allison Martell

TORONTO (Reuters) - Months of labor conflict have stalled Air Canada's plans for a low-cost carrier, but Canada's biggest airline says it has not given up the idea.

Air Canada, which teetered on the edge of bankruptcy two years ago, has struggled to bring down costs and turn consistent profits, and Chief Executive Calin Rovinescu says the low-cost leisure market is too good an opportunity to ignore.

"We remain of the view that participation in the low-cost market is critical to achieving sustainable profitability at Air Canada," he said on last Friday's earnings call.

The new business, proposed last spring and initially tipped for a mid 2012 start, would compete on low-yield, high-volume international destinations like Amsterdam, Dublin and Nice, as well as southern vacation spots.

But Rovinescu has said repeatedly that he will not go ahead unless he can ensure the new business will be genuinely low-cost. For that, he will need concessions on wages or benefits from Air Canada's unions.

Established airlines have often sought to launch separate brands to compete with low-cost entrants like Southwest Airlines or EasyJet. The newer arrivals operate with fewer workers, lower pay or a single type of plane, reducing maintenance costs.

But Air Canada, whose previous low-cost airlines were quickly folded into the mainline carrier, has struggled to persuade its four major unions to support its plan.

A new collective agreement for flight attendants includes no mention of the low-cost carrier. The attendants rejected an earlier contract that included provisions on the new carrier.

In interviews, union leaders are uniformly critical.

"Pilots still have to do the same. Why then would one carry lower compensation?" said Paul Strachan, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association, which in May also voted down a tentative deal that included the low-cost carrier.

Rovinescu was quoted last year as saying he hoped to launch the low-cost carrier within a year, but this August he said it was unlikely anything substantial would happen before 2013. But without real progress in discussions with the pilots' union, the carrier will not take off.

UNIONS HOSTILE TO PLAN

Strachan said other carriers keep costs low by only flying one type of aircraft, while Rovinescu has said the new carrier's 50-strong fleet would need to include both narrow- and wide-body planes.

Rovinescu said last week that the airline's contract with airport check-in and call-center staff "would not prohibit" a low-cost carrier. Lower wages for new hires have been in that agreement since before the latest round of bargaining, but there is no explicit mention of the new carrier.

Chuck Atkinson, president of the union that represents mechanics and baggage handlers, said his unit does not yet have a position on the new carrier, but he expressed misgivings.

"What's happening at Qantas now gives us some concern, because it seems the low-cost carrier is expanding much more than the mainline carrier," he said.

Lower wages paid by Qantas Airways' low-cost carrier Jetstar have angered workers at the Australian airline, and that, combined with plans to expand low-cost operations, were big factors in a labor dispute that grounded the entire Qantas fleet last month. [ID:nL4E7LV0CQ]

Most analysts say it is too early to judge the Air Canada initiative.

"It can't go ahead without the unions' support, so we're just going to have to wait and see," said Canaccord Genuity analyst David Tyerman.

Air Canada has tried to launch low-cost carriers before. Zip Air, created in 2002 to compete with WestJet Airlines, shut down in 2004. Tango, which flew in Canada and the United States, was folded into the main fleet in 2003 after about two years in operation.

Rovinescu has said the new airline would focus on international leisure markets and would not cannibalize existing business, something that was the case for Tango.

Independent airline consultant Robert Kokonis questioned Air Canada's priorities.

"Air Canada needs to focus on operating and managing the core airline," he said. "When you open up a separate division, it could potentially take management's eye off the ball."

Several major carriers have failed to succeed with low-cost brands. British Airways sold off its money-losing regional budget carrier BA Connect in 2006, a year after the demise of Delta Air Lines' Song. United Airlines shut its four-year-old budget brand Ted in 2008.

(Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver and Narayanan Somasundaram in Sydney; Editing by Janet Guttsman)

(Reuters (http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCATRE7AA3MH20111111?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0), 2011)

I tend to feel that Air Canada should focus on reducing costs and improving its current product rather than starting off a new carrier.

WestJet aims to return to New York’s LaGuardia Airport

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WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA-T12.23-0.10-0.81%) has the Big Apple on its radar again in hopes of adding a second airport to its service in the New York region.

WestJet will be bidding for takeoff and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, part of its U.S. expansion strategy and efforts to attract more business travellers. Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey is already on WestJet’s route map.

The Calgary-based carrier also has Washington’s Reagan National Airport in its sights.

WestJet chief executive officer Gregg Saretsky said Wednesday that slot packages are available through an auction.

“We do expect the bidding to be aggressive. I think those are very valuable slots,” he said during a conference call with analysts.

WestJet offers seasonal Calgary-Newark service, from late April to late October. But WestJet hasn’t offered flights between Toronto and the New York area since 2005, when it withdrew from LaGuardia after less than a year of service.

Still, Mr. Saretsky noted that WestJet has partnership pacts with Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Inc. On the route between Toronto and New York’s JFK International Airport, for instance, consumers are able to book trips on WestJet’s website for flights operated by American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines.

WestJet will eye the Toronto-LaGuardia route because a non-stop flight from Calgary would exceed the limits on the length of flights allowed into LaGuardia.

National Bank Financial Inc. analyst Cameron Doerksen said WestJet is one of seven carriers vying for the slots up for grabs in New York and Washington, but “we believe WestJet’s interest is primarily in the LaGuardia slots to establish a competitive presence on the Toronto-New York route.”

Analysts caution that WestJet faces tough rivals for the slots at auction, notably competing bids from Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp.

Even if WestJet is unsuccessful in its LaGuardia quest, it will soon be able to allow passengers to more easily book trips through its co-operation deal with Delta. Starting in the first quarter of 2012, WestJet plans to become a code-share partner with Delta.

Delta has an “interline” agreement with WestJet, and the code-share pact will forge even closer ties, especially for online bookings and frequent-flier benefits.

WestJet, which has code-sharing deals with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and KLM, recently added Air India as its 13th interline partner to bolster electronic ticketing and baggage transfers.

