AC*/TS/PD/WS | Canada-Based Carriers

[gnzlnho]

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

[ACT7]

Originally Posted by gnzlnho

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.

[hkskyline]

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)

[hkskyline]

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.”

[hkskyline]

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.

[hkskyline]

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.

[hkskyline]

Porter says Air Canada court complaints dismissed
22 July 2010



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)

[hkskyline]

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."

[hkskyline]

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)

[Davodavo]

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

London Heathrow:





Calgary:



San Francisco:






Toronto Pearson:






Hope you liked them

[hkskyline]

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.

[Davodavo]

¿Do you know which plane was it?

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by Davodavo

¿Do you know which plane was it?

From CBC - Air Canada 169

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...y-landing.html

[Davodavo]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

From CBC - Air Canada 169

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...y-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.

[hkskyline]

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.

[hkskyline]

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.

[Davodavo]

Air Canada focuses on cutting debt

Airline has almost $1B due in next 2 years


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/2010/0...nada-debt.html

[hkskyline]

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.

[hkskyline]

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.

[hkskyline]

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.