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Posts tagged air canada
The Secret To Getting Cheaper Flights in Canada: There Isn’t One
057 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Is it possible to actually get a good deal from an airline? Well, the answer is it depends. The reasoning is that the airline industry in Canada is so competitive between the two major airlines, WestJet and Air Canada. Sure, there are often seat sales. But if you look closely, you’ll notice that both major airlines always seem to have the same deals going on at the same time.
Now many also point out the fact that air fares in the United States seem to be much cheaper than in Canada. Unfortunately, this has little to do with the airlines and much to do with airports and government. In fact, Canadians are stuck paying a variable rate on the Canadian Airport Improvement Fee, the Harmonized Sales Tax and Government Sales Tax, along with additional surcharges. Americans, on the other hand, simply pay a flat rate on the “Airport Passenger Facility Charge,” and other smaller fees. The big difference between the two is the flat vs. variable rate. Some Canadian airports charge much more than their counterparts, whereas all American airports have to charge below $18.
It’s also important to take a look at the size of the market. The United States population is roughly ten times the size of Canada. This means there is more room for competition, whereas additional competition in Canada could destroy the airline industry all together. Proof of this is JetsGo, a once low cost carrier based in Montreal, who couldn’t withstand its’ $55 million in debt. Furthermore, Air Canada is having a tough time right now with WestJet closing the market share gap.
There is one sale in Canada that seems to be unique to WestJet. It’s their Blue Tag Thursday event, in which they have three hours designated to offering a specific route(s) for a decreased price. The destination depends on a lot of factors including the economic environment — WestJet usually offers discount on flights that aren’t filling up as fast as they’d like. I personally have taken advantage of this sale many times, seeing prices slashed by as much as 40 percent. I have yet to see a similar sale offered by Air Canada, but if you know of one please feel free to link to it in the comments.
Tips on Getting The Best Fare
- Know the economic conditions in Canada – A lot of the deals that Canadian airlines released are based on sales. If the airline is experiencing low ridership, chances are that fares are about to decrease. You won’t find discounts around Christmas, Spring Break, or Easter. In my experience, the best time to travel is January, February, September, October, and November. Now unfortunately these months don’t always produce the best weather, hence the lower ridership in these months.
- Monitor all Canadian airlines – I have yet to see a significant sale where both major carriers don’t offer the same deal. This meaning that if one airline is having a “big sale” expect its competitor to do so also. In my experience, there has been some instances in which one airline is surprised by the other and is someone delayed in offering the sale, but I have never seen a time when they’ve completely ignored them.
- Book early – Airlines price their tickets based on demand. For example; a certain portion of seats will be allocated to one price. Then once those are sold out another set of seats will be sold at an even higher price. This means that it’s extremely beneficial to book tickets as early as possible, that way you can avoid paying the next level up. This is especially important when booking tickets around Christmas holidays, as prices for these tickets will begin increasing early the following year.
Unfortunately, the Canadian airline industry is extremely unpredictable, with many sales depending on market conditions. This is mainly because profit margins are so slim, offering little wiggle room for the airlines. Additionally, the fact that the industry can’t support much more competition is a huge factor in why prices rarely drop.
image source: ANDREW VAUGHAN / The Canadian Press
WestJet and Air Canada Stock Take Sudden Tumble
0231 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Both WestJet and Air Canada stocks took a steep drop at close today, with both airlines decreasing by over five percent. WestJet stock dropped .67 of a point to finish the day at 12.26 per share, while Air Canada dropped .16 to close at 1.32.
This all comes after WestJet had begun crowd sourcing their employees to promote ways of reducing costs. And according to this report, there was an overwhelming response. Furthermore, the airline was able to gather new product ideas by using this method.
It isn’t clear yet what exactly caused the slide today, however, both stocks had been maintaining their worth for the past week. Below is the graph of how today’s stock for both WestJet and Air Canada played out.
WestJet
Air Canada
WestJet Vs. Air Canada – Who’s Winning In The Small Town Markets?
0309 days
by Bradley
in Airline Reviews
This is the beginning of a new series on FlightNews.ca, where we will compare Canada’s two major airlines in a variety of different settings. From customer service to the aircraft they use, we’re going to go over both airlines with a fine tooth comb. Today we’re going to focus on the regional aspect of both Air Canada and WestJet.
Right of the bat, Air Canada has an advantage over WestJet; their own regional airline. Being affiliated with Air Canada Express (formerly known as Jazz) allows the airline to access airports with small runways, whereas WestJet and their fleet of Boeing 737s would not be able to land. Air Canada Express flies both DH3 and CRJ aircraft, which take up less runway when taking off. Having this ability gives Air Canada access to small rural areas, often being the only airline servicing a particular area.
