Friday, October 30, 2009

Edelweiss returns to Calgary to fly the yearly Zurich route, Swiss to codeshare

It has been a few years since Edelweiss flew into Calgary on the summer seasonal Zurich run. Belair, the Air Berlin subsidiary has plied this route the past couple of summers. Now, with Edelweiss' return, customers will be able to buy the SWISS codeshare on this route and connect to other Swiss flights in or out of Zurich on their itinerary. It also means that as long as your ticket is under the SWISS code (LX) you can earn miles in the Miles and More program. Flights will operate weekly on Mondays from May 31 to Sep 14

Schedule as follows:
YYC-ZRH Dep 1240 Arr 0955+1 (with stopover in Vancouver)
ZRH-YYC Dep 0925 Arr 1130

More details can be found on the Edelweiss website

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Aeroplan Fall/Winter Bonus Miles for Air Canada flights

Air Canada launched their next set of Aeroplan Flight bonus offers recently which definitely are targeting routes and fare classes that are slow at this time and ones that have competition on them. Out of Calgary, direct flights to Frankfurt, Kamloops, London ON, London UK, Toronto and Yellowknife have bonus offers on them but we have posted the complete promos as you may connect to many of these flights that have offers on them as well. All offers run until January 31, 2010. The bonuses are split into North America and International and are as follows:

North America

Earn up to 15,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly within Canada and between Canada and the US. Complete 3 one way flights to earn 3,000 bonus miles, complete 3 more (6 total) to earn another 4,000 bonus miles (7,000 total) and earn 8,000 more after completing another 3 (9 total). Full Details and online registration (Registration is required). The following routes qualify for this promo
Within Canada:
*
Halifax to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto
*
Montreal or Ottawa to Halifax
*
Toronto to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax
*
London ON to Calgary
*
Edmonton to Yellowknife, Toronto
*
Calgary to Toronto, London ON, Yellowknife, Kamloops
*
Vancouver to Toronto, Kamloops
*
Kamloops to Calgary, Vancouver
*
Yellowknife to Calgary, Edmonton
Between Canada and the U.S.:
*
Montreal and Las Vegas, Newark, New York-LaGuardia
*
Las Vegas, Newark, New York-LaGuardia to Montreal
*
Toronto to Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Newark, New York-LaGuardia
*
Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Newark, New York-LaGuardia to Toronto
*
Edmonton to Los Angeles
*
Los Angeles to Edmonton
*
Vancouver to Los Angeles, San Diego
*
Los Angeles, San Diego to Vancouver

International
Earn Double Aeroplan Miles for every roundtrip or 2 one-way segments in Executive First between Canada and
* Frankfurt, Munich, London, Zurich, Geneva, Paris, Madrid, Rome
* Tel Aviv
* Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul
* Lima, Bogota, Sao Paulo , Santiago , Buenos Aires , Caracas
* Sydney
Full Details and online registration (Registration is required).

Earn Double Aeroplan Miles for every roundtrip or 2 one-way segments in Economy Class between Canada and Geneva, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Santiago, Buenos Aires, or Sao Paulo Full Details and online registration (Registration is required).

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Time to get back at it again!

You may have noticed not much has gone on here on Iflycalgary.ca for the past two weeks or so. We had been busy preparing for and attending the FFP-ARAC conference (Frequent Flyer Program - Ancillary Revenue Airline Conference) hence the lack of posts here or updates on the Frequent Flyer Bonuses Group of websites. Now we are back at it, bonuses are being posted on the websites as of Monday and I am ready to get back to blogging as well.

On Iflycalgary you will see some new bonus offers from Air Canada (most of you probably know of them already), the resumption of flights to Calgary by Edelweiss (as commented by Dave in the post below) and YYC has revamped their website which means I'll give it a quick review.

Stay tuned.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Air Canada adds New Delayed and Cancelled Flight Service

Just in case we have repeat of last years Christmas mayhem with weather and delayed flights (if the past two days are any indication then we're in for a crazy winter) Air Canada is offering a new online Flight Delay/Cancellation service whereby you do no have to call AC Reservations and be on hold forever or wait in a long line at the airport counter. Combine this with YYC's free Wi-fi and you have a system that should become very helpful, at least for those who have laptops or Wi-fi phones.

Here it is straight from the Air Canada website:

"In our ongoing effort to deliver a superior level of service and reduce the problems associated with flight disruptions, we are proud introduce our new Delayed and Cancelled Flight Service.

Now, when an Air Canada or Jazz flight is cancelled or is expected to be delayed due to severe weather, you can search for another flight or cancel you remaining flight(s) online – no need to call Air Canada Reservations or see an Air Canada airport agent.

