NEWS

Mexico impacted by US flight rules

Passport required if travellers stop in US enroute
Nothing has changed on the surface. Canadian citizens still do not need a passport if travelling on a direct flight to or from Mexico. A birth certificate - assuming they were born in Canada - and valid photo ID will suffice.

As of January 23, however, the United States Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires that all air travelers, including Canadians, carry a valid passport or a Nexus Air Card when travelling to the United States from within the Western Hemisphere.

This means that Canadians whose flights stop in the United States en route to, or from, Mexico (and any other country in the Western Hemisphere) must now travel with a valid passport or a Nexus Air Card.

Canadian residents (landed immigrants) must travel with a valid passport from their country of origin, Canadian resident card, round-trip tickets and proof of economic solvency (credit card, travellers’ cheques, etc.).

For information on Mexico’s immigration requirements: http://www.embamexcan.com/CONSULAR/VisaInfo.shtml

Delay in works for US passport plan

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a 17-month delay in the passport requirement for Canadians entering the US by car or ferry. Subject to a “rubber-stamp” approval from the Senate, the Homeland Security Department will now implement the plan on June 1, 2009. The delay, however, does not affect travellers entering the US by plane or ship – they will still require a passport as of Jan. 1, 2007.

Beginning December 31, 2006, passports will be required for travel to/from the United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean.

CRUISE

New Legislation for Cruise Ships

U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays (R.-Conn.) is proposing a bill that will require cruise ship officials to report any incidents or missing persons to Homeland Security within four hours of the master of the cruise ship learning of it. The bill also allows for Homeland Security officials to inspect each cruise ship that docks in the U.S. to check for proper equipment and make sure there are trained personnel available to investigate any crimes. If the bill passes, violators could face up to a $250,000 fine.

This legislation comes after media attention focused on the disappearance of George Smith last July while on his honeymoon in the Mediterranean. Last month, Royal Caribbean International reached a settlement with Smith’s widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith, over the disappearance of her husband. At the same time, however, other members of Smith’s family filed a lawsuit against the cruise line accusing the line of “outrageous conduct causing severe emotional distress” in its handling of the incident and its communications with Smith’s family.

The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) is working with Rep. Shays in reviewing the legislation and improving safety and security aboard ships. They stress that they are dedicated to providing passengers a safe vacation option.

DISNEY CRUISE

Guests sailing on Disney Cruise Line in the Caribbean will find a 175-foot ghost ship called The Flying Dutchman, anchored at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. The ship is an actual set piece from the latest movie.

AIRLINE

The European Union wants to start talks with Canada on an aviation deal that could cut fares and create more jobs.
Jacques Barrot, Commission vice president for transport, said, “Canada is a key partner of the European Union. This agreement will facilitate the travel of people and goods between the EU and Canada and will establish a high level of regulatory standards, in particular in the fields of safety and security.”
An Open Skies agreement would replace 17 bilateral air services agreements between Canada and EU nations that do not meet current EU law, "restoring legal certainty" for airlines, according to a Commission study. .

Air traffic between the 27 nation EU countries and Canada has doubled since 2000 to 8 million passengers in 2005 and this could increase to 14million by 2011 if an open aviation deal was agreed between the two. Such a deal, according to the report, could generate consumer benefits of at least over $110 million (€72million) through lower fares and create 3,700 jobs in its first year of operation.

-An "open skies" deal with Canada would free up market restrictions and set regulatory standards for safety and security, the EU executive said.
-"An open aviation area may generate consumer benefits of at least $94 million through lower fares and could create 3,700 jobs in the first year," the EU said.
Air traffic between Canada and the 27-nation bloc doubled between 2000 and 2005.

The EU executive needs the backing of EU governments to launch negotiations.

Meanwhile, EU officials will meet with US officials this week to see if a similar deal can be resuscitated. Open skies between the EU and US were put in late last year over Washington’s demands regarding limits on foreign ownership of U.S. carriers.

Porter Airlines added its second destination with today’s launch of scheduled service to Montreal. The carrier will initially operate four round-trip weekday flights, along with weekend service, between its operating base at Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA) and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Porter will more than double scheduled flights on the route to nine weekday roundtrips on Jan. 8, when its fourth aircraft is put into service. Porter inaugurated its service on Oct. 23 with 10 weekday roundtrips between Toronto and Ottawa. The airline says it plans to operate to as many as 17 short-haul Canadian and U.S. destinations within a 500-nm radius of the Greater Toronto Area.   www.flyporter.com.