WestJet also released its financial results Wednesday, announcing that its third-quarter profit slipped 10 per cent to $39.3-million, hurt by jet fuel costs that climbed to 89 cents a litre from 70 cents. Quarterly share profit fell 2 cents to 28 cents, missing analysts’ forecasts, but revenue rose 13 per cent to $775.3-million.

The airline is slated to add its 97th Boeing 737 by the end of December, with plans to have 100 of the planes in the fleet in 2012.

While WestJet will be deploying a leased Boeing 757 between Alberta and Hawaii this winter, Mr. Saretsky said no decision has been made to diversify beyond 737s. “It is something that we’re consistently studying – the segment of the market that would be better served by smaller planes and then the segment that would be better served by larger planes,” he said.

WestJet is forecasting $100-million in extra revenue annually from airline partnerships within five years.

Mr. Doerksen noted that WestJet’s frequent flier program is being expanded, clearing the way for increased co-operation with hotel and car rental partners.

(The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/westjet-aims-to-return-to-new-yorks-laguardia-airport/article2230406/), 2011)

Conciliator named to Air Canada pilots case
2011/11/14 16:22:00
Toronto Star

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt has named a conciliator in the hopes of hammering out an agreement between Air Canada and its 3,000 pilots.

With Paul Macdonnell’s appointment last Thursday, it essentially starts the countdown to a possible strike or lockout in the new year.

Under the Canada Labour Code, the conciliator is assigned for 60 days, but the period can be extended if the parties agree. If no deal is reached, then a 21-day cooling off period begins, and with 72 hours’ notice, a strike or lockout could occur.

But Paul Strachan, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association, said his union has no plans for any job action, noting no strike vote has taken place.

“We’re not on strike. We have no plans to do so,” said Strachan. “We’re not escalating the situation. What we want to do is bargain.”

The pilots were caught off guard last month when Air Canada filed a notice of dispute, requesting that a conciliator be appointed.

“It’s more of a tactic on Air Canada’s part,” Strachan said. “I’m not sure why they want to put time pressures on unless they don’t really want to bargain.”

The union reached a tentative agreement with the airline in the spring, but the pilots rejected the deal. Rank-and-file members were so upset with the deal, which included the possibility of a new discount airline with lower wages and longer hours that they voted out several top union officials.

New elections were held, and the new bargaining committee has surveyed pilots on their demands, said Strachan.

No talks have been held yet, though the pilots had proposed Nov. 23 to restart bargaining.

Air Canada has said it asked for a conciliator to help facilitate an agreement, given the time elapsed since the last deal was voted down.

“At this point, we are waiting for the conciliator to get in touch and we are available to resume talks,” said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.

“We welcome his appointment and look forward to any assistance he can offer in reaching the renewal of a collective agreement between the company and ACPA.”

WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky shares some light on Westjet's future operations and its positioning in the aviation industry. Nothing too surprising.

Given how Air Canada is really the only international legacy carrier of Canada, I was hoping WestJet could consider joining an alliance so that I would have more choices when choosing international destinations. But honestly, since WestJet is Canada's only other carrier, it seems that them not joining an alliance is getting the best of both worlds from SkyTeam and OneWorld. This is especially the case at YVR, with so many Asian carriers partnering with WestJet either through interline agreements or codeshare agreements, just constantly feeding onto the WestJet network.

As for the business class point he brings up, I honestly can't agree with him, though I understand why he says this. WestJet is definitely not in the position of introducing a premium business class, and I don't think it should domestically anyway. But as a passenger, I would hate walking off of a First Class CX flight to sit in an Economy Class seat. It's a short ride I know, but it's still quite a big change in experience. I think WestJet can at least improve a bit on its "premium side" by introducing ideas such as blocking off the middle seat, or complimentary lounge invitations (note WestJet doesn't have its own lounge).

Transcript: WestJet's global strategy
Special to Globe and Mail Update
Published Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 6:00AM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 12:01PM EST

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Karl Moore: This is Karl Moore of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, Talking Management for The Globe and Mail. Today I am delighted to be in Calgary at WestJet’s gleaming new head office to talk to their new CEO, Gregg Saretsky.

Good afternoon, Gregg.

Gregg Saretsky: Hi, Karl.

KM: So Gregg, you have recently signed an agreement with KLM, certainly you’ve been, for a couple years now, with Cathay Pacific – where do you see the international partnerships of WestJet going forward? What does the future hold?

GS: It’s a really big part of our strategy; obviously we are continuing to grow. We have 39 new planes on order and the Canadian market isn’t growing as fast as the number of planes arriving in our fleet are, so we are connecting our network, which is strictly within North America, to international networks owned by these large global carriers. We have 15 code-shared and inter-line partners currently.

KM: So, is it that you are providing the North American network for them? Is that the part WestJet is going to play?

GS: Well, that is exactly right. What happens these days is that these carriers have limited access to Canada; they are flying only to the West Coast, for example from Asia Pacific, or only to Toronto. In many cases the Canadian bilaterals don’t commit more access than that, so they are blocked at the gateway, if you will, and our job is to distribute and give them access to the rest of Canada.

KM: How much of a problem is it that you don’t have business class? A lot of these mainline carriers would have that, is that a relatively small or an obstacle you have had to wrestle with?

GS: Not particularly. I like to say that our whole plane is business class – leather seats, seat-back televisions, 32-inch seat pitch, great friendly service, and we ask carriers like Cathay Pacific, “How does that work if somebody flies on a $10,000 fare from Hong Kong to Calgary?” and they say, “Well they get the lie-flat experience from Hong Kong to Vancouver and for the last leg they get the WestJet experience” and it hasn’t been a barrier to sell.

KM: One World, Star Team, and Air Canada Star Alliance; why don’t you join one of the other big alliances?

GS: It’s a great question, Karl, and the way I look at it is we like to pick and choose the best carriers from each of these respective geographies – some happen to be with one global alliance, some happen to be with the others. As a lot of things that WestJet does, we like to deal with the best, so we have been able to pick and choose and have chosen not to join a global alliance at this point.

