Breaking News
May 13, 2012
Air Canada Yanks Redemption Privileges to Cuba
In a surprise move - and one to infuriate its members - Air Canada Aeroplan has abruptly announced changes that will no longer allow accumulated mileage to be used for regular flights to and from Cuba. The island nation is one of Canada's top winter destinations.
While the airlines says the change was prompted by a move "aligning its commercial activities with Air Canada Vacations" - the carriers charter vacation unit - some analysts wondered if it had to do with US commercial restrictions, which often tend to reach into Canadian business activities.
Says Aeroplan: "All Cuban destinations will be transferred to Air Canada Vacations and will be sold exclusively by Air Canada Vacations and will no longer be available for an Aeroplan flight redemption....Aeroplan Members will still be able to redeem for certificates to pay for a portion of their dream getaway to Cuba or many other Air Canada Vacations destinations."
Aeroplan came under harsh criticism a few months back after other changes were announced raising threshold levels for top tier status.
April 9, 2012
Hotel Building Boom in Pakistani Capital Breaths New Life Into Sector
Sheraton Islamabad, scheduled for opening in March 2015
With the rehabilitation of the Marriott Hotel and the addition of two more international, 5-star hotel properties, business and leisure travellers to Islamabad will have a far better selection of accommodation and F&B outlets.
The Marriott, severely damaged in a truck bombing last year, is now open for business following an ambitious, 3-month rebuild - though some security experts voice concern about the structural integrity of the building.
2015 will also see the opening of a Sheraton Hotel as well as a 260-room Intercontinental Hotel. In addition, the region's first "Seven Star" hotel is under construction in the capital's corporate district.
A well-run Pakistan chain, Avari, now has a boutique hotel open in the capital and is planning further expansion.
March 9, 2012
Air Canada Strike Averted
After government intervention, the strike (see below) has been averted. Air Canada operating normally.
March 8, 2012
TRAVEL ALERT: Air Canada Strike Looms - Third Labour Dispute in Months
One of Air Canada's biggest unions - representing machinists, baggage handlers and cargo staff - could strike as soon as midnight Sunday, throwing the travel plans of millions into chaos. The possible disruption would hit just at the start of the spring break holiday, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
While government legislation blocking the strike is a possibility - Ottawa acted in the past two strike threats - Savvy Traveller urges travellers to re-book on WestJet, or use US carriers if they live close to US ports. There are also foreign carrriers that ply routes between Canada and the US - such as Philippine Airlines (YVR-LAS) and Lan Chile (YYZ-NYC).
So far, Air Canada has not offered refunds or flexible rules to allow changes, and says it plans to "minimize inconvenience." See Air Canada's statement here.
January 17, 2012
Carnival Cruises Stock Dives in Wake of Italy Ship Disaster
The US company, Carnival Corporation, suffered a steep drop in its stock prices today in the wake of the collision of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy.
Carnival (CCL.L) said it expected to take a hit of around $90 million from Friday's accident just as a result of the boat being out of use for the rest of the year.
Shares in Carnival were down 16.5 percent to 1,856 pence by the close of trading, knocking nearly 700 million pounds off the company's value. Rival Royal Caribbean Cruises' (RCL.OL) (RCL.N) Oslo-listed shares ended the day down 7.7 percent. There are also concerns that would-be travelers will be scared away from cruises, at least for the short-term.
Rescue workers searching the ship for missing passengers and crew recovered a sixth body on Monday. The ship's captain, who reportedly abandoned the vessel ahead of other passengers, remains under house arrest in Italy. Evacuated passengers described scenes of utter chaos once the ship began to list to one side.
October 16, 2011
Passengers on Diverted Air India Flight Spend Eight Hours on Aircraft at Gatwick Airport
Hundreds of passengers aboard an Air India AI131 flight from Mumbai to Heathrow were forced to endure unbearable conditions on the tarmac at Gatwick Airport after their flight was diverted due to fog.
