YYZ TRAVEL HOT DEALS

BaliBeach & Culture
Remarkable Island of Bali
Bali has earned itself a long string of plaudits, including the “Morning of the World,” “Island of the Gods” and the “Last Paradise on Earth.”  Spend 14 unforgettable days and 12 nights with deluxe accommodation and daily breakfast. Your Bali Beach & Culture tour will include almost everything – hotel transfers, airfare, sightseeing and tours, spa treatment, dinner with show and a full day Kintamani Tour are sweet extras! From $2399, Toronto departures till December 2009, taxes extra. Call your agent for details.
COMMENTS: please refer to attached flyer issued by Royal Scenic.

Exclusive Christmas and New Year Aruba deal.
Available only at YYZ Travel!

Join us for a Luxury Winter Getaway at RIU PALACE ARUBA.
If you book by July 31st 2009 you can save $1200 per couple OFF the regular rate.
Price starts at $2820 per person based on double occupancy for December 20th departure.
Dec. 20, 25, 27th departures for 1 week are available – please call Inna at 905-660-7000 Ext 305 to book.
Celebrate New Years in Style!

Complimentary Suite in Vancouver:
The Pan Pacific Vancouver is renowned for luxurious rooms, breath-taking ocean & mountain views, and impeccable service.  Now the Pan Pacific Vancouver has become even more attractive by offering complimentary private hospitality suites for small groups when rooms are reserved through YYZ Travel.  When 4 or more rooms are reserved over the same dates, the Pan Pacific offers a complimentary suite with 180 degree view of the ocean & mountains, seating for 10, and a flat screen TV that can connect to a laptop for presentations.  Ask your YYZ consultant for details.
 
We Love Referrals!
For more details on our referral reward program, please contact Roz Collis, Corporate Account Executive at (905) 660-7000, ext. 350.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Cathay celebrates 15 years of flying Toronto-Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Airways has 15 candles on its cake this year as it celebrates 15 years of service between Toronto and Hong Kong this week. Adding to its list of accolades, Cathay Pacific recently won “Airline of the Year 2009” at the Skytrax World Airline Awards. Cathay was originally founded on Sept. 24, 1946 by two enterprising adventurers, American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow, who each put up HK$1 to register the airline. Farrell and de Kantzow had met during World War II while flying Douglas C47 transport aircraft. A successful 48 years followed as Cathay Pacific grew from a regional to an international airline. In 1994, Cathay began passenger service between Toronto and Hong Kong with three times weekly B747-400 direct flights, adding the second Canadian destination for the airline (non-stop Vancouver flights began in 1983).
By late 1994, the frequency increased to four times per week. Early in 1995, the first deliveries of the A340-300 aircraft allowed Cathay Pacific to serve the Toronto to Hong Kong route on a daily basis. In 2006, Cathay established a Cabin Crew Base in Toronto, marking the airline’s third base outside of Hong Kong and its second in Canada. Today, there are more than 145 Cabin Crew based in Toronto. In 2007, Cathay launched non-stop B777-300ER flights from Toronto to Hong Kong. At the same time, the airline kept three additional flights with a stopover in Anchorage, increasing service to 10 flights weekly from Toronto to Hong Kong. Last year, the Toronto-Hong Kong non-stop service reverted to seven weekly flights. (http://www.cathaypacific.com/ca)

BREAKING NEWS

SKYTRAX: WORLD’S BEST AIRPORTS
Another year has passed and the vote of the travelling public has been revealed. This year’s winner of the award which evaluates the level of services and character of airports is known. The award stays in Asia as Incheon International Airport of South Korea replaces Hong Kong International at the very top.
Flying has become immensely popular in recent years. People are simply willing to pay a little extra for the speed and comfort of a flight. Once everyone got used to the actual act of flying, the demand for better service has of course increased. People simply started paying more attention to the diverse airport settings – where they often need to wait for hours for connecting flights or wait through delays.
Since 1999, a survey has been run buy Skytrax which aims at revealing which airport is held in high esteem by the travelers, mirrors their expectations and delivers a high standard of satisfaction. Asian airports are traditionally held in high esteem; the top three were in a very close range according to the survey results, however, Incheon International Airport in Soeul, South Korea, takes the gold this year. Last year’s most popular Hong Kong International Airport was pushed to 2nd place, and Singapore Changi was awarded 3rd place. Finally, Zurich is 4th, being pronounced Europe’s best airport, followed by Munich. Japan’s Kansai was 5th this year followed by Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam. 9th place was taken by another Japanese airport, Centrair Nagoya and the New Zealand’s Auckland is the final airport to make it into the top ten.
 