KM: Some people see the world as being really three big alliances will be the dominant, in fact we might even see, as we have seen with BA and Iberia, Lufthansa and Swiss and Austrian, increasing mega-carriers – do you see a new world of three mega-mega-carriers than everyone else?

GS: It seems to be evolving a bit that way but I think there is an opportunity still for an alliance of low-cost carriers. I was at an international conference recently in New York and sat with the CEO of Gol, a Brazilian low-cost carrier, and he said, “Yeah, we have been studying WestJet and we think that there is an opportunity to connect the Brazilian low-cost carrier with the Canadian low-cost carrier and maybe together we can hook up with some other low-cost carriers and create this great low-cost network.” So I think the space in international alliances is still evolving.

(via Globe And Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/transcript-wesjets-global-strategy/article2237046/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Home&utm_content=2237046))

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http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Transat/Airbus-A330-243/2018433/L/&sid=3248aebadd4006ca6954f075c32b00b5



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http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Transat/Airbus-A330-243/2018432/L/&sid=3248aebadd4006ca6954f075c32b00b5

Not surprisingly, Air Canada wins best carrier in North America.

Magazine readers vote Air Canada continent's best airline
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20111012/800_cp_air_canada_flights_111012.jpg
Air Canada planes land at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Updated: Fri Dec. 02 2011 9:27:28 AM

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted Air Canada the best airline in North America.

The award is based on responses from more than 36,000 readers of the magazine.

Global Traveler readers are frequent premium travellers who average 32 round-trip flights a year, with 78 per cent travelling in first or business class regularly.

Air Canada says winning the loyalty of premium customers is a priority for all carriers.

And the airline says it credits its focus on service and investments made improving the on-board experience for flyers.

Air Canada says it has renewed its international and North American fleets and refurbished its existing fleet to offer personal entertainment systems at each seat.

"We are pleased to receive this endorsement from our customers who travel most frequently," said Ben Smith, an Air Canada executive vice-president.

"Clearly our renewed focus on service and the investments we have made in on-board, airport and online improvements are appealing to travellers," Smith said.

(via CTV (http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111202/air-canada-best-airline-111202/20111202/?hub=OttawaHome))

Well, that continent is full of crap airlines to begin with!

Air Canada union worried about Montreal head-office
Posted By: Claude Beaulieu cbeaulieu@astral.com · 12/8/2011 3:17:00 PM

Unions representing the bulk of Air Canada's employees are sounding the alarm. They fear Canada's air carrier is getting ready to move its head office out of Montreal.

Air Canada officials, in an e-mail to CJAD, say the air carrier's head office is and will remain right here in town, despite the move of one of its departments from Montrreal to Toronto. They say the office that's being moved to the Toronto area handles flight crew assignments and scheduling and has nothing to do with the central administrative operations of Air Canada's head office.

But the union representing a majority of employees at Air Canada wonders if the airline's Montreal banner is increasingly just for show.

Union official Marcel Rondeau says almost all the Montreal employees affected by this latest move have resolved not to follow their jobs down the 401 to Toronto.

(via CJAD 800 (http://www.cjad.com/CJADLocalNews/entry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10322796))

Given AC's recent stinginess, I'm surprised they aren't moving their operations to India.

Some pictures by user J0RG from BOG.

Because of delays related to rain, AC was spotted (it normally gets here at night).

Estas son del 767 de AC cuando por fin se dejo ver a la luz del dia...
Aunque definitivamente Jota lo capturo mejor que yo :cheers:

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9095/25112011147.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/189/25112011147.jpg/) Uploaded with [/URL]

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/8558/25112011145.jpg (http://imageshack.us) Uploaded with

[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/25112011143.jpg/]http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1005/25112011143.jpg (http://imageshack.us) Uploaded with

So Bogota gets a 767 now?

Tell the truth about airfare costs, Ottawa says
Toronto Star (http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1103147--tell-the-truth-about-airfare-costs-ottawa-says)
By Vanessa Lu | Fri Dec 16 2011

http://images.moneyville.ca/images/6b/45/e587884949008782d2218451111a.jpeg

Goodbye $99 seat sale, hello truth in advertising.

Frustrated consumers have long complained the $99 ticket really wasn’t $99, once taxes, airport improvement fees, security charges and fuel surcharges were added in.

The federal government announced Friday it will bring in new regulations requiring all Canadian airlines to clearly advertise what the passenger will pay.

“This will allow consumers to easily determine the full cost of airfares in order to make informed choices,” said Steven Fletcher, minister of state for transport.

However, it will probably take a year before the new rules go into effect as the government consults with airlines.

“It’s long overdue — truth in advertising,” said Michael Pepper, president of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario. “It’s great for consumers.”

Pepper said this finally levels the playing field especially in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, where travel agencies, which are provincially regulated, are required to advertise the total cost.

The airlines have long resisted such a move, but as other countries have adopted such requirements, they now say they’re willing.

New rules in the United States go into effect in January while Europe has had a similar consumer protection rule in place since 2008.

“It’s an evolution,” said George Petsikas, president of the National Airline Council of Canada, which represents the country’s largest passenger carriers. “We’re happy to work with the government in setting up the rules.”

For Canadian airlines, the key is ensuring all carriers are subject to the same rules. That means foreign carriers that market their flights here must abide by Canadian regulations, Petsikas said.

WestJet said it welcomes “all-in pricing to provide the travelling public with comparability among all airlines.”

Air Canada said for years it has publicly stated “we would happily comply with whatever advertising rules the government wishes to implement provided they apply equally to all carriers, domestic and foreign, against which we compete.”

Echoing its rivals, Porter Airlines said: “We look forward to working with others to create a level playing field for how fares are advertised.”

Olivia Chow, the NDP’s transport critic, called it outrageous that it’s taken so long for the government to act.

Air Canada - Code sharing to Qatar

How much sooner will it be that Qatar Airways gets full access to Canada? Don't ever recall AC applying for code sharing to Dubai.

