adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Business

Lynx Air is shutting down. What to do if you have travel booked – Global News

Published

 on


Canadians booked with Lynx Air find themselves in limbo Friday after the ultra-low-cost-carrier announced it is going out of business.

Lynx Air said Thursday it has sought and obtained an initial order for creditor protection after facing “significant headwinds” in the past year.

The Calgary-based airline said it will continue to operate its scheduled flights until 12:01 a.m. MT on Monday, after which Lynx Air operations will cease.

Lynx said that despite growing its fleet and doubling its passenger volume over the last two years, it has faced rising operating costs, high fuel prices, exchange rates, increasing airport charges and a difficult economic and regulatory environment.


Click to play video: 'Lynx Air files for creditor protection, will cease operations'

0:50
Lynx Air files for creditor protection, will cease operations


Lynx Air added it tried to explore a sale or merger, but ultimately the challenges facing the company’s business “have become too significant to overcome.” The airline employs 160 pilots and flight crew members, according to the Air Line Pilots Association union.

“This is a difficult day for everyone at Lynx Air and we recognize it’s an exceptionally difficult day for our loyal customers,” a spokesperson for Lynx said in a statement to Global News Thursday.

The company added that efforts are being made to assist passengers affected by the move, with those who have existing bookings advised to contact their credit card company to secure refunds for pre-booked travel.

What should Lynx customers do?

Lynx, as well as the Canadian Transportation Authority (CTA), have published advice for customers on navigating the upcoming closure.

According to Lynx, anyone who has a flight cancelled this weekend will be notified by email. If their flight is after Feb. 26, they can contact their credit card company for a refund. Lynx said its contact centre will not be available to assist with refunds.

Travel and flight vouchers will no longer be accepted once Lynx ceases operations, the airline added.


Click to play video: 'Canada aims to toughen air passenger bill of rights'

2:18
Canada aims to toughen air passenger bill of rights


However, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement Thursday he expects Lynx Air to get stranded passengers back home as soon as possible, and to provide refunds if fares cannot be honoured.


Get the latest National news.

Sent to your email, every day.

He added his office is in contact with other airlines to see how they can help, “to ensure that passengers are put first.”

The CTA said on Thursday stranded passengers, or those with tickets for future travel with Lynx, should contact their travel agents or providers for alternate travel arrangements. However, those passengers may have to make those arrangements on their own, it added.

“Passengers who paid for their tickets by credit card should contact their credit card company to see what they are eligible for,” the CTA said.

“If travel insurance was purchased, passengers should contact the insurance company to see if their coverage includes such circumstances.”


Click to play video: 'Consumer Matters: How air passenger rights changes will impact travellers'

2:34
Consumer Matters: How air passenger rights changes will impact travellers


If Lynx customers purchased their travel arrangements from a travel agent that is registered in Ontario, Quebec or British Columbia, they may be eligible for a refund from the provincial authorities responsible for travel, the CTA added.

WestJet and fellow ultra-low-cost-carrier (ULCC) Flair Airlines are helping to mitigate some of the issues for Lynx travellers.

WestJet said Thursday it will offer discounted fares for stranded domestic travellers, and capped fares for Canadian repatriation flights on non-stop WestJet routes previously served by Lynx.

Flair CEO Stephen Jones told Global News in a statement Friday the airline has added six recovery flights for impacted passengers and crew, and is exploring other options.

“The ULCC landscape is a challenging one, and the loss of a fellow disruptor only underscores this. Flair now stands as the sole ULCC in the country, and we believe that competition is essential for ensuring fair prices,” Jones said.

“While acknowledging other airlines’ discount efforts, it’s important to note that their discounted fares are still higher than our base fares. That is why ULCCs and competition are so critical. Maintaining a competitive market benefits consumers with lower prices and increased choice.”

‘Very sad day’ for airline community: ex-Air Canada official

Duncan Dee, a former chief operating officer at Air Canada, issued a statement on X Thursday, formerly known as Twitter, calling Lynx’s closure a “very sad day for Canada’s airline community” and the communities it served.

“Unlike many countries on earth, Canada, sadly, is inhospitable territory for new entrants, especially ultra low-cost carriers,” he said.

“Unless and until Canada has a serious look at its treatment of air travelers, airlines and airports as cash cows, this situation will never change.”

Lou Arab, communications representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), said the union was “devastated” for their members impacted by Thursday’s announcement but will fight for them.

“We’ll make sure our members receive anything the company is legally obligated to provide that might include severance and back pay on a case-by-case basis,” he said in an interview with Global News. “We will fight to ensure that employees get everything they’re legally entitled to.”

CUPE represents 240 flight attendants at Lynx, Arab said.


Click to play video: 'Cost of WestJet’s shut down of Swoop'

2:02
Cost of WestJet’s shut down of Swoop


Lynx made its inaugural flight on April 7, 2022. After Monday, it will join former airline Swoop as the latest Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier to cease operations.

WestJet, which owned Swoop, shut it down last year and folded its operations into its main business. The airline also announced it will integrate Sunwing Airlines, which it acquired last spring, into WestJet’s mainline business by October.

— with files from Global News’ Sean Previl

More on Lifestyle

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

Published

 on

 

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.

Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.

The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.

WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.

SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.

SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on X:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Trump campaign promises unlikely to harm entrepreneurship: Shopify CFO

Published

 on

 

Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.

“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.

“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”

Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.

On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.

If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.

These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.

If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.

However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.

He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.

“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.

Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.

The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.

Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.

Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.

Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.

Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”

In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.

“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

RioCan cuts nearly 10 per cent staff in efficiency push as condo market slows

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.

The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.

The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.

RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.

The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.

RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending