The Airline Pilots Association issues strike authorisation vote to WestJet pilots

The Air Line Pilots Association, announced this week that it has made the called to WestJet pilots for a strike authorization ballot vote to the members of their bargaining group, for consideration. The ballot started yesterday, 25th April and will run for 15 days, after which they could strike and cause mass disruption to WestJet's scheduled operation. 
“Our bargaining proposals are reasonable and consistent with the contracts that other pilots within North America enjoy. Unfortunately, our management team believes there is no issue with outsourcing our work and our careers. They expect us to just stand in place, be grateful to work for the company we helped build, and be willing to accept terms that are substandard compared to our peers,” said Capt. Rob McFadyen, chairman of WestJet’s ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). “Our goal remains to reach a fair contract that also brings stability to the airline.”
WestJet today issued the following statement regarding the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) announcement that it has issued a strike authorization vote to WestJet pilots.   "A strike authorization vote is a common step by unions in context of the overall labour negotiation process," said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. "We remain focused on successfully negotiating an agreement that will benefit our pilots and WestJet."
Meanwhile, Air Canada wasted no time in issuing the following statement to encroach on WestJet's business and stoke up uncertainty over a strike before any such industrial action has been confirmed. "Air Canada today said it is ready to adjust its schedules and capacity to limit disruptions for the travelling public and to ensure that customers get to their destinations in the event of a labour disruption at WestJet. 
We know that people travel for a variety of reasons and as the busy summer period approaches, we appreciate that the travelling public may be feeling anxious about their plans resulting from the uncertainty associated with potential labour disruptions at WestJet. With our extensive network and varied fleet, we are well placed to accommodate passengers disrupted by this situation. "
Of course, with Air Canada's policy of overbooking all flights by a factor of 50 and such rescheduling of flights may result in preventing disruption should strike action take place. 

Norwegian reports strong growth in a seasonally weak first quarter

Norwegian today reported its first-quarter earnings for 2018 with a result of NOK -46.2 million (- £4.16 million). The quarter was characterized by international expansion, strong passenger growth and higher fuel cost. A successful private placement of shares was completed this quarter.

The net result was NOK -46.2 million, compared to NOK -1,491.5 million the same quarter previous year. The net result this quarter is positively affected by a financial gain from reclassification of the investment in Norwegian Finans Holding of NOK 1,940 million.

The airline carried 7.5 million passengers in the first quarter, an increase of 12 percent. The capacity growth was 36 percent and the load factor was 84.5 percent.

Norwegian has grown rapidly during the past years, expanding international traffic and adding new bases, destinations and markets to its portfolio. Consequently, making the U.S. the market with the strongest growth.

Aeroflot Again Named World’s Strongest Airline Brand by Brand Finance

Aeroflot has once again been named the world's strongest airline brand by Brand Finance, the leading independent brand valuation consultancy.
The Russian flag carrier held onto its position at the top of this global ranking for the second year and was also named as one of Russia's top brands in any sector.
Brand Finance measures the influence of aviation brands by a number of factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation. Aeroflot received the highest AAA rating. Aeroflot's brand strength score put it ahead of a number of other leading global carriers including American Airlines, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Air China and Singapore Airlines, which has been named best in the world in numerous ratings over the years.
Aeroflot's brand value also grew, increasing by 13% year-on-year to USD 1.429 billion.

Ontario International Airport welcomes JetBlue

Ontario International Airport (ONT) officials heralded news from JetBlue that the popular airline will return to ONT this fall, beginning with nonstop service to New York. JetBlue is the third carrier in recent months to announce new service at ONT, the fastest growing airport in Southern California.

Popular airline begins non-stop service to

New York in September

"One of the biggest questions we get is when JetBlue will come to Ontario. Now we know that day is September 5th," said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). "We can't wait to welcome JetBlue, its crew members and customers. They can expect quick, easy access to our first-rate facilities and the hassle-free experience for which ONT is known."