Air Canada (applicant) has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) for a licence to operate a scheduled international service, large aircraft, through code sharing only, between Canada and Qatar, in accordance with the Arrangement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the State of Qatar set out in an Agreed Minute signed on October 28, 2010 (Arrangement).

The Agency is satisfied that the applicant meets all the applicable requirements of subsection 69(1) of the Canada Transportation Act (CTA). The Agency also finds that the pertinent terms and conditions of the Arrangement have been complied with.

Further, with respect to this application, the applicant has undertaken that it will not contravene section 59 of the CTA prior to the issuance of the applied for licence.

Accordingly, the Agency approves the application for a licence to operate a scheduled international service, large aircraft, through code sharing only, between Canada and Qatar.

Pursuant to subsection*71(1) of the CTA, the licence is subject to the conditions prescribed by the Air Transportation Regulations, SOR/88-58, as amended, and the following conditions:

1.*** The Licensee is authorized to operate a scheduled international service, through code sharing only, on the route(s) set out in the Arrangement.

2.*** The scheduled international service is to be conducted in accordance with the Arrangement and any applicable arrangements agreed to between Canada and Qatar.

Not necessarily involved with Canadian Carriers, but Emirates seems to be hiring from Vancouver and Edmonton. A sign of things to come?

http://www.workopolis.com/EN/job-search/emirates-jobs?e=314758&lg=en&r=false

Not necessarily involved with Canadian Carriers, but Emirates seems to be hiring from Vancouver and Edmonton. A sign of things to come?

http://www.workopolis.com/EN/job-search/emirates-jobs?e=314758&lg=en&r=false

From what I see it's only for flight attendant's, EK has many Canadians working as cabin crew.

Still hope Canada clears EK for at least a daily YYZ.

I do recall when they landed in YYZ with their A380 for the first time, the captain was the Canadian gentleman from Oakville, Ontario.

Btw any news on Sunwing expanding over the pond?

I have a question about AC service from YYZ to ICN.

I know it stops in YVR, but theres only one daily flight from YVR to ICN, so does that mean flight from YYZ doesnt pick up any passengers at YVR?

I have a question about AC service from YYZ to ICN.

I know it stops in YVR, but theres only one daily flight from YVR to ICN, so does that mean flight from YYZ doesnt pick up any passengers at YVR?

That wouldn't make much sense would it? The flight operates like AC7 YYZ-YVR-HKG or AC33 YYZ-YVR-SYD. It picks up passengers at YVR in both directions. On the outbound flight to ICN, YYZ passengers bound for YVR disembark, while YYZ passengers bound for ICN stay onboard (or at least I haven't heard of too many instances where passengers are forced to disembark and embark again, I may be wrong on this one as I haven't flown this way before). Passengers originating from YVR to ICN embark.

On the return flight bound to Canada, at YVR, the first stop, all passengers regardless of the final destination disembarks as one is required to clear customs and immigration. Onward passengers to YYZ embark back on the same plane after dropping their bags off. This is done possible at YVR as gates 50, 51, and 52, are dual International/Domestic gates that change depending on which flight it services (hence why AC uses the old International gates as opposed to the new ones).

Possibility of WS to become the S7 of Russia? Perhaps...

WestJet sets sights on Air Canada’s title
BRENT JANG — TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Jan. 01, 2012 8:00PM EST
Last updated Monday, Jan. 02, 2012 2:55PM EST
233 comments
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WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA-T12.110.302.54%)’s plan to add smaller planes to its fleet will position the carrier to challenge Air Canada (AC.B-T1.070.043.88%) for the top spot in carrying domestic traffic within five years.

WestJet chief executive officer Gregg Saretsky said in a year-end interview that WestJet will focus on acquiring smaller aircraft for neglected domestic markets before considering larger planes for routes to Europe and Asia in the long term. Plans call for Calgary-based WestJet to move beyond its single-fleet configuration of Boeing 737s – workhorses for the carrier since it launched in 1996.

On Sunday, industry experts said they were surprised by Mr. Saretsky’s comments and expressed optimism that WestJet will be able to tap into Canadian destinations neglected or underserved by Air Canada and its regional affiliate, Jazz Air.

WestJet’s domestic market share could grow to 45 per cent by 2017 from its current 36 per cent if it carefully launches short-haul service within Canada with new aircraft, observers say.

“WestJet would have to chip away at Air Canada,” said Rick Erickson, an aviation consultant who heads Calgary-based RP Erickson & Associates.

In 2000, Air Canada had 77 per cent of the domestic market, while WestJet held just 7 per cent. But Air Canada decided to devote greater attention to its routes to the United States and overseas. By early 2011, the competitive gap had narrowed to a point where Air Canada’s domestic market share slid to 56 per cent and WestJet’s grew to 36 per cent. Porter Airlines Inc. and others had the remaining 8 per cent.

Air Canada declined to comment on WestJet’s plans.

If WestJet decides to order smaller planes by late 2012, the aircraft will likely start arriving by early 2014, positioning the airline to introduce service to smaller Canadian cities. The carrier has 97 Boeing 737s in its fleet, with another three of the jets to be added this year. The planes seat 119, 136 or 166 passengers, depending on the Boeing model.

On WestJet’s shortlist for smaller aircraft is the 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop, a Canadian-built plane used by Toronto-based Porter. The Q400 is also flown on portions of Air Canada’s regional service through Jazz Air and Sky Regional Airlines Inc. at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Industry observers say WestJet will have an advantage over Air Canada-affiliated regional operators that don’t have the fuel-efficient Q400, such as Central Mountain Air, which flies older turboprops configured to seat 18 or 30 passengers. Also on WestJet’s shortlist is the French-Italian ATR 72 turboprop.

“The Q400 would be ideal as a regional airplane,” Mr. Erickson said. “But I still think the end play will be WestJet’s entry into the international arena in the longer term. That would be transatlantic routes for starters, and at some point, transpacific, and the connecting passengers from smaller Canadian cities could assist with that.”

