Are Canadians big travellers?
Yes, definitely, Canadians love to travel! We are travelling in record numbers and, with a strong dollar, travel to the US and international destinations is booming.
Where do Canadians typically go on vacation?
It really depends on the season. In summer, there is continued growth in demand from Canadians to visit Europe. Additionally, domestic travel peaks in the summer months – Canadians love exploring their backyard, and Canada has such a great diversity of destinations to visit. In the winter, we shift a lot of capacity to the US and ‘sun’ destinations such as Florida and Arizona.
How many routes does Air Canada serve in the US and Caribbean region?
Air Canada continues to expand its ‘sun’ destinations – this winter, we will be operating 90 routes between Canada and the US, and 92 routes from all across Canada to sun destinations. We’ve added three new destinations in the Caribbean and have grown our Florida capacity by 15%. We’re very excited about our winter ‘sun’ growth.
How did you start out in aviation?
I started in the scheduling department in short-term capacity planning, after a few years in the banking industry. Aviation is in my blood – both my parents worked for a large tour operator for many years and I have been flying to warm destinations every winter since I was young. By the time I was 13 years old, I had a subscription to the OAG guides and was booking family vacations. So it was natural that I’d pursue a career in the airline industry.
What type of destinations will Air Canada be planning to talk to during World Routes in Berlin?
Our focus in the coming years is international growth, so I look forward to meeting with airports from Asia, Europe and Latin America. But our growth is not limited to these markets, and we are also looking for opportunities in the US and Caribbean to expand our connection opportunities beyond our Toronto hub, and from other markets in Canada to underserved destinations globally.
What do you want to hear from airports during your one-to-one meetings at Routes events?
We encourage airports to tell us things we don’t already know. We have a top-notch planning calibration team and excellent software that can tell us market sizes, share, yield data, beyond flow, etc. What we need to know is what is unique about their markets – what sort of links are there between their catchment area and Canada? Which of our existing markets is the most similar, so that we have a frame of reference, and what companies do business in both the origin and destination? Also what sort of demand and natural links there are to destinations served beyond our hubs? Our goal is to serve markets with strong local demand and good beyond potential – we need to know, beyond what our numbers tell us, what the market offers Air Canada.
What do you enjoy about working in the commercial airline business?
I love that no day is the same. In the past few years alone, we’ve seen earthquakes, hurricanes, economic uncertainty, snow and ice storms – even volcanic ash clouds – all impacting our business. No flying plan is ever final until the planes are in the air – and it’s great to be a part of building and adapting the plan as we go. At the end of the day, the best part of my job is looking out the window of my office at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, watching the Air Canada planes taking off and landing, seeing all our hard work come alive.
What’s the best bit of professional advice you’ve ever been given?
A former boss and mentor always told me to remember that my weekdays pay for my weekends. Work hard, but remember to take the time to enjoy life – you’ll enjoy a more productive and fulfilling career.
What in your opinion is the greatest challenge facing airlines today?
The ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Oil prices continue to fluctuate and the world economy is unstable, while competition continues to heat up all over the globe. In times like this, an airline needs to be able to react quickly.