New French carrier launched

The Air France and Transavia.com board of directors have approved a plan to launch a new French carrier on the international medium-haul leisure market. According to officials, the Air France/KLM Group aims to tap into a new market segment in France and meet the increasing demands of leisure travel professionals and consumers, taking inspiration from the successful business model of KLM’s subsidiary, transavia.com. Christian Boireau, executive vice-president Commercial France, Air France, has been appointed chairman of the new airline’s supervisory board. “This initiative marks an important step in our Group’s development,” says Boireau. “We will be taking position on a market segment from which we have long been absent. The assets offered by the new carrier -- stability, a clear and reliable scheduled flight strategy, flexibility, competitiveness, high standards in the commercial and operating spheres -- are the guarantee of the project’s long-term success.” The commercial brand will be transavia.com in order to take advantage of the existing brand, which already has a reputation for being a reliable, punctual and safe airline

Max Jet

All Business class Airline, flies from Las Vegas/Washington and New     York to London, with prices from 1999.00USD   www.maxjet.com

Southwest Airlines becomes US’s largest carrier

Southwest Airlines became the nation's largest carrier, flying the most passengers of any US airline last August, according to statistics from the federal Bureau of Transportation.
The carrier flew 8.7 million passengers for the month, which was the latest record available.
"The total includes domestic and international passengers. Southwest, which doesn't offer international flights, previously had ranked No. 1 in domestic passengers, but this is the first time it topped the list for total passengers," observed The Arizona Republic.

The move was interpreted as a sign that discount carriers now ruled the sky.

The next largest airlines by boardings in August were American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental and US Airways.

WestJet has reported a ninth consecutive record load factor

of 78.7 per cent for September, 3.5 percentage points higher than that of September 2006. This was accompanied by a capacity increase of 13 per cent and growth in RPMs (revenue passenger miles) of 18 per cent. “To date, 2007 has been a very positive year as we maintain focus on our vision of being one of the five most successful international airlines in the world. In many areas, WestJet is already a leading performer and one of the healthiest airlines worldwide,” commented WestJet president Sean Durfy. “Early bookings for our expanding Caribbean and Mexican destinations of Mazatlan, Montego Bay, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana and Cabo San Lucas are exceeding expectations.”

EasyJet   EasyJet has ordered 52 Airbus A319s and secured options on a further 75 on the back of record profits.
The UK budget airline saw pre-tax profits rise by 56% to £129 million in the year to September.  Ancillery revenues rose "significantly" in all areas by 34%, equivalent to 86p per seat.
The airline carried 11.5% more passengers at 33 million over the previous year and opened 58 new routes to bring its network up to 262 routes.  (Nov 11,06) More....

London UK: 2006 saw a record number of overseas visitors to London -- an extra 1.3 million visitors came to the capital, London’s economy by £600 million. According to the latest figures from the International Passenger Survey overseas visits to London last year grew by 9.4 per cent bringing the total to a record 15.2 million. This increase also helped to drive record spending -- which rose from £6.9 billion in the previous year to £7.5 billion. The figures mean London’s global share of international tourism rose from 1.7 per cent to 1.8 per cent. The largest increase in visitor numbers came from Europe, up 11.6 per cent to 9.6 million, followed by the United States, up 5.2 per cent to 2.4 million. (www.visitlondon.com)

Oasis Hong Kong flight times extended by longer routing
Budget airline Oasis has retimed one of its London to Hong Kong services because its flights are taking a more circuitous routing More....

Emirates set to offer in-flight mobile phone service
Emirates looks set to become the first airline to offer in-flight mobile phone calls for passengers from early next year More...

Global Hotel Alliance merges with Asian Hotels Alliance
Geneva October 27th, 2006; The Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) partners Kempinski, Omni, Pan Pacific and Rydges are delighted to welcome three new Members to the GHA. From 1st January 2007, the Asian Hotels Alliance (AHA) will merge with GHA, immediately bringing Dusit Hotels & Resorts, Landis Hotels & Resorts and Marco Polo Hotels as new members of GHA, while Meritus Hotels & Resorts and New Otani Hotels have an option to join GHA during the next 12 months. GHA thus further consolidates its position as the world’s largest hotel alliance of independent and individual brands. More....

Wyndham Hotels: Wyndham Hotels and Resorts expanded its We Remember What You Forgot program, whereby the hotel chain began supplying travelers on Aug. 13 with an array of sundry items, such as bottled water, contact lens solution, hair spray, hair gel, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and other products.

“No one knows better than Wyndham hotels how to respond to travelers’ needs,” said Peter Strebel, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts president. “We pioneered the concept with our Wyndham ByRequest program, which welcomes frequent travelers with the amenities, services and refreshments they specify.”

Las Vegas Sands:  Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world's biggest casino-operator by market value, said it's carrying out additional soil testing on a parcel of reclaimed land on which it will build Singapore's first casino-resort by 2009. (Aug 23/2006)  Cont...

TGV East has launched!
On June 10th, a new high-speed service hit the tracks, TGV East. Not only does this new line offer speed, but service and comfort that exceeds expectations.

With its sleek exterior and colorful, upbeat interior, a trip on the TGV East is a stylish journey at 199mph! Travelers will appreciate the extra time they have to spend in their destination city as this new line brings European cities even closer