Mr. Saretsky emphasized that no corporate decision has been finalized on whether to order larger or smaller planes, but he favours nurturing the home market first. He cited examples of new destinations that could benefit from a WestJet expansion: Cranbrook, Prince Rupert, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek in British Columbia; Lethbridge, Alta.; Saguenay, Que.; and Sudbury, Sarnia and Timmins in Ontario.

Karl Moore, a professor at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management, said Mr. Saretsky understands the challenges because he worked at Seattle-based Alaska Airlines Inc. It flies Boeing 737s, but its affiliate, Horizon Air, operates Q400 turboprops.

“Certainly, you can see the success of the Q400 for thinner routes,” Prof. Moore said. “If you can have a plane that better matches the volume of passengers, it would be a winner.”

For WestJet, the key will be to selectively add domestic routes while overcoming the complexity of training pilots and having new aircraft parts on hand for the smaller aircraft, he said. WestJet will be able expand with new planes, but “it’s getting away from the business model of simplicity with the Boeing 737.”

(via Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/westjet-sets-sights-on-air-canadas-title/article2288493/))

WestJet, Porter post record traffic
The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 5, 2012 9:01 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 5, 2012 12:03 PM ET Read 26

Related Links
Airline passenger numbers strong in November
Windsor Airport sees increase in traffic
Two of Canada's largest airlines reported some record passenger numbers in December as global economic concerns appeared to have little effect on the quantity of travellers.

WestJet, the country's second-largest airline after Air Canada, said it flew a record 1.4 million passengers in December as the airline reported a load factor of 80.9 per cent, tying its second-highest December load factor ever.

Revenue passenger miles increased eight per cent from a year earlier as capacity — measured in available seat miles —grew 7.1 per cent over the same period.

"We finished the year with strong traffic results confirming that our capacity continues to be absorbed by the market," president and CEO Gregg Saretsky said in a release accompanying the results.

"On a full-year basis, we have flown over 867,000 additional guests in 2011 versus last year," he added.

Due to strong bookings made and flown in December, WestJet said it anticipates that the year-over-year revenue per available seat mile growth for the fourth quarter will now be closer to that achieved in the third quarter of 2011.

WestJet's 2011 load factor down slightly
For the full year, WestJet reported a load factor of 79.7 per cent, down slightly from 79.9 per cent last year as available seat miles grew 8.5 per cent to 21.2 billion from 19.5 billion. However, revenue seat miles lagged slightly, rising 8.2 per cent to 16.9 billion from 15.6 billion.

Toronto-based Porter, which offers routes in Eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, also reported a strong December, a month that featured continuing volatility on stock markers amid continuing fears for the global economy, including a return to recession in parts of Europe.

Its load factor for the month was 63.9 per cent, up 1.5 percentage points from December 2010 and a record for the airline.

The figure was based on 117.6 million available seat miles, an increase of 26.7 per cent over the same month in 2010 as the airline expanded its number of routes over the year, and 75.2 million revenue passenger miles, up 29.9 per cent.

For the full year, Porter said it flew a record 2.1 million passengers, up from 1.56 million the previous year.

"Porter is one of the fastest growing airlines in North America," president and CEO Robert Deluce said in highlighting the results. "We're proud of what we've accomplished as a team and are ready to make our mark in 2012."

(via CBC (http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/01/05/airlines-load-factor-2011.html))

That wouldn't make much sense would it? The flight operates like AC7 YYZ-YVR-HKG or AC33 YYZ-YVR-SYD. It picks up passengers at YVR in both directions. On the outbound flight to ICN, YYZ passengers bound for YVR disembark, while YYZ passengers bound for ICN stay onboard (or at least I haven't heard of too many instances where passengers are forced to disembark and embark again, I may be wrong on this one as I haven't flown this way before). Passengers originating from YVR to ICN embark.

On the return flight bound to Canada, at YVR, the first stop, all passengers regardless of the final destination disembarks as one is required to clear customs and immigration. Onward passengers to YYZ embark back on the same plane after dropping their bags off. This is done possible at YVR as gates 50, 51, and 52, are dual International/Domestic gates that change depending on which flight it services (hence why AC uses the old International gates as opposed to the new ones).
Ah alright, makes sense.

Wouldnt make sense to do customs and clearance for people LEAVING Canada.

This is additional to YVR ICN daily service?

EDIT: NM, one flight per day to both YVR and YYZ, all in one shot, looked it up on AC site.

From what I see it's only for flight attendant's, EK has many Canadians working as cabin crew.

Still hope Canada clears EK for at least a daily YYZ.

I always wanted to know what happened to Skyservice and they flights to ZAG/BEG? There was a plan to install winglets on those B757 in order to fly nonstrop to ZAG. I think the planes did get it, but the flights were halted after 2007. I always wondered what made them cancel the flights? I suppose they never got around stealing those transit passengers that connect via Germany/Austria. I am pretty sure there is more demand besides a single flight per week. Too bad it was all meant for failure from the start due to choice of equipment to serve ZAG/BEG....

I always wanted to know what happened to Skyservice and they flights to ZAG/BEG? There was a plan to install winglets on those B757 in order to fly nonstrop to ZAG. I think the planes did get it, but the flights were halted after 2007. I always wondered what made them cancel the flights? I suppose they never got around stealing those transit passengers that connect via Germany/Austria. I am pretty sure there is more demand besides a single flight per week. Too bad it was all meant for failure from the start due to choice of equipment to serve ZAG/BEG....

You remember those flights, good call ?

Any service that is a one weekly with pit stops cannot be profitable.

We were sappose to get some American charter company flying into ZAG this summer using a 763 frame, but I don't know what happened to that either.

I remember when JAT was flying the D10 into YYZ before 91, those flights always had high loads. I'm sure a daily, if not a twice daily YYZ-ZAG/BEG could be very profitable in the summer season, just surprised no airline is stepping up to the plate.

You remember those flights, good call ?

Any service that is a one weekly with pit stops cannot be profitable.

We were sappose to get some American charter company flying into ZAG this summer using a 763 frame, but I don't know what happened to that either.