Police were reportedly called to help maintain order on the aircraft after tempers started to flare due to lack of food and other amenities. The flight landed at 0800 Sunday and did not continue the 20 minute hop to Heathrow until about 1700. The airline is reported to have blamed the delay on the need to bring in a fresh crew. However there was no explanation from the airline or the airport authority on why the passengers were not allowed to disembark.
Passengers said they were handed a letter of apology upon disembarking at Heathrow. In all they spent about 18 hours cooped up on the Boeing 777.
The incident is an enormous black eye for the state-owned, money loosing airline, which is rapidly loosing market share to the much more savvy Indian carrier, Jet Airways.
Summer, 2011
In Major Route Expansion, South African Airways (SAA) to Open New Nigeria Route and Start Service to Burundi, Madagascar and Republic of the Congo
South African Airways (SAA) plans to introduce new flights to Abuja in Nigeria, Madagascar, the Republic of Congo and Burundi.
The move is part of its drive to rev up its African expansion plans, despite constraints and red tape. It also comes as US carriers - primarily Delta Airlines - are eyeing more routes on the lucrative trans-Atlantic crossings to Africa.
And new African carriers - such as the feisty Arik Air of Nigeria - is competing against SAA on South Africa routes with heavily-discounted fares.
SAA will also be growing in South America, Asia and India, according to a press release. Siza Mzimela, Chief Executive, South African Airways disclosed at INDABA 2011 in Durban, South Africa, that the continental expansion plans would not only focus on organic growth but also assisting with improvement of aviation infrastructure.
Mzimela said, “We are beginning to see open skies and we want to understand how this will impact on us and also the opportunities it will bring. But also important is opening up Africa for Africa that has been lacking. The focus on the continent is important.” Mzimela also stressed that SAA would not introduce all the new routes at the same time and the airline would be guided by bilateral agreements between South Africa and the various destination countries. Nigeria was one of the key markets that SAA had identified and it had recently opened a lounge there, Mzimela adding that there were other plans to improve the product offering to the West African country. Theunis Potgieter, General Manager for Commercial at SAA, said that the carrier would offer two to three flights a week to Abuja using a smaller aircraft.
According to Mzimela, the airline would look for agreement with other airlines through the Star Alliance network to achieve its continental and global expansion. Mzimela lamented that all the opportunities that abound in Africa are hampered by the inherent obstacles on the continent and said there was a lot that needed to be done to make the region competitive. “We are trying to do the best we can, but bilateral (agreements) are not controlled by airlines but by countries. “Respective governments talk to each other and there is still a lot of work to be done,” Mzimela stated.
Cheryl Carolus, Chairwoman of the SAA board, also implored governments to support the aviation industry. Carolus said that while Africa offered the greatest growth potential, it was not growing and there was a need to improve its infrastructure.
“Bilateral (agreements) is one of the tools of the trade and far too much red tape is still out there and it makes Africa uncompetitive. No airline can do its own and no country can do it on its own,” Carolus concluded.
SAA will also be coming up against infrastructure constraints at some of its new African destinations. For example, power outages at night have darkened the runway lights at Bujumbura International Airport (see story below).
May 21, 2011
Brussels Airlines Airbus A330 Averts Disaster Seconds Before Landing in Bujumbura (BJM)
A quick-thinking cockpit crew landing a Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300 averted disaster on the evening of Wednesday, May 18 when the runway lights at Bujumbura (Burundi) International Airport went dark just seconds before touchdown. The crew correctly aborted the landing and opted for a go-around.
The incident occurred just after 1900 local time as the Brussels-Bujumbura flight was on final approach, with wheels down, to the Burundian capital. One passenger estimated the aircraft was about 2-3,000 feet off the ground. An announcement by the pilot informed passengers of what had happened. No one on the 284-seat wide-body was injured during the incident.
