AC maintains agent pay

AIR Canada (AC) has confirmed that unlike many other carriers in the local market, it will continue to remunerate Australian travel agents who sell its flights, with the airline’s VP of International Sales, Virgilio Russi, telling Travel Daily AC will keep paying base commission in Australia “for the foreseeable future”.

Here this week for a series of events to celebrate the upcoming recommencement of non-stop flights between Brisbane and Vancouver on 03 Jul, Russi and AC’s Asia Pacific Director of Sales, Kiyo Weiss, both reiterated their commitment to the agency distribution channel.

“Travel agents have supported us through the pandemic and we very much appreciate their efforts over the last two years,” Weiss said.

Russi said Australia was now one of Air Canada’s top performing markets, with exceptionally strong demand for seats in both Premium and Economy cabins.

Sydney-Vancouver flights are now operating 10 times weekly with strong yields, while Brisbane will initially start with four weekly frequencies, boosting to five in Dec and a target of daily services as soon as possible.

Direct flights from Auckland to Vancouver will also return on 12 Nov, with the services all using AC’s latest Boeing 787 product; however there is at this stage no time frame for a resumption of Melbourne services.

Country Manager Vic Naughton noted key advantages of the Air Canada flights, which as well as giving easy access to the vast AC network across Canada are also significantly faster and more convenient to many US ports.

Unlike direct US flights, pax are able to clear US customs in YVR without having to collect and re-check their bags, with the Canadian route offering a much easier, stress-free and shorter transit to ports such as New York.