I remember when JAT was flying the D10 into YYZ before 91, those flights always had high loads. I'm sure a daily, if not a twice daily YYZ-ZAG/BEG could be very profitable in the summer season, just surprised no airline is stepping up to the plate.

I think the flights did noT sell well. When they started flying, they had an A330 available because Airtransat and AC were busy with Italian market. I doubt they could fill the A330 because it was configurated with 330pax? So that is extra 100 seats per flight. It was quite obvious that legacy carriers took they pssengers. Let alone the adventage of having the A330 over the 757....

Porter Airlines, WestJet enjoy record passenger traffic in 2011, despite economy
Published On Thu Jan 05 2012
The Canadian Press

TORONTO—Two of Canada’s largest airlines reported some record passenger numbers in December as global economic concerns appeared to have little affect on the quantity of travellers.

WestJet, the country’s second-largest airline after Air Canada, said it flew a record 1.4 million passengers in December as the airline reported a load factor of 80.9 per cent, tying its second-highest December load factor ever.

Revenue passenger miles increased eight per cent from a year earlier as capacity — measured in available seat miles — grew 7.1 per cent over the same period.

“We finished the year with strong traffic results confirming that our capacity continues to be absorbed by the market,” president and CEO Gregg Saretsky said in a release accompanying the results.

“On a full-year basis, we have flown over 867,000 additional guests in 2011 versus last year,” he added.

Due to strong bookings made and flown in December, WestJet said it anticipates that the year-over-year revenue per available seat mile growth for the fourth quarter will now be closer to that achieved in the third quarter of 2011.

For the full year, WestJet reported a load factor of 79.7 per cent, down slightly from 79.9 per cent last year as available seat miles grew 8.5 per cent to 21.2 billion from 19.5 billion. However, revenue seat miles lagged slightly, rising 8.2 per cent to 16.9 billion from 15.6 billion.

Toronto-based Porter, which offers routes in Eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, also reported a strong December, a month that featured continuing volatility on stock markers amid continuing fears for the global economy, including a return to recession in parts of Europe.

Its load factor for the month was 63.9 per cent, up 1.5 percentage points from December 2010 and a record for the airline.

The figure was based on 117.6 million available seat miles, an increase of 26.7 per cent over the same month in 2010 as the airline expanded its number of routes over the year, and 75.2 million revenue passenger miles, up 29.9 per cent.

For the full year, Porter said it flew a record 2.1 million passengers, up from 1.56 million the previous year.

“Porter is one of the fastest growing airlines in North America,” president and CEO Robert Deluce said in highlighting the results. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished as a team and are ready to make our mark in 2012.”

Besides adding new destinations in 2011, Porter, based at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, took delivery of six new Bombardier (TSX-BBD.B) Q400 aircraft.

And more evidence of WS seriously taking on the transborder market; fresh from the pressroom.

This can definitely start more price wars between WestJet and Star Alliance carriers United and Air Canada. On the East Coast, Porter, Air Canada, and WestJet have offered fares to New York at unbelievably low prices.

WestJet adds Chicago to growing network

Airline complements eastern code-share flights with new service from the West

CALGARY, Feb. 7, 2012 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced it will launch daily non-stop service between Chicago and Vancouver, and between Chicago and Calgary, effective May 14, 2012.

While WestJet will fly these routes with its own Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft, the airline will continue to market non-stop service from Chicago to Toronto, Chicago to Ottawa and Chicago to Montreal on our partner American Airlines' code-share flights. Chicago is an American Airlines' major hub, providing connections to key destinations in the U.S. and across the world.

"We're pleased to introduce service to and from Chicago," said John MacLeod, WestJet Vice-President, Network Management and Alliances. "The addition of Chicago shows how our continued growth and code-share agreements are working together to provide guests with non-stop service from the East and West. We believe this balance appeals to both business and leisure travellers looking to experience what Chicago has to offer, as well as for northbound travellers looking to visit Banff and the Rocky Mountains via Calgary or board cruise ships from Vancouver. We look forward to welcoming new and returning guests on board these exciting new services."

WestJet non-stop service between Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago is subject to government approval.

Full schedule details and great introductory one-way fares start at $149 from Calgary and $169 from Vancouver, plus applicable taxes and fees. Fares are available by visiting westjet.com, by calling WestJet's Sales Super Centre at 1-888-WESTJET (937-8538) or through your preferred travel agent.

With more access to more vacation destinations than ever before, WestJet Vacations offers flexible and convenient packages to popular destinations throughout WestJet's network, including Chicago. Guests can enjoy Chicago's Magnificent Mile with the convenience of booking flights and hotel together. Vacation packages will be available prior to the launch of service in May. For more information, visit westjetvacations.com, contact a WestJet Vacations Experience Specialist at 1-877-737-7001 or see your preferred travel agent.

The new destination announcement follows the release of the airline's summer schedule, which includes:

Seven-times daily service to New York (LaGuardia)
Daily service to Whitehorse, Yukon
Three-times weekly service to Kingston, Jamaica
Weekly non-stop service to Aruba
About WestJet
WestJet is Canada's favourite airline, offering scheduled service throughout its 76-city North American and Caribbean network. Inducted into Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures Hall of Fame and named one of Canada's best employers, WestJet pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. WestJet offers increased legroom and leather seats on its modern fleet of 97 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. With future confirmed deliveries for an additional 38 aircraft through 2018, WestJet strives to be one of the five most successful international airlines in the world.

About WestJet Vacations
WestJet Vacations provides guests with affordable, reliable and easy-to-book travel experiences to 45 destinations in 12 countries, including the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Leveraging WestJet's fun and friendly image, extensive network and world-class guest experience, WestJet Vacations offers guests a great flight schedule and a wide variety of hotel and resort options to create fun and affordable vacation experiences. For more information, visit www.westjetvacations.com.

Connect with WestJet on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westjet
Follow WestJet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/westjet
Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at www.youtube.com/westjet

For further information:

Media contact
Robert Palmer, Media Relations, telephone: 1-888-WJ 4 NEWS (1-888-954-6397), email: media@westjet.com.