Key best airport 2009 award winners:
ASIA                               Incheon Int"l Airport
AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC         Auckland Int"l Airport
AFRICA                            Cape Town
EUROPE                           Zurich
MIDDLE EAST                   Tel Aviv
NORTH AMERICA              Dallas/Fort Worth
SOUTH AMERICA              Lima
CENTRAL AMERICA           Panama

EXTENSIONS and EXPANSIONS

AIR CANADA – non-stop to Switzerland
Air Canada launched year-round, non-stop service between Montreal and Geneva, Switzerland yesterday with same-plane service continuing on to/from Toronto. The carrier’s Star Alliance partner, Swiss International Air Lines, is offering seats on a codeshare basis on the new route. Air Canada is operating the service using 211-seat Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of Economy Class and Executive First service. The new route complements Air Canada’s Toronto-Zurich flights, also offered on a codeshare basis by SWISS, and SWISS-operated Montreal-Zurich flights offered by Air Canada.

Air Canada inaugurates Montreal-Rome service
Air Canada has launched daily non-stop flights between Montreal and Rome. Service to the Italian capital will be daily through the summer’s peak travel season. Starting Oct. 27, Air Canada will offer year-round Montreal-Rome flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with same-plane service continuing on to/from Toronto. Air Canada’s Montreal-Rome non-stop service will be operated using a newly refurbished 211-seat Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of Economy Class and Executive First service featuring 24 lie flat bed suites.

Air Canada helping make UK check-in fast and easy
Air Canada customers departing London Heathrow airport can now save even more time when checking in for their flight to Canada by using new state-of-the-art technology that combines “convenient kiosk check-in and self-tagging options with simple and efficient bag drop-off at designated counters.” Air Canada’s new “Quick Drop-Off” system, currently available at its Toronto and Vancouver hub airports, allows passengers to drop off their bags in less than 30 seconds. Air Canada is the first carrier to receive official UK Department for Transport approval for combining kiosk self bag-tagging with Quick Drop-Off products. The bag drop-off process, using Brock Solutions’ SmartDrop software, is a secure transaction involving scanning the passenger’s boarding pass and each bag tag.

WestJet launches service to San Diego, San Francisco
WestJet has introduced new seasonal non-stop service from Calgary to its two newest US destinations -- San Diego and San Francisco. Both routes will operate three times weekly.

WestJet expands Mexican product line
WestJet has announced it will fly to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas from more than twice the number of Canadian cities next winter, beginning in November. WestJet will fly new non-stop service to Mexico from Moncton, Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Kelowna, Prince George, Abbotsford, Victoria and Comox. Non-stop service already exists from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax.

Porter adds Boston
Porter Airlines is adding Boston to its growing list of destinations as part of its fall schedule. Service between Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA) and Boston Logan International Airport will begin Sept. 14, with up to three daily non-stop roundtrips.

Porter Airlines now flying to Thunder Bay
Porter Airlines has introduced year-round flights between Thunder Bay and Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA). “Porter is seeing an overwhelmingly positive response to our unique service in Thunder Bay,” said Porter president Robert Deluce. “We’re pleased to be extending the summer program all year based on high demand.” The Thunder Bay schedule is consistent year-round with three daily roundtrips during the week and two roundtrips on both Saturday and Sunday.

Icelandair and Alaska Airlines establish e-ticket agreement
Icelandair  has announced interline e-ticketing with Alaska Airlines. This agreement will now enable travellers on Icelandair to use a single e-ticket for itineraries that include connecting flights on Alaska Airlines.
“Icelandair is very excited about this important new e-ticketing agreement,” said Robert Keddy, Sales Manager for Canada.  “Interline e-ticketing with Alaska Airlines will offer passengers travelling on Icelandair more departure and routing options, while extending our reach into both Alberta and British Columbia.”