The problem with both airlines, however, is that the small markets they’re trying to reach may not have enough population to support a regular route. In fact, many of these small routes aren’t profitable, forcing the airline to leave or cut their route frequency drastically. This has happened quite a bit post recession, especially in cities with less than 15 000 residents.
What’s interesting, however, is WestJet’s ability to attract small town markets to larger cities just to fly with them. For example, Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, and Abbotsford Airports have a large customer base coming from rural communities as far as three hours away. WestJet being so attractive to these smaller communities is probably due to their easy going customer experience.
With all of that said, the winner for this round is, hands down, Air Canada. The main reason for this is the fact that they are able to reach so many passengers with Air Canada Express. The large amount of routes they have available to customers puts them at a huge advantage over WestJet. Especially considering that WestJet isn’t even capable of landing in some of the destinations that Air Canada services.
WestJet and Air Canada Fighting Over Eastern Routes
2504 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
WestJet and Air Canada are offering significant discounts.
It has become increasingly obvious that both of Canada’s major airlines are in a war over flights in Eastern Canada. At this time, both companies are offering 30% off deals on flights leaving out of Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, and other major airports in Eastern Canada (varying depending on the airline).
This battle has been going on for quite some time now. If one airline offers a deal, the other soon follows with an equal or additional discount. Both airlines seem to be targeting the online audience, as I haven’t been able to find these deals through any other travel agency (yet). With that said though, this promotion may turn out to benefit WestJet, as their web-experience is by far more user-friendly than Air Canada’s. Furthermore, Air Canada adds a whole bunch of options that you can apply for before checkout, making it much more difficult to simply book a flight.
However, one thing that both airlines have failed miserably at is making it simple for the customer to use the coupon code. Both airlines require that the user go to a separate page and copy the code, then the customer must paste the code in the coupon box on the airline’s payment page before making the purchase. It would’ve been a whole lot simpler for the user if both airlines would’ve simply applied these discounts automatically, or at least create a simple check box for a customer to click on if they choose to use the deal.
I should also remind everyone that bookings for both WestJet and Aircanada must be made by January 10, and travel must be completed by June 26th…. Talk about copycats.
By the way, here are the links to Air Canada’s and WestJet’s 30% off deal.
Image source: Mogomoney.com
Air Canada To Resume All Service To London By Tonight
1517 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Air Canada stated earlier today in a press release that London-Heathrow airport has given them the all clear to resume their normal services to and from London. This all follows sharp restrictions on flights coming to and from Heathrow, after a wicked winter storm hit the area during the past few days.
The affected flights are as follows:
| December 21, 2010 | December 22, 2010 |
| To London From: | From London To: |
| AC848 Toronto | AC849 Toronto |
| AC850 Calgary | AC851 Calgary |
| AC854 Vancouver | AC855 Vancouver |
| AC856 Toronto | AC857 Toronto |
| AC860 Halifax | AC861 Halifax |
| AC864 Montreal | AC865 Montreal |
| AC868 Toronto | AC869 Toronto |
| AC888 Ottawa | AC889 Ottawa |
| AC898 Edmonton (Wed. Dec. 22) |
AC899 Edmonton (Wed. Dec. 22)
|
Table: From Air Canada
You may remember from Yesterday, when we reported on the European Weather Effecting Holiday travel, that it is important to contact your airline to ensure that your flight is not cancelled nor delayed. It is our recommendation that passengers still continue to check with their airline to confirm any travel bookings that you may have made.
Air Canada Expands Service To Mexico City In The Awake Of Mexicana Bankruptcy
0629 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Air Canada announced today that they’ll be adding new service to Mexico city from Montreal and Vancouver. This, after Mexicana Airlines filed for Bankruptcy a few days ago, will fill the spots that Mexicana was serving when they were still around.
Air Canada’s flight from Montreal will leave at 4:30 PM daily and will leave Mexico city at 9:30 AM daily as well.
The Vancouver route is a little more confusing. Beginning November 1, 2010, Air Canada will begin servicing Vancouver to Mexico City only on weekends, departing Vancouver at 8:30 AM and leaving Mexico City at 4:45 PM. Air Canada plans to expand this weekend service from Vancouver to a daily schedule starting December 1st with the same departure and arrival times.
All flights will be serviced with a 120=seat Airbus A319, a jet designed for mid-range flights. These flights will include the new cabin interior, individual seat back entertainment, and first class.
“Air Canada began serving Mexico City 46 years ago. Over that time, Canada and Mexico have built close ties not only through family connections and a vibrant tourism market, but also due to business connections – particularly with the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Air transport is vital to maintaining these relationships and Air Canada wants to ensure that there is sufficient capacity linking Canada and Mexico City to meet demand,” said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada. “In addition, in an increasingly global economy, travelers between Mexico and other parts of the world such as Europe and Asia find our major hubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are a convenient way to connect and take advantage of our extensive international network.”
