Air Canada welcomes the removal of pre-departure COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated travelers Entering Canada

Air Canada welcomes the Government of Canada’sannouncement to remove pre-departure testing requirements as of April 1, 2022 for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada.

Air Canada’s recovery remains strong and well underway. The airline has expanded its domestic, transborder, Europe and South Pacific international route networks, giving customers by far the widest choice of routings and destinations of any Canadian carrier this summer. Air Canada is offering new service on four transborder and three domestic routes, restoring 41 North American routes and will operate to 51 Canadian and 46 U.S. airports. Internationally, the airline is relaunching 33 routes to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including popular destinations such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, Madrid, Milan and Venice. Air Canada is also expanding its South Pacific network with the return of daily service to Sydney and resumption of services to both Brisbane and Auckland.

Lynx Air announces a major expansion from the Toronto area

Lynx Air, Canada’s new ultra-affordable airline, has today announced a major expansion out of the Toronto region, adding four new destinations and five new routes to its network, as it continues its mission to make air travel affordable for all. Canadians living in the Toronto region will have access to Lynx flights out of both Toronto Pearson Airport (Toronto Pearson) and John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (Hamilton Airport), with six (6) destinations across the country to choose from: Halifax, St. John’s, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmontonand Vancouver.

To celebrate this significant commitment by Lynx to the Toronto region, the airline has launched a competition to win a free weekend getaway from Toronto to Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver. Each weekend getaway package includes two return Lynx flights, flying on the airline’s brand-new Boeing 737 aircraft, and a two-night hotel stay at one of the four destinations.

Today’s announcement includes the following new Lynx routes:

Toronto Pearson – Halifax: Three flights per week, commencing June 30, 2022, and increasing to five per week from July 30, 2022.
Toronto Pearson – St. John’s: Two flights per week, commencing June 28, 2022, and increasing to seven flights per week from July 28, 2022.
Toronto Pearson – Edmonton: Seven flights per week, commencing July 28, 2022.
Hamilton – Calgary: Two flights per week, commencing June 29, 2022, and increasing to four flights per week from July 29, 2022.
Hamilton – Halifax: Two flights per week, commencing June 29, 2022.

Lynx will also be increasing its frequencies between Toronto Pearson and Calgary from seven flights per week to twelve flights per week from June 28, 2022.

Brussels Airlines sees tourism revival during Easter holidays

Brussels Airlines notes a high demand for sunny destinations during the Easter holidays and expects this to only increase due to a large number of last-minute bookings. During the upcoming school holidays , the airline offers 80% of its European vacation offer compared to 2019. Across the total network, Brussels Airlines offers 75% of its 2019 capacity. It is also notable that Belgians are departing earlier and returning later than before.

Brussels Airlines is gearing up for a busy Easter vacation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the focus is more than ever on leisure flights, as that segment rose sharply relative to business flights. The Belgian home carrier offers 85% of its 2019 leisure offer in Europe.

The most popular destinations during the Easter holidays are located in the South of Europe. The top 5 is headed by Malaga, followed by Rome, Lisbon and Madrid. New to the top 5 this year is Copenhagen.

On the Brussels Airlines intercontinental network, the more touristic destinations are doing well as well as the popular Kinshasa in the VFR (visit friends and relatives) segment. At the top of touristic intercontinental destinations is New York, followed by Dakar (Senegal), Douala (Cameroon) and Entebbe (Uganda). The airline will offer 82% of its 2019 long-haul capacity during the upcoming holidays.

15 destinations return to the Brussels Airlines network as of March 27: Washington in the United States and a host of popular leisure destinations in Europe, including Athens, Naples, Florence, Catania, Marrakesh, Palermo, Bari and Palma de Mallorca.

Brussels Airlines is still expecting a large number of last-minute reservations. As was the case for the carnival holidays, the airline estimates that two-thirds of passengers only book their trip in the last 6 weeks before departure. As a result, early deciders benefit from the cheapest fares relatively longer.

“In addition to the last-minute reservation trend that we have been noticing for two years, we also see that departing on Thursdays and returning on Mondays has become remarkably more popular. It seems that the “new way of working” as a result from the Pandemic has led to more flexibility for employees in managing their work-life balance”

Tom Maes, Head of Commercial Steering at Brussels Airlines

All fares at Brussels Airlines can still be rebooked, although the airline notices that there is less demand for this.

Towards the summer school holidays, Brussels Airlines also expects a high demand for leisure flights.

Top Copyright Photo: Brussels Airlines Airbus A319-111 OO-SSX (msn 2260) BLQ (Marco Finelli). Image: 957068.