United Airlines Unveils United Polaris Lounge at San Francisco International Airport

Beginning 30th April customers travelling in United Polaris, the airline's international premium cabin travel experience, will be able to relax and dine prior to their travels or refresh upon arrival in the new United Polaris lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) conveniently located in the International Terminal near Gate G92.

Thoughtful California touches are incorporated into the lounge's look as well as the food and beverages so that customers – visiting us from all over the globe – get a glimpse into the Bay Area's unique aesthetic.

Sunwing under investigation

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is launching an inquiry into delays, cancellations, tarmac delays and lost, delayed and damaged baggage affecting Sunwing flights scheduled to fly to, or from, Toronto Pearson International Airport between April 14 and 18, 2018. This inquiry will allow the CTA to deal efficiently with the high volume of complaints relating to these flights.

CTA's announcement is here. 

Silver Airways Acquires Seaborne Airlines

Silver Airways announced this week that it had completed its acquisition of Seaborne Airlines - its business and assets and creating a leading independent airline to serve the Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, and beyond.

The take-over brings together two strong independent airlines with fleets of Saab 340B's, a complementary route network and common codeshare/interline partners. With the upcoming deployment of Silver’s recently announced new fleet of state-of-the-art ATR-600s across both networks, the combined airline will have an expanded range, allowing it to better serve passengers and markets while creating more opportunities for employees and greater value for its business partners.

“I am thrilled to welcome the Seaborne team members to the Silver family as together we create one of the nation’s leading independent airlines in a transaction that will benefit our guests, team members, and the communities we serve, as well as both airlines’ valued codeshare and interline partnerships with most major U.S. carriers,” said Silver Airways CEO Steve Rossum. “This transaction brings together two strong and historic independent airlines with amazing employees, an excellent track record of operational safety, respect for our people and our communities, and great service for our passengers.”

Chorus Aviation honoured with Bombardier's top Reliability Awards

Chorus Aviation announced today that its subsidiary, Jazz Aviation LP ('Jazz'), has once again been recognized for achieving superior reliability performance in 2017 at Bombardier's annual award ceremony for commercial aircraft operators held in Orlando, Florida on April 23, 2018.

"We are honoured to be the North American award winner in two categories of exceptional reliability performance," said Colin Copp, President, Jazz. "This recognition can be attributed to the exceptional expertise of Jazz Technical Services and Maintenance and Engineering teams, and their unrivalled experience with Bombardier regional aircraft as an Authorized Service Facility (ASF)."

Jazz is the North American recipient of Bombardier's 2017 Airline Reliability Performance Awards in two categories:

CRJ100/200 aircraft programs for North America

CRJ700/900/1000 aircraft programs for North America

Air Canada to Launch Daily non-stop Montreal-London, Ontario and Montreal-Windsor, Ontario flights

Air Canada today announced it will begin new domestic regional non-stop flights on July 2, 2018.  The only year-round service between Montreal-London and Montreal-Windsor will provide services that meets the needs of both local and connecting passengers. Flights are timed to offer convenient connections to/from Atlantic Canada including Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton Halifax and St. John's; to Europe including Brussels, Rome, Geneva, Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris, Lyon, Frankfurt, as well as Casablanca, Morocco.

Eurowings BIZclass takes off

The new Eurowings Business Class – BIZclass launches today with some great fares on select long-haul flights.
The new BIZZclass offers many benefits and services including a comprehensive entertainment programme, super comfortable high-quality seat in a fresh modern cabin. The seat can quickly be converted in seconds into a fully flat bed that’s two metres in length.

Eurowings promise us that passengers will also be able to enjoy selected wines, beers, organic teas and other exquisite specialities from their partners Crew Republic, Geile Weine, Lakrids and Pukka Herbs. Fares, available to be booked from now, start from €*799.99  on flights from Dusseldorf to New York, Miami, Fort Myers, Cancun and Punta Cana!

