Flying high at the Travel Centres Conference 2023, both Air Canada and United Airlines presented to the audience providing updates on routes and services benefiting customers.
Bláithín O’Donnell – Air Canada Harnessing Valuable Facts
Bláithín O’Donnell, Sales Manager Ireland – Air Canada is back in action and was welcomed to the stage with thunderous applause.
She shares what Air Canada has on offer at the moment and going forward into 2024.
The 2023 summer season saw Air Canada flights to Toronto (year-round service) plus Vancouver and Montreal. Bláithín shared that Air Canada is returning with summer seasonal services to Vancouver and Montreal. This is in addition to their year-round service from Dublin to Toronto.
Air Canada uses the Boeing 787 Dreamliner 800 or 900 series aircraft on the routes to/from Dublin plus the airline has the 10 series of the Dreamliner on order. Bláithín (and I) hope to see that on the Dublin routes.
The seasonal routes to Vancouver and Montreal will return next summer. Vancouver will be back from mid-June with 4 flights a week. The Montreal route will start at the beginning of June with 3 flights a week.
27,000 Trees & Demand for Toilet Paper
Bláithín schools us on strange facts. To be honest, I wasn’t sure where Bláithín was headed when she shared that the average person will take about seven years to grow hair to their waist, that it takes 27,000 trees a day to keep up with the world’s demand for toilet paper and that Australia is larger than the moon. This followed on from Eoghan Corry explaining the origin of sinks in the men’s toilets of Kilishee Hotel so there seemed to be a tenuous link though as I was editing photos into the very wee hours of the night, I wondered if had I missed something.
She explained that a travel agent is made of random facts. She shares, “That is the art of travel agents, pulling random facts out of the bag… when something is needed, you know something, a colleague knows someone or a friend in the industry knows something as well…”.
Bláithín seeks to harness all those random knowledge facts to be able to give them for the benefit of your client: “So I’m going to give you a few random facts on Air Canada that if you weren’t in the know, you wouldn’t know”
- you don’t need to pick up your bags when you are transiting Canada on Air Canada. So if you’re going Dublin – Toronto – Winnipeg, you pick up your bags in Winnipeg. If you’re going Dublin – Toronto – Cancun, pick up your bags in Cancun. Just pick up your bags at your end destination.
- Tourist Card Visas – if you are travelling to Cuba, Air Canada hand out tourist card visas onboard the flight and the price of the visa is included in the price of the flight.
- If you are going to the US, you clear US Customs & Border Protection in Canada. So if you’re in Toronto, similar to Dublin & Shannon airports, you can complete pre-clearance and arrive as a domestic passenger in the US.
- Air Canada also offers free kids meals on board all trans-Atlantic flights. Ensure to pre-order!
- Free family seating for families with kids aged 13 or under so families are accommodated together. Once the date of birth of the child is 13 or under, when the tickets are issued, the family can be pre-assigned seating together by the Air Canada system.
- Free in-flight texting for members of Air Canada’s loyalty program, Aeroplan. Ensure you have registered for Aeroplan then use your Aeroplan number in the booking to avail of this offer.
Bláithín wrapped with the message that she, Bernadette and the Air Canada Sales Team are on hand to support the Irish travel trade and Irish customers with travel to Canada and beyond.
Aoife Gregg, Leisure Sales Manager for Ireland, Northern Ireland & Scotland – United Airlines.
This year United Airlines celebrated a significant milestone. The airline has flown from Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport for 25 years. This quarter of a century of service and connectivity could not have been possible without the support of both travel agents and the teams at both airports. Aoife thanked them and shared the plans for the next 25 years.
Ireland to the US with United Airlines
The Schedule offered by United Airlines from Ireland:
- Year-round Dublin to Newark with double daily service from April to October 2024
- Dublin to Washington year-round service
- Dublin to Chicago service which relaunches next April
- The Shannon to Newark route is relaunching in April
- The Shannon to Chicago service is launching in May
Described as three amazing airports, Newark, Washington and Chicago are all hubs for United Airlines with up to 200 connections from there to North America, Central America and South America.
United App
Aoife explains “We call it our ultimate travel companion and there is a reason why it’s the number one airline app on the United States app store… it is because customers are at the heart of all our technology”.
This app is compared to someone holding the customers’ hands throughout the whole journey. It supports customers from pre-travel, through the check-in process as well as the journey through the airport from going through security, to the departure gate and boarding the flight. The app notifies passengers with messages and push notifications throughout the experience.
In the event flight times are impacted (e.g. delays due to poor weather), the airline can send passengers customer service vouchers through the app.
Aoife is positive for the future of United Airlines with a video showcasing the significant investment in the airline.