Flyglobespan launches Calgary-Dublin service
For Calgarians dreaming of the Emerald Isle, getting to Ireland is now easier than ever with Flyglobespan. The low-cost airline celebrated its inaugural flight to Dublin from Calgary International Airport on Wednesday (June 3). The new service, which departs every Wednesday through Sept. 23, marks the first-ever non-stop flight to the Irish capital from Calgary. Special one-way fares on select travel dates start are now available for sale.

Porter unveils upgraded Spectrum seating
In an effort to enhance the customer experience, Porter Airlines has upgraded its aircraft interiors with “ultra-comfortable” Spectrum seating across its entire 12-aircraft Bombardier Q400 fleet. Spectrum seats offer larger meal trays, built-in head rests and longer seat cushions. The orthopedically contoured and ergonomically designed seats, made by B/E Aerospace, will be the standard on all new Porter Q400 deliveries. The seats also feature Lantal leather and a thin profile for maximum cabin living space, including an extra half-inch of leg room. Porter’s 70-seat configuration provides up to 34 inches of seat pitch. Travellers can sample the Spectrum seats throughout June as part of a passenger lounge display at Toronto City Centre Airport..

On a red carpet
Tourisme Montréal receives prestigious Webby Award
Tourisme Montréal recently received the prestigious Webby Award in the tourism category for its web site, finishing ahead of four other finalists -- Tourism Australia, Asbury Park Boardwalk, City of Austin (Texas) and VisitSweden. Each year, the Webby Awards recognize web site excellence in over 70 different categories. Some 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries took part in the 2008 edition of the awards contest.

Vancouver named top North American city in which to live
Vancouver is the best North American city in which to live, according to Mercer’s 2009 Quality of Living global city ranking. The annual quality of living survey, released in April, also rated Vancouver as the fourth best city in the world for quality of living (after Vienna, Zurich and Geneva). The analysis was based on an evaluation of 215 cities using 39 quality of living criteria, including social, economic and environmental factors.

Places to stay

Hotel Indigo opens in Toronto
Hotel Indigo Opens in Toronto, Vancouver Planned for Early 2010
The Hotel Indigo Toronto Airport has opened and the boutique brand has announced plans to open in Vancouver in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Featuring almost 2,000 sq. ft. of space ideal for business meetings, corporate conferences and special events, the 120-room Toronto property offers a 24-hour business centre, sauna, indoor swimming pool and fitness studio. Hotel Indigo Ottawa opened in February as the brand’s first property in Canada. The 120-room Hotel Indigo Toronto is located minutes from Toronto Pearson International Airport and features 180 square metres of meeting space, 24-hour business centre, indoor swimming pool, sauna and fitness studio. Dining options include Phi on the Fly, which serves Starbucks coffee and traditional morning favourites, and Phi Bar and Bistro, a casual gourmet bistro and full-service bar. Guestrooms feature plush bedding, hard-surface flooring with area rugs and a spa-inspired bath experience. Additionally, there’s complimentary high-speed Internet access in guestrooms and public spaces.
In Vancouver, the 153-room Hotel Indigo will be located in the city’s upscale West Side neighborhood. It will feature 42 corner suites with panoramic views of mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
Hotel Indigo made its Canadian debut in 2007, in Ottawa

New five-star hotel opening in Jerusalem
The Mamilla Hotel, the newest property from the owners of the David Citadel, will open this month in Jerusalem. The five-star hotel will feature 194 rooms and suites overlooking the Old City on Mamilla Ave., Jerusalem’s new downtown shopping district.

Le Westin Montréal makes debut
Le Westin Montréal, a new hotel in the city’s Quartier International, has opened. Housed in a historic building just steps from Old Montréal, Le Westin Montréal offers 454 guest rooms, meeting facilities and the full suite of Westin signature amenities and services. Located at 270 Saint-Antoine St., the hotel occupies the elegant building that once housed the printing presses of Montreal’s legendary newspaper – The Montreal Gazette. The hotel’s rooms include 47 junior suites, two luxury suites and a presidential suite. Amenities include a fitness centre and indoor pool. http://www.starwoodhotels.com