Brussels Airlines aircraft slide show:

Brussels Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

KLM resumes flights to Bali

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, has resumed flights to Bali for the first time since April 2020. The first flight from Amsterdam, with a stop in Singapore arrived at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on 9^th March 2022.

KLM will operate two flights a week until mid-May and then plans to increase flights to three times weekly until end of September, subsequently increasing to five times weekly until end of October.

KLM’s first flight on March 9, 2022 was welcomed by KLM’s Country Manager for Indonesia, Mr. Jose Hartojo who said, “Being able to finally welcome our KLM flight again to the beautiful island of Bali and supporting the return of International tourism is a positive sign for travel. With the easing of quarantine measures we are hoping we can introduce more KLM flights soon.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic until 2 April 2020 KLM flew daily between Amsterdam and Bali via Singapore.

From 28 March 2022, KLM flights between Denpasar and Singapore are designated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights offering quarantine free travel to Singapore. Travelers must meet all Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) requirements.

Flight schedule between Denpasar-Bali and Amsterdam

Route	Period (2022)	Flight number	Day	Departure	Arrival
DPS-AMS	09 March to 23 March	KL836	Wed, Sat	20:55	08:15+1
	24 March to 16 May		Mon, Thu	20:35	07:50+1
	17 May to 04 Sep		Mon, Tue, Thu
	05 Sep to 28 Oct		Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun

AMS-DPS	09 Mar – 26 Mar	KL813/KL835	Tue, Fri	20:05	19:45
	27 Mar – 16 May	KL835	Wed, Sun	21:00	19:25
	17 May – 04 Sep	KL835	Mon, Wed, Sun
	05 Sep – 28 Oct	KL813/KL835	Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun

Flight Schedule between Denpasar–Bali and Singapore

Route	Period (2022)	Flight number	Day	Departure	Arrival
DPS-SIN VTL from 28 March 2022	09 March to 23 March	KL836	Wed, Sat	20:55	23:35
	24 March to 16 May		Mon, Thu	20:35	23:15
	17 May to 04 Sep		Mon, Tue, Thu
	05 Sep to 28 Oct		Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun

SIN-DPS	09 Mar – 26 Mar	KL813/KL835	Tue, Fri	17:00	19:45
	27 Mar – 16 May	KL835	Wed, Sun	16:50	19:25
	17 May – 04 Sep	KL835	Mon, Wed, Sun
	05 Sep – 28 Oct	KL813/KL835	Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun

For more information

Comair’s AOC is reinstated

British Airways (operated by Comair) and Kulula.com flights will start operating again tomorrow (March 17) following the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) reinstating Comair’s Air Operators’ Certificate.

Spirit Airlines announces three new routes from Las Vegas

Spirit today announced an expansion out west with new service to Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), Boise Airport (BOI), and Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO). All three new markets will kick off service with daily nonstop flights to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas (LAS) in August 2022.

Adding the new service increases the carrier’s presence in Las Vegas to 41 nonstop destinations and up to 75 peak-day departures. This total represents an almost 30% year-over-year increase from Spirit’s service to LAS. Guests traveling from ABQ, BOI & RNO also gain connection opportunities through LAS to more than a dozen destinations. In addition to these three new markets, Spirit also recently announced upcoming nonstop service from LAS to Memphis and Salt Lake City.

New & Previously Announced Routes Coming Soon to LAS:
Destination:	Flights Available:	Launch Date:
Memphis (MEM)	Daily	April 20, 2022
Salt Lake City (SLC)	Twice Daily	May 26, 2022
Albuquerque (ABQ)^NEW	Daily	August 3, 2022
Boise (BOI)^NEW	Daily	August 5, 2022
Reno (RNO)^NEW	Twice Daily	August 10, 2022

Hawaii Shuttle by KaiserAir taking flight on May 5, 2022

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-UnitedStates-3/KaiserAir-Kona-Shuttle/i-xzQjbcG/A

KaiserAir (Oakland) will relaunch its Hawaii Shuttle service between Oakland, California and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on May 5, 2022. To makr the occasion, a new livery has been created on the pictured N737KA.

Previously KaiserAir on November 10, 2016 launched its “Kona Shuttle” charter service with this pictured 60-seat Boeing 737-7BX N737KA (msn 30740).

Originally the Hawaiian flights were started on March 10, 2011.

The airlines began operations as the flight department for Henry J. Kaiser in 1946. A young pilot, Ron Guerra, joined the small crew in 1961 and flew Mr. Kaiser and his successors all over the world. The Kaiser heirs gave special permission to Ron to use the Kaiser name in 1980 when he founded his own company, KaiserAir, Inc.

