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Air Canada Wins Race For First North American Airline BlackBerry App

Having been the first North American airline with an iPhone travel application, Air Canada has now become the first one with a Blackberry app. The software allows travelers to get flight status updates, confirm their reservation, and even generate a 2-D boarding pass that locks in their seats and sets them up to board the plane. That last feature is the kind of thing that separates airline travel apps from the ever growing list of hotel travel apps. Generating a preexisting boarding pass earlier is better.

We've long been confused by airlines that leave Blackberry users behind while rushing into the iPhone market. Do people with Blackberries not travel a lot? Are companies afraid that Blackberry users aren't as tied to their phones? Have they heard of the word "crackberry?" Air Canada definitely has, per their press release:

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Tags: Prime-Plane-Spotting-Map / Plane Spotting / Toronto / Toronto Travel / Air Canada / Restaurants / Porter Airlines / YYZ / → All Tags

Drive-Thru For A Fast Food Lunch And A 747 Landing

We love airplanes, you love airplanes, so let's go look at airplanes! In our Prime Plane Spotting series, we'll let you in on all the best spots to whip out your cameras and binoculars for a piece of the aviation action.

On the Pacific coast of Canada, in Vancouver, there is a jetty ideally situated for watching landing planes. On almost the other side of the North American continent in Toronto, it's a Wendy's fast food restaurant that makes for the perfect lookout.

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Tags: iPhone Travel Apps / Technology / Airline News / Air Canada / → All Tags

The Prize For First North American Airline With An iPhone App Goes To...

Flying north of the border has recently gotten a huge boost in technology, what with Air Canada announcing that they've got gate-to-gate in-flight entertainment and that they're even working on testing and installing Gogo in-flight WiFi. The advances just keep on coming with Air Canada, as this month they've released the first iPhone application by a North American airline. Sure, other airlines have mobile-optimized websites, but haven't yet made the jump to full app.

Don't worry; the Air Canada app is free and readily available on iTunes' app store. With it, you can do more than just check flight status. According to the press release, the app will make it "convenient for travellers with Apple devices to retrieve electronic boarding passes, track flight information in real-time, receive notification of itinerary changes and obtain other details about Air Canada flights." It even utilizes the shaking feature of an iPhone and iPod Touch; shake it to refresh flight status.

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Tags: In-Flight WiFi / WiFi / Airline News / Virgin America / Delta / AirTran / Air Canada / AirCell / → All Tags

The Scoop On WiFi In The Sky; Now With Canada

Our neighbors across the border are on their way to enjoying sweet, sweet in-flight WiFi. SkySurf Canada has been awarded a license to provide Internet access up there, as the Gogo of the north, if you will. Aircell is already looking to become friendly with them, but for now it appears as though things will be slow to start, although Air Canada does plan to offer WiFi connectivity later this year on flights from Toronto to Los Angeles.

Back at home, Delta is plugging along in equipping their planes with in-flight WiFi. They’ve made some good progress in recent weeks and have almost completed WiFi installation on 60% of their pre-merger domestic fleet. Installation on the airline’s first wide-body jet is set to take place on July 9, and the Boeing 767-300 will be testing things out on July 13. You’ll be happy to know they are hard at work on Northwest’s pre-merger fleet as final designs will be determined this month.

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Tags: Air Canada / First Class Travel / Airline Food / → All Tags

Air Canada Makes It All Better With Cookies and Ice Cream

We can be bought with ice cream. We can be bought with a chocolate chip cookie. Give us both and we are totally yours forever and ever amen.

Air Canada clearly knows this, and have obviously arranged for us to stumble across the photograph of the Executive First Class snack on a London to Toronto flight to mitigate the fact that we heard their service was below par. We're seriously thinking that the service could be done by monkeys as long as they were bringing us our Haagen Dazs and freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie. Apparently they also offer oatmeal raisin cookies if you want a semblance of healthy goodness.

We can't confirm if this is the regular snack available on this flight – this picture was taken in January – but we are seriously considering booking a flight so we can find out in person. Or perhaps we just need a trip to the freezer section of the supermarket.

Related Stories:
· Air Canada's First Class Has Great Technology, But ... [Jaunted]
· First Class Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Archangeli]

Tags: First Class Travel / Air Canada / Airline Hell / → All Tags

Air Canada's First Class Has Great Technology, But ...

Executive Class on an Air Canada flight looks like this. Not bad, yet not too special, but the inside story on flying this way plays out in the Flickr discussion, proving that sometimes a thousand words are worth more than a picture.

Turns out that some people are none too impressed with the level of first class service on Air Canada. "Air Canada is trying to impress passengers with equipment rather than personalised service" seems to sum up the problem well:

I had possibly the two worst flight attendants EVER, who were making jokes about the plane crashing during takeoff... not exactly that quietly either. But... it really is more comfortable, and I appreciate the AC Power for laptops, and the USB power for cellphones and iPods.

So if you don't have any expectations for the service (or better still, block your ears with loud iPod music) you'll probably enjoy your executive experience on Air Canada.

Related Stories:
· Air Canada Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: s.yume]

Tags: In-Flight Entertainment / Airline News / Air Canada / → All Tags

Air Canada Keeps the In-Flight Entertainment Rolling, Gate to Gate

Don't you just hate it when you're up in the skies and halfway through a riveting episode of 30Rock or My Super Sweet Sixteen, and the in-flight entertainment system shuts down because your flight is beginning descent? Starting now, this is no longer a problem on Air Canada flights owing to government approval for them to offer entertainment from gate to gate.

