Airlift Boost to Barbados for Canadians in Summer

Canadians can expect to have more travel options to Barbados this summer as Air Canada and WestJet will be offering additional summer services out of Montréal and Toronto for 2010.

Aviation consultant at the BTA, Neville Boxill, confirms that the Montréal service from Air Canada has been secured for the summer period running from June through November of this year, after which it will continue under the carrier’s Winter 2010 program.

The achievement of a Montréal service during the summer season 2010 forms part of the strategic objectives that the BTA is pursuing with Air Canada to have this service become a year round feature of local Air Canada operations. The carrier’s normal daily service will continue out of Toronto for the summer season, and it is projected that the carrier will again offer 9 flights per week for the winter 2010 season commencing in November as has been the case in previous years.

Further incentive to the additional Air Canada service to the island comes through the airline recently being given the prestigious award of the ‘Best Airline North America’ at the 2010 Skytrax World Airline Awards in Hamburg, Germany.

In addition to Air Canada, the summer 2010 period will also feature a new WestJet service on a 5 days a week rotation, temporarily creating a year round operation for the airline.

Boxill also adds that this additional airlift out of Canada has added more competition for that market, which has helped to keep prices down, consequently stimulating the market and generating positive growth on both airlines. At the end of April, Canada recorded a 10.6 percent increase over the previous year to date, translating into 3458 more arrivals to the island.

WestJet and Air Canada act as major network carriers within Canada with a large domestic network, and from every major city within Canada, passengers are guaranteed access to both airlines’ services into Barbados.