The two main Canadian airlines are continuing to scale back their schedules and demand that Ottawa withdraw COVID-19 travel restrictions to keep the money coming in – although experts see some hope for the future. In March, WestJet Airlines Ltd. canceled 20 percent of its flights, continuing to cut schedules from February amid lingering uncertainty that continues to sap demand.
Harry Taylor, the interim chief executive officer stated that journey advisories and testing necessities had been meant to be temporary, but that after two years the crisis has reached its peak. ‘It is disappointing that Canada remains stagnant in its approach and continues to make travel inaccessible and punitive for Canadians and inbound tourists,’ he stated Monday.
As Air Canada and Toronto Pearson airports had requested last month, WestJet requested randomized testing on arrival, rather than obligatory molecular screenings earlier than takeoff and after touchdown for all vaccine-eligible international passengers. In addition, the Calgary-based company favors an end to quarantines for travelers awaiting results after they return from overseas.
The only G7 country to require pre-departure and on-arrival molecular testing in Canada, according to Mr. Taylor. Ottawa should formulate a recovery path for the travel and tourism industry. WestJet and Swoop have canceled 11,285 flights that were planned for March since early November or 48 percent. A flight information agency, Cirium, reported that, contrary to Air Canada’s plan, the airline has canceled 16,617 flights or 41 percent of its scheduled flights for March.
As passengers wait until closer to the departure date to ensure that pandemic measures do not affect their travel plans, further cuts may also be en route across all airlines. As long as the bookings come through, the flight schedule might remain regular, but if that doesn’t happen, even fewer planes will depart the tarmac than planned. David Huttner, an aviation expert in London, has said that people usually make all of their travel decisions at the last minute due to the instability of the world today and the difficulty of planning months in advance when rules and restrictions are constantly changing.
Richard Vanderlubbe, president of Hamilton-based Tripcentral.ca, has been downsizing his 160 employees and closing his 26 workplace locations in Ontario and Atlantic Canada since early 2020. However, the founder of a travel business that specializes in booking trips to Caribbean locations is upbeat.
Mr. Vanderlubbe noted that enterprise stays at 40% of 2019 figures despite the return of trip bookings. Travel agencies have also had to adjust their approach to pitches and promotions. He continued, ‘We used to sell resorts and everything related to it. Now people just sorting out through all of the restrictions and rules has become kind of the new marketing for travel, which is very odd’.
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