Cathay Pacific & WestJet launch Canadian code share service

This past week saw the official announcement of a code sharing agreement between Cathay Pacific and WestJet which will further solidifies the relationship that these carriers have had with each other.  As of October 20th, Cathay Pacific will out their code (ie own flight number) on numerous WestJet flights that connect to the two cities that Cathay flies to: Vancouver and Toronto. The cities that Cathay will 'serve' now with this agreement include Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg. They will also codeshare on some of WestJet's flights between Toronto and Vancouver.

To see the complete list of code share flights please see Airline Route Updates

Air Canada to commence Toronto City Airport flights in February 2011

From the Air Canada press release:

MONTREAL, Oct. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced that it has settled the terms of a long term Commercial Carrier Operating Agreement (CCOA) with the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), operator of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Conclusion of the agreement is subject to certain conditions, including agreement with the lessor of terminal space, City Centre Terminal Corp. (CCTC), for lease of space at the airport. In addition, the airline has entered into a letter of intent for the leasing of aircraft and has finalized arrangements with a regional carrier to operate flights from the Toronto Island airport beginning in February 2011.

Air Canada's initial schedule will offer customers the choice of up to 15 daily non-stop flights from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, in close proximity to downtown Toronto, to Montreal Trudeau International Airport.

"We are very excited to return to Toronto City Airport in the coming months," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "These arrangements mark solid progress as we work to develop a unique product tailored to meet the diverse needs of travelers between Canada's two largest cities. Our customers have told us they want an airport option close to downtown Toronto to complement our Rapidair service which offers flights up to every 30 minutes at peak times."

Flights will be operated with Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop aircraft. Air Canada has signed a letter of intent with a lessor for the five aircraft that will be operated on the Toronto City Airport-Montreal route. Formal terms and conditions of the lease agreements are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

Following a competitive bid process to select a Canadian regional operator for these aircraft, Air Canada has concluded a capacity purchase agreement with Sky Regional Airlines Inc., an associated company of Skyservice Business Aviation. The regional carrier will sublease and operate the Dash 8 Q400 aircraft on behalf of Air Canada. Selection of Sky Regional Airlines was based on a number of criteria including a competitive cost structure, a proven track record in customer service excellence and experience maintaining Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The selection of Sky Regional Airlines to operate these flights has no impact on Air Canada's commercial arrangements with other regional carriers including Jazz Air LP with which Air Canada maintains a strong commercial relationship.

Air Canada is actively engaged in talks with the airport terminal owner, City Centre Terminal Corp. (CCTC), towards an agreement to lease terminal facilitates that will accommodate the new service.

Full press release can be found here

British Airways Executive Club increases mileage earned on discount fares

Over the past few years the trend with many airline frequent flyer programs has been to reduce the amount of miles earned on discount economy fares. Whether it was Aeroplan, Miles and More, Executive Club or any host of other programs, the move to awarding less miles was to cut costs associated with the low margin discount fares. Some airlines only did it on domestic fares (ie Air Canada) while others like British Airways had it across the board. Well, BA has made an about face and has decided once again to offer 100% of the mileage flown on discount economy fares for their Blue Executive Club members (non-status members). Previously, they were only awarding 25% of the mileage flown. They have also increased the amount of elite qualifying tier points from 25% to 50% on the same fares. In this day and age it is tough to find an airline giving back to the conusmer due to low margins but this is nice move on BA's part and hopefully some of the other carriers will follow suit.

For more details on the this change please visit British Airways

Vote for your favorite frequent travel program at the FT Awards

Many of you have probably seen it in your emails from the various airline or hotel programs or online at certain Frequent Traveler sites but just in case you haven't, well we're going to let you know about it! The Frequent Traveler Awards are essentially replacing the Freddie Awards which were last awarded in 2009. The Frequent Traveler Awards allows the general public to vote on their favorite frequent flyer and guest programs as well as earn and burn promotions offered by those programs. Voting is open now and runs until Oct 15, 2010. So let your voice be heard and vote today at ftawards.com

Enhancements to AIR MILES Flight Rewards now live.

You may recall our post on August 31 outlining changes to the flight rewards portion of the AIR MILES program that were due to come out soon. Well that time has come (last week actually), as the enhancements to the program that were announced are now live. Members can finally book flights online at airmiles.ca, they can book one way flights (at roughly 60% of the roundtrip cost, comparable to Aeroplan), they have access to 25 more airlines and more seats on partner airlines for additional reward miles and the ability to book travel for flights outside of Canada (eg London, UK to Paris).