KaiserAir is a preferred air carrier for professional sports teams, owners, and officials in the NHL, NFL, NBA, NCAA, MLB, and olympic sports teams. KaiserAir is the exclusive airline for the San Jose Sharks hockey team and has operated the Kona Shuttle on behalf of Kona Associates since 2011.

Top Copyright Photo: FlyHawaiiShuttle.com – KaiserAir Boeing 737-7BX N737KA (msn 30740) BFI (Joe G. Walker). Image: 957070.

KaiserAir aircraft slide show:

KaiserAir aircraft photo gallery:

South African deploys larger aircraft on some Durban and Cape Town flights

South African Airways has made this announcement:

South African Airways (SAA) has taken note of a decision by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) to indefinitely ground all Comair flights in South Africa.

As a result, demand for seats across all domestic airlines has been extremely high given that 40% of normal seat capacity has been removed from the market.

SAA has not increased fares because of Comair’s temporary grounding. The airline has deployed bigger aircraft on some Durban and Cape Town flights and will continue to do so until the current situation stabilizes.

QANTAS and Jetstar add New Zealand flights

QANTAS Airways and Jetstar Airways are gearing up to reunite families and friends and take tourists across the Tasman following confirmation that New Zealand will reopen for quarantine free travel to all Australian travelers next month, just in time for the Easter holidays.

From April 13, Qantas and Jetstar will operate up to 30 return flights per week across the Tasman on five routes, up from the two return flights a week currently being operated. Prior to COVID, Qantas and Jetstar operated more than 170 return services a week between Australia and New Zealand.

Qantas will fly daily from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to Auckland and Sydney to Christchurch with a mix of its Boeing 737s and wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft

Jetstar will operate three weekly flights from the Gold Coast to Auckland using its Airbus A320 aircraft.

Qantas and Jetstar will further increase flights during May and June and resume flights from Australia to Queenstown and Wellington.

Connections are available on Jetstar’s New Zealand domestic network of more than 60 return flights per week to five destinations. Trans-Tasman flights also connect seamlessly with Qantas’ Australian domestic flight routes and its extensive international network.

Eligible frequent flyers heading across the Tasman will be able to enjoy pre-flight time in Qantas’ Sydney and Melbourne International First and Business lounges as well as the Brisbane International Lounge.

Qantas continues to offer a Fly Flexible booking policy with unlimited flight date changes available on trans-Tasman flights booked before 30 June for travel until 31 December 2022 (fare difference may apply).

MORE SEATS FOR FREQUENT FLYERS

Throughout May, every Qantas and Jetstar flight will be a Points Plane meaning Frequent Flyers can use Qantas Points to book any seat as a Classic Reward Seat. Seats on these flights can also be purchased with cash.

For the rest of the year Qantas has already increased the availability of seats that can be booked with points on Qantas’ trans-Tasman routes by up to 50 per cent.

Classic Flight Reward seats across the Tasman start from 18,000 points with Qantas and 14,400 with Jetstar plus taxes, fees and carrier charges.

Air Canada strategically expands its South Pacific Network

Air Canada today announced a strategic expansion of its South Pacific schedule with the return of daily service to Sydney and resumption of services to both Brisbane and Auckland. Air Canada’s Australia and New Zealand flights operate from its trans-Pacific hub at Vancouver International Airport which the carrier has built to conveniently connect its international network to its vast North American network.

Australia and New Zealand Schedule

Flight	From	To	Days of Week	Departs	Arrives	Aircraft	Begins
AC033	YVR	SYD	Ramps up to daily beginning early May	23:15	07:45 (+2 days)	Boeing 777	Currently operating
AC034	SYD	YVR	Ramps up to daily beginning early May	09:30	07:10	Boeing 777	Currently operating
AC035	YVR	BNE	Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun	22:55	06:35 (+2 days)	Boeing 787 Dreamliner	Jul. 1
AC036	BNE	YVR	Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun	10:15	06:50	Boeing 787 Dreamliner	Jul. 3
AC039	YVR	AKL	Tue/Thu/Sat	22:45	10:05 (+2 days)	Boeing 787 Dreamliner	Nov. 10
AC040	AKL	YVR	Mon/Thu/Sat	14:30	06:30	Boeing 787 Dreamliner	Nov. 12

Air Canada may continue to adjust its schedule as more opportunities arise or based on COVID-19’s trajectory and the further easing of travel restrictions by government. For details on the full schedule please visit aircanada.com

Easy and convenient connections
Air Canada’s South Pacific flights connect seamlessly and conveniently to and from its extensive North American network in YVR including: New York–Newark, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Victoria, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles among other cities.

In Sydney and Brisbane, Air Canada’s flights will connect easily to and from Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Cairns and other destinations with code-share partner Virgin Australia.