Air Canada & United Airlines presented to the Worldchoice members updating the trade on expanded schedules for 2024 and sponsoring guest speaker David Meade who delivered a presentation entitled “Growth Mindset”. Continuing on the topic of forward-thinking, Sunway sponsored Mark Kelly, a leading figure in Ireland’s AI community who delivered “The World of AI” to a captivated audience. Both David Meade, Mark Kelly and Lesley Roberts (United Airlines) joined a panel discussion mediated by Eoghan Corry.
Aoife Gregg, Leisure Sales Manager for Ireland, N. Ireland & Scotland – United Airlines
Aoife Gregg explained, about United Airlines, “We are proudly serving Dublin and Shannon for 25 years.”. This year marked the milestone of a quarter of a century of service and the commitment the airline has had to the industry and “our small and mighty country”.
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 and daily during the winter months
- Dublin to Washington year-round service
- Dublin to Chicago service which relaunches next April
- The Shannon to Newark route back next April
- The Shannon to Chicago service back 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 – the Ultimate Travel Companion
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 bad weather), the airline can send passengers customer service vouchers through the app.
Bláithín O’Donnell – Air Canada Harnessing Valuable Facts
Bláithín O’Donnell, Sales Manager Ireland – Air Canada is back in action and delighted to be face to face with members having been off the road for a few months.
She shares what Air Canada has on offer at the moment and going forward into 2024. She reminded agencies that there are agent rates if the video whetted anyone’s appetite in terms of taking their own holiday in Canada.
Air Canada Schedule Expanding for 2024
- Year-round service from Dublin to Toronto. This operates four times a week during the winter and from March 2024 capacity will increase to 6 flights a week right through the summer months till the end of October.
- Summer seasonal services from Dublin to Vancouver and Montreal. 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. Both these flights will operate until the end of September.
Living the Dream
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.
Harnessing Knowledge for Clients
She explained that a travel agent is a repository of random facts and knowledge. She shares, “Your value is really being able to get all of those little bits of random knowledge that you’ve been given a conferences, various presentations and during training sessions. Then pulling them all together and pulling them out of the bag when you need them for your clients as well”.
Bláithín gives 6 random facts to add to your knowledge base:
- You don’t need to pick up your bags when you are transiting with Air Canada whether going to Canada, the US or South America, you never need to pick up your bags. 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 via Canada, 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 as well as special diet meals on all trans-Atlantic flights. Ensure to pre-order to avail of this!
- 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.
“Growth Mindset” – David Meade (Sponsored by United & Air Canada)
The theme of the Worldchoice Conference 2023 was “Grow your Mind – Grow your Business”. Delving into this topic was David Meade who delivered a presentation on “Growth Mindset” which was sponsored by Air Canada and United Airlines. To those who might not know, David Meade has a very impressive resumé as a BBC broadcaster, trainer and corporate facilitator for Apple, Harvard, New York Stock Exchange, BT and Facebook.
A Northern Ireland native, he explained all his work is travel, he has about 20 flights a month and he (says) he genuinely loves it. He explains “how some really small changes in the way that you think actively can help move the needle on the results that you get every day – things like decision-making… decisions are the oxygen of great things, individuals and organisations”.
The World of AI – Mark Kelly (Sponsored by Sunway)
Mark Kelly, a leading figure in Ireland’s AI community, has established both AI Ireland and the AI Awards & is the author of AI Unleased – Navigating the AI Revolution as a Business Executive which serves as a practical guide for business leaders.
Mark opened, “I’m going to try to share with you my best insights and you can walk away today and put something into your business. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be living in the world.” and explained it is “akin to our ancestors discovering fire”.
It can be for good or bad. While there is fear and challenges with AI, there is opportunity. Mark provided a balanced perspective on how AI can be used to solve business problems or challenges in society. The key is using AI “to create a positive impact.”.
