ATC INSIDER BLOG

2012-01-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!

A former Qantas chief economist says overweight passengers should be forced to pay extra for air travel. Tony Webber, who left the airline last April, said the weight of an aircraft dictated how much fuel it burnt and airlines may have to raise ticket prices to account for obese jet setters.

Air rage on the A380. A mega row broke out on Emirates mega-jumbo when an 18 year old in economy reclined his seat for a nap. The 38-year-old (give one age – give ‘em all) immediately behind him was about to eat his in-flight meal at the very same time. Not surprisingly he asked the youth to put his seat back up, resulting in a drama packed interlude for other passengers.

Virgin Airlines flying to Vancouver soon!!!!

Emirates flying from Seattle with great connector fares from all cities across Western Canada!!!!

Great Seat Sales with Air Transat Holidays, Westjet Vacations, and Sunquest.

Porter Airlines is arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport on April 16. It will be the Canadian carrier's sixth U.S. destination with up to three daily round trip flights operating between Dulles and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Great savings!!!!

Your clients can take advantage of 15% off Tango fares on select Western Canada markets! Discount applies for travel until May 15, 2012:

Market (s):

Winnipeg	Thunder Bay
Lethbridge	Calgary
Castlegar	Calgary/Vancouver
Cranbrook	Calgary/Vancouver
Vancouver	Kamloops/Sandspit/Prince Rupert/Smithers

Enter the promotional code WEST2012

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and the best for 2012

2011-12-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

Japan airlines and Westjet have tied the not with a code share agreement. Westjet in 2011 has done at least a dozen code share agreements.

Call our offices and save up to 15 percent off airfares today!!!!

Canada routes for travel until May 16, 2012*:

OFFER	MARKET	VALID UNTIL	PROMOTIONAL CODE
15% off Tango fares	within Canada and to Asia	Dec. 23/11 for travel until May 16/12	NOEL 15
15% off Tango Plus fares	Canada to U.S., International and SUN	Dec. 23/11 for travel until May 16/12	NOELPLUS15

JUST BUCKLE UP!!!!

When the flight attendant tells you to keep your seat belt fastened during the flight – do it. Air safety investigators have reinforced warnings to airline passengers to buckle up after an investigation into a 2008 incident on Qantas that saw the plane pitch and dive injuring 110 passengers and nine crew. At least 60 people did not have their seatbelts fastened.

Airlines and Real Estate and Bankruptcy

American Airlines has a rather lovely asset listed in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing - a five storey town house on Cottesmore Gardens, Kensington, recently named Britain's 10th most expensive address. The value? Well, property experts suggest it could be worth up to 19 ($30.6) million pounds.

Air New Zealand Brand new Black Plane.

AC PILOTS WILL NOT STRIKE

The union representing Air Canada pilots says travellers don't have to worry about a strike over the busy holiday season. The union group issued a statement making clear there is no danger that they'll strike during the period. The thing is, they’re not in a legal position to do so, but it’s nice to be reassured

GREAT DEAL ON PACKAGES AT WWW.AIRLINETICKETCENTRE.CA

GREAT FLIGHT PRICES AT WWW.AIRLINETICKETCENTRE.CA

More seats from Western Canada

2011-12-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

ACV has increased seat capacity by 12-15% out of Western Canada, especially into Mexico, said ACV president and CEO Zeina Gedeon, adding that it is difficult for ACV to determine exactly what marketshare it has as some wholesalers share planes.
But, while ACV is working to increase its marketshare, Gedeon cautioned the company is not going after the mass market. “Our product is not the cheapest,” she said.

Poor Westjet !!!! Vancouver to Toronto WestJet flight diverted after passenger allegedly makes bomb threat last Saturday. Why would anybody to this to Westjet!!!!

Porter is doing alright!!! Porter Airlines reported a strong November load factor of 65.9%, 11.9 points higher than the previous year. The best November load factor ever recorded by the carrier passenger numbers.

Travel agents now can book Virgin Airlines!!!
Booking capacity for the new schedule of seasonal flights just launched by Virgin Atlantic for Vancouver-London is now online for travel agents only. Agents get a booking window of two weeks for seats on the new flights before they go live to consumers in mid-December. These are the first flights by Virgin Atlantic to operate between Canada and Great Britain since a short-lived Toronto-London schedule was launched in the summer of 2001. It was cut short in October that year.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2011-11-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Watch for last minute selloff's over Christmas at www.airlineticketcentre.ca under the vacations tab.