What does this mean? Well, for those with seat-back TVs, it means no more remembering to pack hefty paperbacks or rip out crosswords for take-off and landing, since you can quickly tuck into some BBC News or "first-run movies" from the moment you sit in your seat until you have to fight to retrieve your carry-ons from the overhead on the way out.

Air Canada even likes to boast of their 300 hours of in-flight entertainment on demand so we're pretty sure they will be plenty on offer for even the longest hauls. Still sitting on the tarmac with a delay and crying kids? Why not tune them into some Spongebob while you catch up on CNN, although we totally understand if you peek over at Spongebob.

Related Stories:
· Entertainment From Gate to Gate [Air Canada]
· More Entertainment on Air Canada Flights [AsiaTravelTips]
· Air Canada Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: caribb]

Tags: In-flight WiFi / WiFi / Aircell / Air Canada / → All Tags

What's Going On With Air Canada's WiFi? Anything? Bueller?

Last fall we let you know about Air Canada, and their plans to offer in-flight WiFi. Well, that’s all we’ve heard since then, so we’re getting suspicious if this is actually going to happen. Maybe they were just jumping on the WiFi bandwagon, with hopes that things would magically work out in the end.

The only news coming out of our neighbor to the north deals with passenger numbers for February. We feel bad for you Air Canada, sorry about the 10%-ish drop in passenger loads, but we want to know more. How about a snazzy press release featuring the specific flights, destinations, and times that the new Aircell service will be offered?

For now we’ll just let you know that some jerks were shining lasers into the cockpit of an Air Canada jet this week. The pilots reported a green flashing light when they were trying to land in Toronto after taking off from San Francisco. We’re not going to suggest that the laser trouble-makers were making a statement about the airline’s WiFi promises, but we’re not going to completely deny it either. Seriously though, laser pointers and airliners do not mix, don’t be uncool—someone’s mom and dad are on that plane.

Any info about the pending WiFi Service aboard Air Canada? Let us know.

Related Stories:
·Air Canada Releases February Traffic Results [Trading Markets]
·Air Canada Pilots Report Being Flashed By Laser [Toronto Star]
·Air Canada coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Airline Hell / Air Canada / WestJet / Travel News / → All Tags

Things Are Different In Canada

In September, Canada launched a passenger bill of rights, entitling fliers to humane treatment and--get this--a chance to disembark if a delay seems interminable. So we shouldn't be surprised by the latest bit of travel news out of Ottowa: Air Canada and other airlines based in the country can no longer charge disabled or obese people extra for an additional seat.

The Supreme Court of Canada didn't actually make a ruling in a case involving a wheelchair-bound woman and a paraplegic who both insisted that they shouldn't have to pay extra to travel; instead, the court decided not to hear an appeal, effectively upholding a Canadian Transportation Agency ruling that all carriers must charge passengers the same fare, regardless of medical concerns.

In the US, airlines can--and do--charge extra if passengers need an extra seat, whether that's because of obesity or because they need a caregiver to accompany them. The so-called passenger of size policy is of Southwest, which says you must buy an extra ticket if you can't fit between the arm rests, is now of particular interest: The low cost carrier starts code sharing with Canadian airline WestJet in 2009.

Related Stories:
· Air Canada Can't Make Disabled People Pay Extra [Bloomberg]
· Canada Protects Obese Two-for-One Rights [Airline Biz Blog]
· Progressive Travel: Canada Launches Passenger Bill of Rights [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eric Bégin]

Tags: Open Threads / Flight Attendants / Air Canada / Airline Heaven / → All Tags

Heaping Praise On Our Flight Attendant Heroes

Though advertising from decades past would have you believe otherwise, the main reason flight attendants are working your flight is to keep you safe. That usually means handling an evacuation or restraining alleged troublemakers, but on an Air Canada flight this January, it meant helping the pilot land a 767.

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Tags: Aircell / Gogo / Air Canada / In-Flight WiFi / → All Tags

Aircell WiFi Coming to Air Canada

Air Canada will be the first Canadian airline to offer in-flight WiFi, after inking a deal with Aircell, the company behind the Gogo brand already available on American Airlines and in the works for both Virgin America and Delta. Guess this means United *won't* be the next carrier to offer internet access at 35,000 feet, despite our speculation.

WiFi will be available on "select flights" on A319 aircraft serving the US; Air Canada says access should be available by "spring 2009." The airline currently has 35 A319s.

The partners still need to secure regulatory approval from Canadian authorities and expand Aircell's air-to-ground network--which currently just covers the US--into Canada.

Related Stories:
· Rampant Speculation: Is United WiFi Coming Soon? [Jaunted]
· In-Flight WiFi coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Air Canada / Airlines / → All Tags

Heavy Life Vests and English Newspapers Are Outta Here

We're just loving the novel ways airlines will cut costs now that fuel prices are cutting in to their tidy profits. We get it, weight is a big problem, and with a threat from Air Asia X to weigh passengers, we're already planning pre-flight diets.

Last week Air Canada spin-off Jazz decided to lose weight by ditching life vests. They're allowed to do this because they (mostly) don't fly over water. If the plane crashes into the Great Lakes, passengers will have to hold onto the seat cushion--it's considered a flotation device.

And while the phrase "no life vests" is still ringing in our ears, Air Canada itself has canceled part of its newspaper service to passengers. The Montreal Gazette, it seems, is just too heavy. The airline still carries a French paper though--maybe French words are more lightweight?

Related Stories:
· Airline Removes Life Vests to Lighten Plane [CNN]
· Air Canada Cuts Newspapers After Dumping Life Vests [CarRentals.co.uk]
· Will Air Asia X Weigh Passengers? [Jaunted]
· Air Canada Gets In On The "Fun" [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eric Begin]