This new flight is part of a number of flights Air Canada has added lately from Vancouver. The first being a couple of weeks ago, when they announced service to Haneda airport in China. Furthermore, Air Canada says that they expect to be named “Best Airline in North America” for 2010.
Air Canada Doubles Flights From Vancouver To Tokyo
0636 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
With the Asian population growing in Vancouver, there’s no doubt that there will be an increase in air traffic resonating from the China area. Air Canada has caught onto this, announcing that they’ll be increasing their service from Vancouver to Tokyo by one extra flight.
The flight, which will depart Vancouver at 19:30 (7:30PM), arriving in Haneda the next night. This flight is in addition to flights already departing to Beijing, Shanghai, and other Chinese cities. The benefits of the timing of these flights for Canadians is that it allows passengers to connect to flights that head to both Bangkok and Singapore.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Days of week Depart Arrive Depart Arrive
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, Vancouver Haneda at 23:00 Haneda at 00:30 Vancouver at
Wednesday, at 19:30 the next night (beginning 16:25 the
Friday, January 31) previous day
Saturday
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, Vancouver Haneda at 22:30 Haneda at 00:30 Vancouver at
Thursday, at 19:00 the next night (beginning 16:25 the
Sunday
These Air Canada flights will be operated using a 211 seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft, and will give passengers the option of Executive First and Economy class. Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment system will be equipped on all flights to and from Haneda.
Canadian Airlines Thriving In a Down Economy
0655 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
image credit: mogomoney.com
WestJet announced today that they’ve been able to reach their 21st consecutive quarter of increased earnings, with this quarter being able to scrummage up $21 million. This is a 130 per cent increase over the last year. The airline also said that their operating margin was 6.6 per cent, down from 6.9 per cent during the same time last year. This is very impressive, and WestJet seems to be one of the fastest growing airlines in the world at the moment. With that said, a large portion of WestJet’s revenue comes from their — in most cases — unnecessarily high pricing.
Air Canada has also reported that they’ve been doing better than previous years. Passenger revenues for the airline increased a whopping 12 per cent from the same quarter of last year. Air Canada credits the 8.6 per cent traffic growth throughout the past year for this jump. Furthermore, Air Canada has increased their capacity by 5.4 per cent in the second quarter due to increased international customers.
Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada says “Asian and European markets in which we added capacity are performing well, led by our Pacific routes which recorded a 37 per cent increase in revenue from the previous year’s quarter on strong traffic and yield growth.” He also stated that “Much of this international traffic growth can be attributed to our added focus on capturing connecting traffic at our Toronto and other Canadian hubs, as well as to our participation in the A++ transatlantic joint venture, which is in the process of being finalized.”
Air Canada Jazz was the only one out of the three airlines to post losses for this quarter. They were able to earn a net income of only $15.6 million, which is down from $25.4 million a year ago. However, on a positive note, Jazz also announced that their total operating expenses decreased by $4.8 million to $332.1 million.
As mentioned earlier, the increased profits by Canadian airlines is likely due to their price hikes throughout the past year, especially in the western part of Canada. Airlines lately have been paying special attention to eastern routes, with WestJet offering fares under $30 between Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto.
Air Canada Increases Flights To Northern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador
0657 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Air Canada announced today that, effective immediately, they’ll be providing non-stop service between Gander, Goose Bay, Wabush, and Sept-Iles. Although the flights won’t be operated by Air Canada directly, they will be controlled by their partner airline, Exploits Valley Air Services. The aircraft that will be taking these routes will be a Beach 1900 aircraft, seating up to 18 passengers.
Air Canada says that they are scheduling the flights to accomodate early flights, allowing for more same-day return flights for people conducting business or just travelling for the day.
Air Canada’s vice president said “We are pleased to offer our customers the choice and convenience of more non-stop flights between more places in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Northern Québec.”
Canadian Airline Traffic Figures Look Promising
0671 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
NAV Canada announced the airline traffic, figures for June 2010 today, which is measured in weighted charging units.
According to their stats, traffic in June increased on average by about 3 percent in comparison to June of 2009. However, the fiscal year so far isn’t doing so well, with 1.6 percent lower ridership than 2009. It should also be noted that NAV Canada’s fiscal year is from September 1 to August 31.
This is no doubt not good for major airlines in Canada. We’ve already seen WestJet and Air Canada drop routes from their schedule, as fare prices have been rising as of late. Perhaps this year’s travel season will provide more promise.
With that said, as I mentioned in my article about Canadians Paying a premium for airfare, there have been major discounts offered by Canadian airlines, specifically in the eastern regions of the country. The routes that have really been hurting customers in their pocket books, however, are regional routes serving smaller cities. It would be nice to see Air Canada and WestJet decrease their ticket prices for these cities in the near future, as flying is just not a viable option for residents with the prices the way they are.
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