Hawaiian Holdings Reports 2018 First Quarter Financial Results

Hawaiian Airlines, has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2018 this week, which showed despite some issues, the airline performed very well.
"2018 is off to a great start," said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO. "Despite an uptick in competitive capacity in the first quarter, we generated more revenue and carried more guests than any first quarter in our history. No one should be surprised that Hawaiian rose to the challenge. My colleagues on the ground and in the air are without peer - delivering operational excellence coupled with authentic Hawaiian hospitality.  Our outstanding first quarter results would not have been possible without the passion and excellence they bring to this airline.  It is an honour to serve with them."
"We are excited for the year ahead, and look forward to continuing to demonstrate that Hawaiian is now, and will remain, the carrier of choice to Hawai'i."

WestJet Encore wins 2017 Airline Reliability Performance Award

WestJet Encore today announced it has been named a winner in the Bombardier Commercial Aircraft's 2017 Airline Reliability Performance awards. The Airline Reliability Awards recognize operators of Bombardier's Q-Series turboprops and CRJ regional jets that have achieved at least 99 percent dispatch reliability throughout the year.

"To be awarded a Bombardier 2017 Airline Reliability Performance award is a fantastic recognition of work the WestJet Encore team does to get more than 250 daily flights out safely and on time every day," said Charles Duncan, President, WestJet Encore, and Executive Vice-President, WestJet. "WestJet Encore has almost five years of solid operational performance under its belt and I am extremely proud of the hard work of our team. We will continue to focus on being Canada's most reliable regional airline to best meet the needs of our guests."  

"Congratulations to your management team and all employees who contribute tirelessly to WestJet Encore's operational excellence," said Todd Young, Vice President and General Manager of Q400 Program and Customer Services for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

WestJet Encore operates a fleet of 46 Canadian-made Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft. The airline serves 33 Canadian cities as well as Nashville and Boston.

Norway's Widerøe Completes First Revenue Flight of an E190-E2

Widerøe, Scandinavia's largest regional airline, completed the first scheduled passenger flight of an Embraer E190-E2 this morning. The aircraft, registered LN-WEA and operating as flight WF622, departed Bergen Airport on time at 7:35 AM and arrived at Tromsø Airport two hours later at 9:35 AM local time. The flight was sold out.

Today's flight marks the official entry into service of the first of three new E-Jets E2s that Embraer has developed to succeed its first-generation E-Jets. Deliveries of the larger E195-E2 are planned to start in 2019, and in 2021 for the smaller E175-E2.

WOW air Brings Back $69 Flights To Iceland For Summer And Fall 2018

WOW air, the ultra-low-cost transatlantic airline is offering American's $69 one-way fares from 13 cities in the United States to Iceland. The airline first introduced $69 one-way fares in 2017 and is excited to bring them back in time for summer and fall vacation planning.

The discounted flights will be available from Baltimore/Washington, D.C. (BWI), Chicago (ORD), Cleveland (CLE), Cincinnati (CVG), Detroit (DTW), New York (EWR & JFK), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), St. Louis (STL), Pittsburgh (PIT), Boston (BOS), San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX) to Iceland (KEF). Fares go on sale today and will be offered for flights May 1, 2018—June 20, 2018 and September 1, 2018—October 27, 2018. Tickets can be purchased starting today at www.wowair.us.

Transat Celebrates 30th Anniversary of its Inaugural Toronto-London Flight

With 250 partners and guests in attendance at its hangar near Toronto–Pearson airport, Transat A.T. Inc., Canada's first integrated international tourism company, celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first flight between Toronto and London, England.

"I am exceedingly proud when I look back at how far we've come since that first flight out of Toronto, and how much the company has grown in Ontario and the rest of Canada," said Jean-Marc Eustache, President and Chief Executive Officer, Transat. "Over the years, our organization has adjusted to a changing and ever more competitive business environment. It has evolved and rapidly responded to emerging consumer needs when it comes to products, destinations, services, and of course price."