Transat is under going some challenges with it's pilots

"Union of Air Transat pilots say airline plans to layoff Canadian pilots and outsource jobs"

Thomas Cook advise that Canadian operation is profitable and strong. Even though consumer confidence and uncertainty in the UK

"Canadian tour operator says it remains strong and profitable; operates independently of Thomas Cook Group "

EK and QR via Cdn points have seat sales to middle East, Asia and Africa.

Sandals opens first green hotel in Jamaica.

Indonesia to spend 23 billion to bring the country back to pre flooding levels

Call your local ATC office and receive up to 15 percent off all Westjet flight. Ends 27 November 2011.

2011-11-18T20:59:00.000-08:00

Great last minute sales starting from $699.00 from 18 December 2011 for 7 days. Check it out at

http://atc.sax.softvoyage.com/cgi-bin/queryforf.cgi?code_ag=atc&alias=nmv&CFID=883142&CFTOKEN=f359a40e6956abd9-FCDABD6C-163E-7BC4-E2FB0041F64AC8EC

Mexico is looking to clean up it's image and is predicting the number of visitors to double by 2018.

Big Brother is watching you!!!

Canada's privacy czar says the national air security agency is collecting too much information about travellers, and sometimes breaches the law when it tells police about the cash they take on trips.

Many code share flights with Westjet traveling to international destinations with partners allow 2 bags compared to the competitors 1. Ask your agent for details.

Luxury hotel for Fido

Approximately 18% of adult leisure travelers in the United States take their pets with them when they travel, according to USTravel.org. New services and amenities designed to pamper four-legged travelers offer a range of options for people who want to take their pets on the road.

Hotels accommodating Dogs include Hilton Hotels & Resorts has a “special perks for paws” offer. Other chains with pet-friendly policies include Hard Rock Hotels, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Best Western and Motel 6.

Hate paying for excess baggage, food, seat selection and ------,

Guess what it's going to get worse " IdeaWorks, a company that tracks airline revenue generated by ancillary fees, says that those revenues could more than triple if airlines would equip travel agents with the tools they need to help sell them. A report by IdeaWorks says that the $32.5 billion it estimates airlines will collect in ancillary fees this year could jump to $100 billion if travel

2011-11-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

Westjet Vacation watchout looks like Porter airlines is working towards vacations and packages.

Watch for the Sunwing Mojito promotion on Mondays. Specials on Packages to Mexico and Cuba

Good news for US hotels

The U.S. hotel industry experienced increases in all three key performance metrics during the week of Oct. 30-Nov. 5, according to data from STR. In year-over-year comparisons for the week, occupancy rose 2.0% to 59.3%, average daily rate increased 3.8%

They say 1 000 000 Canadians travel from the states to save a few dollars it is going to only get worse as Emirates is flying from Seattle in 2012.

Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Prince George & Calgary in catchment area for new Emirates Seattle-Dubai route
As the March 1, 2012 launch date for new service with Emirates Airlines between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Dubai draws closer, the airline is encouraging Western Canadians to take advantage of their new gateway to connect to the UAE and the world.

Call 1 888 289 6660 and save on groups with ATC and Sunquest. Effective immediately, Sunquest Groups is featuring a Save Over $2,000 promotion. Valid on all new bookings made between Nov. 14 and Nov. 28, 2011, for departures between Dec. 18, 2011, and Mar. 31, 2012, this offer is applicable out of all gateways, to all destinations and for all durations.

Virgin is comming back to Canada, Westjet makes millions

2011-11-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

New route from Virgin Atlantic will begin May 2012 and operate four times weekly.
Vancouver to London.

Bangkok update

As of today, central Bangkok remains mostly dry, although some streets in outlying areas of city centres such as Lad Prao and Chatuchak have been partially flooded, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), which said the flood situation in Thailand remains serious. Tourism districts such as Silom, Sukhumvit Road and Siam remain unaffected.

Not to shabby, Westjet makes 39.3 million for the quarter.

Western Canadians have close access to Air France from Los Angeles hub

Call us for the lowest group rates in Canada at 1 888 289 6660.