Air Canada adds new routes to sun destinations

According the Airline Route Updates Air Canada will be adding the following sun routes for the upcoming winter season:
Montreal-Cozumel
Montreal-Liberia
Montreal-West Palm Beach
Ottawa-Punta Cana
Ottawa-Varadero
Most of these routes will commence in the mid to latter half of December

American Express Gold Rewards Card officially launched

As you may have read in an earlier blog post of mine, I have partnered with American Express to test drive their new Gold Rewards Card that launched October 1 in the Canadian market. The task for me will be to blog about this card over the next three weeks and give my professional opinion on the card while I use it. What do I get in return? American Express will be awarding me with 50,000 Membership Rewards points so that I can actually experience the booking or point transfer process with American Express Membership Rewards.

The card itself was introduced to me and other social media practitioners at a dinner held at the Canadian Air & Space Museum in Toronto. The team from American Express were very excited about the new Card launch and I have to admit that after hearing all the details, the Card is a very good offering in the competitive travel rewards Credit Card market. For us here at Rewards Canada, the card falls into the Hybrid Card category as you have the option of converting points to frequent flyer/guest miles or to use the points for any type of travel booked via any travel agency, online or tour operator for example. Unless other Cards change by next July, this Card will shake up the ranks in this category for our annual Credit Card ranking.

The Card itself is a Charge Card, meaning that it has no preset credit limit but the balance must be paid off in full each month. The benefit of a Charge Card is that requires Cardmembers to be disciplined about their spending and typically Charge Card holders do not spend more then they can afford.

What does the Card offer? To start, it will award 15,000 Bonus reward points once the Cardmember spends $500 on the card in the first three months and the first year annual fee is waived (thereafter it is $150) plus the first supplementary card is free for life. Additional supplementary cards are $50 per year, although this is also waived in the first year. The card earns 2 points per dollar spent at Gas Stations, Grocery, Drug stores and all travel, 1 point per dollar on all other spending. Those points can be redeemed for travel, merchandise and entertainment rewards via the Membership Rewards program.

Where will I go with the points that American Express has given me? Well, I haven’t decided yet, but my family and I have been talking about going to Caribbean in January and will more than likely put the points towards that. How will I use the points? I have two options, I can convert the 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 50,000 Aeroplan Miles to top off my Aeroplan account and book the flights via Aeroplan and the hotel separately or I may book a packaged all inclusive vacation and use the TripFlex option to provide a $500 credit to the overall booking cost. Assuming I have spent some money on the card, I should have more points available to further bring down the cost of the vacation.

Keep an eye out on our blog for information on an upcoming contest from American Express and of course on how I progress with the American Express Gold Rewards Card. For more details on the card or to apply for it please visit Americanexpress.ca

Extravelganza: Earn bonus Aeroplan Miles for flying this fall

Air Canada has released their 4th quarter systemwide flight bonus promo as follows:
Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you register and fly Air Canada on select routes within North America, to the Caribbean, Europe or Asia. For every eligible roundtrip or twoone-way flight segments, you’ll earn:
* Up to 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes within Canada or between Canada and the U.S.
* Up to 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes between Canada and Bermuda or the Caribbean
* Up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes between Canada and Europe or Isreal
* Up to 15,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select routes between Canada and Asia
plus Fly 3 eligible one-way flight segments in Latitude or Executive First between Canada and Europe or Asia, and you’ll receive an additional one-time 15,000 mile bonus!

The promotion is open to all Aeroplan members who register for the offer and is valid for flights until December 15.

Click here for full details and registration

Shanghai Airlines to no longer be an Aeroplan partner

Air Canada's Aeroplan will no longer be partnered with China's Shanghai Airlines as of October 31. That is the last day Aeroplan members will be able to earn miles on Shanghai Airlines while October 28 will be the last day members can redeem Aeroplan miles for Shanghai Airlines flights. Redemptions can be made for travel that is completed by October 31, 11. If you do redeem for flights on Shanghai Airlines be warned that no changes can be made to those reward tickets after October 28, 10.

Source: Aeroplan

Rewards Canada is 9 years old!

Rewards Canada quietly turned 9 years old this month! In some ways I cannot believe that Rewards Canada and our other websites have grown into what they have become today. When Rewards Canada was launched in 2001 it started off as a hobby and today it is part a full fledged global business providing travel rewards knowledge, consulting and promotion to consumers and corporations alike. Without our readers, visitors and clients we would not be where we are today, so I want to thank all of you for your continued support over the last 9 years and look forward to providing you with the latest on travel rewards for the next 9!
- Patrick Sojka, CEO/Founder The Frequent Flyer Bonuses Group