Upon aborting the touchdown the crew guided the aircraft on a slow turn-around and eventually landed safely once the runway lights were switched back on. Industry sources said that experienced pilots could, in theory, land on a darkened runway but that such a maneuver is prohibited and would require extraordinary skill and familiarity with the airfield.
An article that was published in a local newspaper, two days later said local residents were alerted to the incident when they heard the jet engines being thrown into full power. The paper said the incident was caused by a sudden switch to generator power, and that it wasn't the first time the airports runway lights had failed during an approach.</p><p>It is unknown whether the crew would have had sufficient fuel to divert to Kigali - or to its next destination, Nairobi - had a landing in Bujumbura not been possible - however airlines customarily require sufficient fuel loads for such diversions.
Airbus critics say cockpit crews on the highly computerized, European-built jets are hard-pressed to perform sudden, unorthodox maneuvers. Airbus equipment is also said to be much more difficult to over-ride auto pilot controls than Boeing jets.
Some African airports are notoriously challenging for western pilots used to the reliability and safety of air fields in Europe or North America. In Nigeria, the national airport authority has come in for criticism for not properly securing major airfields with perimeter fencing. In July 2005, an Air France jet collided with a stray cow while landing at the southern oil city of Port Harcourt.
Brussels Airlines is a subsidiary of Lufthansa of Germany.
Car Rental Giants Avis and Budget Make No Apologies for Hidden Car Rental Fees
Renters beware! The large North American car rental giants AVIS and BUDGET slip in hidden fees for renters keeping their rentals longer than the period stated on the contract. Both slap $15-a-day for renters who decide to keep cars longer without informing the reservations centre. As much as this takes away from spontaneous diversions, the companies make no apologies - saying late returns messes up their fleet planning. However Savvy Traveller maintains that innocent renters who suddenly change their plans may not be aware of the penalizing fees- it is not spelled out on most contracts nor do rental agents make mention of it. The late charges are on top of several other user fees that end up on contracts - especially at airport properties.
December 14, 2010
Frequent Flyer Website Mix-Up Frustrates Travel Planning for Air Canada Passengers
Canada's biggest airlines struggled yesterday and into today to keep its frequent flyer booking engine operational after software engineers installed new software designed to give flyers more booking options.
The crash comes at the height of one of the busier booking periods of the year, and clogged up reservation and technical support lines Monday at Aeroplan - Air Canada's spun-off frequent fliyer program.
At least two inside sources confirmed the problem. One said it wasn't only Aeroplan members experiencing problems at its website: reservations agents were also struggling to cope with the new programme.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, one Aeroplan member said when he received one of two or three error messages over a period of several hours when trying to book seats via Aeroplan.com on Star Alliance airline, United. The booking was eventually completed via the Aeroplan call centre but the passenger - a top tier member - was slapped with a $30 booking fee.
The crash is likely to cause some embarrassment at the airline, as it follows problems experienced a few days earlier at an online contest site sponsored by Air Canada. Just last week Aeroplan members were sent emails announcing planned improvements. It read: "Great news! We have improved the search engine of our online booking tool to show you better-quality Star Alliance flight reward options for international destinations.
Ironically, for the first time this year, Air Canada was voted by the readers of Business Traveler as having the Best Airline Web Site.
An Aeroplan spokesperson was not immediately available. Aeroplan is owned by Montreal-based publicly-listed Groupe Aeroplan Inc. - 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.
December 7, 2010
New Uniforms at Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific (CX) Airlines today released its new cabin crew uniforms, designed by Eddie Lau. It's the first overhaul of the uniforms since 1999.
Other changes include a $129-million cabin upgrade and new Business Class suites. The new lie-flat business-class seats have a 75-inch (1.9 meter) usable bed length, 4 inches more than the current units.
The new seats in 30 Boeing Co. 777-300ERs and 20 Airbus SAS A330-300s by February, 2013, according to a statement. The planes will fly to markets including Europe, North America, Australia and India.