(via WestJet (http://westjet2.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=631))

A Canadian government plane in Guangzhou from : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/556/5563764.html

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20120211/201202110324445128.jpg

WestJet employees approve regional airline
CBC News
Posted: Feb 8, 2012 10:37 AM ET

WestJet employees have voted overwhelmingly to endorse the company's plans to launch a regional subsidiary starting in 2013.

"There are not many organizations that would put such a strategic decision in front of the employees for their input and approval," said Antonio Faiola, a WestJet flight attendant that represents employees on the company's board of directors.

WestJet chief executive Gregg Saretsky said he's pleased that 91 per cent of non-union employees, known internally as WestJetters, voted in favour of the proposal. The proposal includes the purchase of up to 40 smaller turboprop aircraft.

"The opportunity presented to WestJetters has been very well received and I thank them for their input and consideration," said Saretsky.

WestJet says now that the plan has been endorsed by its employees, it will send request for proposals to two airplane manufacturers to make those smaller aircraft: Bombardier, which makes the Q400 currently in use by Porter Airlines, and ATR, which makes the ATR 72-600.

Profit falls

WestJet is raising its dividend by 20 per cent, as the airline reported Wednesday that profits fell 4.3 per cent in the fourth quarter.

The Calgary-based company said the quarterly dividend will climb a penny to six cents per share, to be paid on March 30.

WestJet posted lower profits of $35.6 million, or 26 cents per share, compared to $37.2 million, or 26 cents per share in the comparable period of 2010.

The results beat average analyst expectations of 20 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue grew 12.9 per cent to $721.5 million from $692.2 million.

Looks like this AC jet will find a new home.
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/557/5570475.html

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20120220/201202200841539097.jpg

http://www.aviationcorner.net/public/photos/0/6/avc_00240506.jpg

http://www.aviationcorner.net/show_photo.asp?id=240506

Looks like this AC jet will find a new home.
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/557/5570475.html


It looks incredibly odd and lonely.

WestJet sets new single-day record today

Students and families return home from mid-term break

CALGARY, Feb. 26, 2012 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced it will fly 52,992 guests today, setting a new single-day record for the airline. The previous record, set on December 22, 2011, saw 52,397 guests fly across the airline's network.

The new single-day record follows a busy week for travel which saw students at many Canadian post-secondary institutions head out for mid-term break. In provinces with a Family Day holiday, families took the week off to enjoy a warm-weather vacation.

"We love to welcome our guests on board and with each new record, it's clear that more Canadians are choosing our low fares and high value, our great guest experience and to travel with our fun and friendly WestJetters," said Bob Cummings, WestJet's Executive Vice-President, Sales, Marketing and Guest Experience. "We would like to thank our growing base of business travellers and, for this week in particular, students and their families for choosing to fly with us. We hope they had a fabulous break and we look forward to welcoming them on board a WestJet flight again in the very near future."

On average, WestJet flies approximately 40,000 guests on 425 flights per day. To reduce line-ups and save time, especially on busy travel days like today, WestJet offers four convenient check-in options:

Web check-in is available at westjet.com. Guests can check in from 24 hours to 60 minutes before scheduled departure.

Mobile check-in allows guests to check in with a cell phone from 24 hours to 60 minutes before scheduled departure.

Self-serve check-in kiosks are available at most Canadian and U.S. airports in WestJet's network from 24 hours to 60 minutes before scheduled departure. Select serve-serve kiosks also offer self-serve bag-tagging, allowing guests to print and attach their bag tags as part of their check-in process.

Traditional counter check-in is available in all airports. Our friendly WestJetters are always happy to greet guests and help them on their way.
About WestJet
WestJet is Canada's favourite airline, offering scheduled service throughout its 76-city North American and Caribbean network. Inducted into Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures Hall of Fame and named one of Canada's best employers, WestJet pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. Named a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion, WestJet offers increased legroom and leather seats on its modern fleet of 98 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. With future confirmed deliveries for an additional 37 aircraft through 2018, WestJet strives to be one of the five most successful international airlines in the world.

Connect with WestJet on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westjet
Follow WestJet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/westjet
Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at www.youtube.com/westjet

For further information:

Media contact:
Robert Palmer, Media Relations, telephone: 1-888-WJ-4-NEWS (1-888-954-6397), email: media@westjet.com.

(WestJet 2012)

It looks incredibly odd and lonely.

Is it a B767 non ER? I used to think they need those 767s before the 787s start coming in.

Air Canada March Break strike looms: ‘If we hit the lines, this airline is grounded’
Published On Wed Mar 07 2012
Toronto Star

Air Canada’s 8,600 baggage handlers, mechanics and ground crews are threatening to strike next Monday, possibly leaving March Break travellers stranded.

“I believe if we hit the lines, this airline is grounded,” said Dave Ritchie, Canadian general vice-president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, told reporters. “Unfortunately the public is going to be inconvenienced.”

However, Ritchie conceded Labour Minister Lisa Raitt may intervene, as she has in previous disputes involving other unions at Air Canada in the past year.

“I’m pleading with the minister. Let us do our job,” said Ritchie, referring to having the union and company negotiate a deal.

If Raitt does force some legal maneuver to block the union, Ritchie said they would obey the law.

“We will respect the law. We have no other choice. Will we like it? The answer is no,” he said.

In the House of Commons, Raitt said the government is concerned about this, given it’s the busy travel time.

Raitt, who has not indicated her next step, encouraged the parties “to step back from the breach, to go back to the table and to, indeed, find their way around a work stoppage and restore confidence to the travelling public.”

At Pearson airport, many travellers heading off on March break vacations on Wednesday were doing so not knowing that the strike date of 12:01 a.m. Monday was set.

Roma Huculak and Victor Korotky of Etobicoke were heading to Florida with their daughters Katrina, 10, and Mia, 5.

“At least we’re getting there. So if we have to stay for an extra few days, that’s okay,” Huculak said.