How it works:
  • If Air Canada advises you that your flight has been cancelled, or if severe weather conditions are expected to bring about a flight delay or cancellation, you may access the service online using your booking reference number and passenger name.
  • If your flight has in fact been delayed or cancelled, the service will advise you, in many cases, that we have already rebooked you on an alternate flight, thus minimizing disruptions to your travel plans. Naturally, you’ll then be able to:
    • View your new flight details (if you’ve been rebooked) and check in if your flight is eligible for online check-in,
    • Search for another flight to your destination (no change fee will apply), or
    • Cancel your remaining flights altogether.

If your flight has been delayed or cancelled, you’ll also be provided with a link to the service when you check in for your original flight via the Web, your mobile device or at an airport kiosk.

Because flight disruptions are never easy on anyone, we invite you to learn what else you can do when your flight is delayed or cancelled."

Thursday, October 8, 2009

YYC July & August Passenger Numbers continue to decline but show improvement

I little while back YYC published the numbers for July and August and I totally forgot to post them here, so for those who have seen them the decline in passenger numbers from 2008 continued over the summer however the decline wasn't as bad as previous months.

July saw a total of 1,146,411 passengers go through YYC, a 2.5% drop from 2008 and less then 1% lower then July 2007. Domestically July 2009 was actually 212 passengers higher then 2008, trans-border was down 2.1% but the big hit came Internationally with 21.2% less travellers!

August of this year was 2.4% less then last year with a total of 1,193,763 passengers with all three sectors (Domestic, trans-border and International) showing declines.

The declines of 2.5% and 2.4% are actually the best showings for the year as most other months were between 4-8% lower. The numbers however seem to confirm that we are slowly emerging from the economic crisis that has plagued the world for the past year.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Emirates 2 Day Sale - Save up to $3,000 out of Toronto

Today and tomorrow, Emirates is reducing First and Business Class fares by up to $3,000* to select destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand from Toronto (YYZ). There's no better time to take advantage of Emirates' award-winning service aboard the A380 including our Onboard Lounge, Shower Spas (First Class only), multi-course meals, fine wines and over 1,200 channels on demand. Purchase your ticket by October 7, 2009 for travel anytime. No blackout dates.
Business Class (one-way) $500 off
Business Class (roundtrip) $1,000 off
First Class (one-way) $2,000 off
First Class (roundtrip) $3,000 off

Book online at Emirates

Friday, October 2, 2009

WestJet to launch non-stop flights to Hawaii from Calgary

WestJet may be feeling the heat from Air Canada's new direct routes as today they announced new direct non-stop service from both Calgary and Edmonton to Honolulu and Maui. The flights will only run for eight weeks in March and April 2010 as WestJet has to wait for new planes to be delivered due to the large expansion they have planned for this upcoming winter season. Both Honolulu and Maui will have once weekly service during this period. The Honolulu flight will run between March 7 and April 25 while Maui will run March 6 to May 1.

Speculation has it though that these flights will be load restricted as they push the range limitations of WestJet's 737 fleet. WJ has had diversions in the past on flights between Vancouver and Hawaii however I don't believe those flights were load restricted. If WestJet watches the weight limts closely then there should hopefully be no diversions for the YYC flights.

Overall I am excited about this as it means even more choice to one of my favourite destinations even if it is only for an 8 week period. Ultimately if Calgarians show their support for these flights then WestJet will be compelled to run them again for the 2010/11 winter season.

Flight times are as follows:
Calgary-Honolulu Dep 0730 Arr 1044
Honolulu-Calgary Dep 1145 Arr 1016
Calgary-Maui Dep 0730 Arr 2238
Maui-Calgary Dep 1145 Arr 2204

AA releases schedule for the new Calgary - Chicago route

As we announced previously, American Airlines is bringing its Calgary to Chicago route back next spring. The route will be flown daily by American Eagle and is slated to started on April 5 with CRJ-700 equipment.

Flight times are as follows:
Calgary-Chicago Dep 0805 Arr 1220 (starts Apr 6)
Chicago-Calgary Dep 1515 Arr 2012 (starts Apr 5)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

WestJet matches Air Canada with 25% off Florida flights

Save an extra 25% on air travel to any of these great Florida desintations:

  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Fort Myers
  • Miami*
  • Orlando
  • Tampa
Book by October 1, 2009 for travel until December 16, 2009. Hurry, this offer is only available until October 1, 2009 (11:59 p.m. MT).

To begin your booking, select one of the above Florida destinations and your desired dates, enter promo code “GOFLORIDA” in the promo code field located on the bottom of the booking engine, and let the savings begin.