The decision by Canada’s two biggest airlines to relax on-board physical distancing policies next month is under fire from those who worry about the health implications of doing so amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Air Canada and WestJet announced on Friday they would begin selling tickets for adjacent seats as of July 1, after blocking access to those seats for the past few months to allow passengers to maintain a safe distance from each other.
Relaxing physical distancing on flights contradicts guidance from the federal government but is in line with recommendations from the United Nations aviation agency and the trade organization for the world’s major airlines, which called for an end to in-flight physical distancing rules in May.
“We definitely feel like we’ve had the rug pulled out from underneath us,” said Sarah Antonio, a Toronto resident with a ticket for a WestJet flight to Vancouver on July 8. “I just thought that they would want to take our safety more seriously.”
Antonio said she and her husband are going on a business trip they were supposed to take in March but chose to delay because of the pandemic. She said the main reason they felt comfortable booking the flight now was because WestJet said explicitly during the ticket-booking process that the middle seat would be empty.
Toronto resident Sarah Antonio says she is concerned for her and her husband’s health after hearing that WestJet will now allow customers to book seats adjacent to each other. The couple is flying to Vancouver on July 8 for a business trip. (Sarah Antonio/Submitted)
“We took some comfort in this option,” she said. “Seeing that me and my husband are from the same household, we thought, ‘Oh that’s great. We’re going to have a row to ourselves.'”
Antonio said she was upset when she found out that the middle seat could be filled from a tweet sent by her friend, not from the airline.
“You’re selling us something that you’re not providing,” she said.
In a statement to CBC News, WestJet spokesperson Morgan Bell said the safety of its customers is a top priority and that the company’s protocols are consistent with industry best practices.
“In the instance a guest is not comfortable on board, we suggest that they discuss seating arrangements with our crew, as they will continue to accommodate should there be space,” Bell said. “In the rare instance a guest wants to disembark prior to the cabin door being closed, they would be provided with the opportunity to board the next available flight.”
WATCH: Air Canada and WestJet to stop physical distancing on flights
Air Canada and WestJet are ending their seat distancing policy. Transport Canada listed physical distancing among the key ways to help prevent the spread of the virus in a guide issued to the aviation industry in April. 2:18
Devastating impact of COVID-19 on airline industry
The airline industry has virtually collapsed after travel restrictions and health warnings prompted a general reluctance among many to fly.
Worldwide, the industry is poised to lose between $152 billion and $187 billion in 2020, according to estimates from the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In Canada, airlines lost about 90 per cent of their revenue as planes sat idle throughout April and May.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the industry’s trade organization, proposed a range of measures last month aimed at relaunching the global air travel industry after months of declining passenger levels. The IATA said the need for physical distancing on flights was obviated by requirements for face coverings and the use of HEPA air filtration systems that are equivalent to those at hospital operating theatres, among other measures.
Both Air Canada and WestJet cited the IATA’s health recommendations as justification for their decision to begin selling tickets for every seat, even though Transport Canada listed physical distancing among the “key points” in preventing the spread of the virus as part of a guide issued to the aviation industry in April.
Passengers wearing mandatory masks wait for their flight using physical distancing measures at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on June 23. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
“Operators should develop guidance for spacing passengers aboard aircraft when possible to optimize social distancing,” the document states.
While that advice has not changed, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the on-board spacing requirement is a recommendation only and therefore not mandatory.
“Other considerations such as aircraft configuration, passenger needs and aviation safety must be taken into account when spacing passengers aboard an aircraft,” communications director Amy Butcher said.
Canadian airlines have taken a number of steps beyond physical distancing on flights to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
They must conduct pre-boarding temperature checks and require masks on board for crew and passengers. They have also implemented enhanced aircraft cleaning and scaled back their in-flight service in late March, cutting out hot drinks, hot meals and fresh food.
Ottawa should make physical distancing mandatory: NDP
NDP MP Niki Ashton said the same physical distancing rules that apply throughout Canada should also apply on airplanes.
“This really speaks to the profit-driven agenda of the airlines,” she said. “The Canadian government should be doing a lot more than encouraging or shrugging its shoulders.”
Air Canada and WestJet are not alone in promoting the IATA recommendations against in-flight physical distancing.
Budget carrier Flair Airlines never adopted a no-middle-seat policy, CEO Jim Scott said in an interview.
“It was really easy to have space between passengers because, until two weeks ago, we didn’t have any passengers,” he said.
Scott said as more tickets have been booked in the past 14 days, the airline faced a choice: block off middle seats and raise all fares by up to 40 per cent or find another way. Flair chose to allow passengers who book flights in a specific section of a plane to pay a $49 fee to ensure the seat beside them remains vacant.
Other Canadian airlines, including Air Transat and Porter Airlines, have suspended flights until mid to late July. Air Transat said when it returns to flying on July 23, middle seats won’t be blocked off.
“We will, however, to the best of our ability, apply distanced seating when possible … [for example] when the load factor allows it,” Air Transat spokesperson Christophe Hennebelle said.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