Katrina is scheduled to perform Ukrainian folk dancing at Disney’s Magic Kingdom as part of Arkan Dance Company next week.

Katherine More was dropping off her daughter Glenys Robinson, 17, who is heading off on a 10-day school trip to Italy with about two dozen Richmond Hill classmates.

“I’m hoping she doesn’t get stranded there,” More said. “The trip is booked. What can you do?”

The union says it is highly unlikely that the airline could operate without its members, who do everything from moving cargo and luggage to signing off that an aircraft is airworthy.

The last strike by machinists’ union was in 1987, which grounded the airline, and lasted 20 days.

Air Canada’s chief operating officer Duncan Dee said in a statement that the notice of strike action during the peak March Break travel period will cause uncertainty for thousands of customers.

“The lines of communication remain open and we are hopeful that there remains sufficient time to avoid a work disruption,” Dee said.

The strike date came after a tentative four-year deal was rejected last month by nearly two-thirds of the membership. They then gave their union a 78 per cent strike mandate.

Ritchie said his members who were hoping to make gains after making concessions including letting Air Canada waive certain pension payments.

“They are absolutely disgusted that this corporation will not recognize that they have given to the point they are no prepared to give any more,” he said, noting top executives have earned huge bonuses.

The airline’s 3,000 pilots are also in a legal strike position, though they have said they do not want a strike. The two sides in that contract dispute held talks on Wednesday.

After question period in Ottawa, NDP MP Yvon Godin, who is labour critic, said Raitt should facilitate negotiations.

“She should not get mixed in free bargaining and legislate people back to work. That’s the freedom of people to be in the union, freedom of organization and freedom of negotiating a collective agreement,” said Godin.

“The problem is if the government gets involved, every time there’s a dispute, that will make the worst strikes in our country that we ever see,” he said. “Business will say ‘we don’t have to negotiate a contract, we don’t have to negotiate, the government is going to do it for us.’

Liberal human resources critic Rodger Cuzner said urging parties to get back to the table is probably what any government would do.

“The trouble is what’s taken place prior to this particular labour agreement and the fact that the government has brought forward legislation, back to work legislation on two occasions prior, so you know, it sort of melts that iceberg that the union stands on,” he said, adding the union knows she’ll be willing to come back with it again.

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/1/3/2/2082231.jpg


http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Canada/Boeing-777-333-ER/2082231/L/

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5422569/

Looks like I got lucky to board their newly refurbished A330. (If that is it)

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1096/imag0754.jpg

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8308/imag0759b.jpg

That looks nothing like their bright and airy rendering!

A330 has a 3-3-X configuration?

That looks nothing like their bright and airy rendering!

Yeah I just saw the video again, and it's not what I was expecting.

[QUOTE=YU-AMC;90539117]Looks like I got lucky to board their newly refurbished A330. (If that is it)

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1096/imag0754.jpg

^^^^ Those are Ex-Mexicana's birds that's why they have high density configuration and PTV's

Bombardier’s Q400 faces dogfight for WestJet fleet order
BRENT JANG
Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/bombardiers-q400-faces-dogfight-for-westjet-fleet-order/article2406977/)
Published Wednesday, Apr. 18, 2012 7:22PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Apr. 18, 2012 7:26PM EDT
Excerpt

WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA-T14.530.352.47%) is facing a tough decision for its new regional fleet – fast planes made in Canada, or fuel-sipping foreign models.

The Calgary-based carrier is expected to pay as much as $1-billion on 40 new turboprop aircraft for planned short-haul flights. Bombardier Inc.’s Q400 has long been seen as the leading contender. But now a European rival is jockeying to win the order, claiming its plane is superior.

The Q400 burns up to 47-per-cent more jet fuel on shorter routes than the French-Italian ATR 72, the European manufacturer argues, highlighting that the foreign-built turboprop will provide substantial reductions on soaring fuel bills amid stubbornly high oil prices.

Montreal-based Bombardier’s emphasis on its Canadian content, including parts from the West and Quebec, is designed to sway WestJet. By contrast, European aerospace giant EADS co-owns the ATR joint venture with Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi.

WestJet initially favoured the Q400, assembled at Bombardier’s Downsview plant in Toronto, but an aggressive campaign by the ATR 72 team has tightened the race to supply WestJet with the 40 planes at a lower purchase price, industry insiders say.

The airline asserts that it needs the regional arm to improve profit and increase the number of destinations served. In January, WestJet confirmed its plans to launch the new division in 2013 to battle Air Canada, hoping to lure passengers in smaller markets and also increase flight frequencies on some existing routes.

WestJet knows that the Q400 can attain faster speeds and has a longer range, but the company has to weigh that against the fuel-efficient mileage achieved by the foreign plane, said one aviation consultant, who noted that the ATR 72 could potentially add 13 extra minutes to a trip from Toronto to Montreal that takes 70 minutes on the Q400.

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Bombardier spokeswoman Marianella de la Barrera said the Q400 seats more passengers than the competing plane, so that has to be factored into any analysis. WestJet is considering configurations that would place 68 seats in the ATR 72 and perhaps 76 seats in the Q400.

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Addison Schonland, a partner at aerospace consulting firm AirInsight, said the Q400 has 4.6 cents in fuel costs per available seat mile, compared with the ATR 72’s 6.3 cents. He also pointed out that the Q400’s maximum cruising speed of 667 kilometres an hour outpaces its rival’s 510 km an hour.

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Expansion-minded WestJet is steadily growing in commercial and charter markets. On Wednesday, WestJet said it signed a deal to fly charter flights for Thomas Cook Canada Inc., just days after the leisure travel firm discontinued its contract with Jazz Aviation LP.

WestJet said the new pact will allow the carrier to provide extra seat capacity for passengers who book on Thomas Cook’s Sunquest Vacations unit next winter. “As an expansion to its successful two-year, Canada-wide partnership with Thomas Cook, WestJet will be the only airline providing capacity for Thomas Cook’s tour operator arm in the Canadian market,” the airline said.

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