A return to a freer level of international air travel likely won’t be possible until there’s greater agreement among nations on the COVID-19 tests and vaccination documentation needed to travel abroad, experts say.
“Every country wants to do its own thing and they really have to get over that and get on the same page,” said Marion Joppe, a professor at the University of Guelph’s School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management.
The European Union developed a digital certificate for residents across the 27-country bloc, but it has restrictions in place for non-essential travel from many third countries due to COVID-19 concerns.
The varying border-crossing and travel restrictions imposed by nations around the world in the wake of COVID-19 have left airlines and passengers alike coping with the resulting uncertainty.
And while more people are flying abroad today than in the early days of the pandemic, passenger levels are still far below pre-pandemic levels.
A long way from 2019
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported that the world saw a 60 per cent dip in the number of passengers who flew in 2020 as compared to 2019.
A sign on display at Regina International Airport in May of 2021 reminds people arriving from outside of the country about the rules that were in place at the time amid COVID-19 concerns. (Mark Taylor/The Canadian Press)
In Canada, there is hope among airlines their industry will see clearer skies ahead, though the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it tough to forecast exactly when.
At Air Canada, there is optimism now that new travel rules allow international visitors — at least those who are fully vaccinated — to enter the country for non-essential travel. The change took effect Sept. 7.
“We look forward to welcoming customers from around the world back on board,” Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for the airline, told CBC News via email.
Peter Fitzpatrick, an Air Canada spokesperson, says the airline has seen steep revenue declines during the pandemic on the international side of its business. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Fitzpatrick said the airline has seen steep revenue declines during the pandemic on the international side of its business — with its international passenger revenue less than one-tenth of what it was just two years ago as of the second quarter of 2021.
WestJet told CBC News that it’s “working diligently to predict the balance in demand and to support our guests’ needs” as vaccination rates rise and travel restrictions ease.
“To get to where we need to go, it’s going to take a continued focus on the safe restart of travel,” WestJet spokesperson Morgan Bell said in an email.
Air Transat self service check-in kiosks are seen at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, on July 31, 2020. The company went six months without operating commercial flights this year. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)
“Particularly as we look forward to a winter season that promises to be much busier than the last one.”
The airline, however, does not expect its operations to return to pre-pandemic levels before 2023.
Toronto’s Porter Airlines is preparing to restart service to four U.S. cities later this month after a lengthy suspension of flights due to pandemic-related restrictions. The company expects its flights to reach 60 per cent of its 2019 capacity by early October. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
“We believe demand for these routes will gradually return as flights are reintroduced across our network,” Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero told CBC News via email.
“Flights are returning in phases, growing to approximately 60 per cent of 2019 capacity by Oct. 6.”
How to move forward
The use of vaccine passports is one possible tool to encourage international travel.
The federal government has said it “recognizes that proof of vaccination credentials will support the re-opening of societies and economies.”
Joseph Ali, associate director for global programs at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics in Baltimore, believes support for such vaccine documentation is growing — though it may not be “strictly required” for all travellers in the immediate future.
A worker waits for arrivals at the COVID-19 testing centre in Terminal 3 at Toronto’s Pearson airport in February 2021. Some experts believe implementing vaccine passports will encourage international travel. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
“Until there is sufficient supply and distribution of vaccines globally … it won’t be appropriate to require vaccination passports for all passengers,” Ali said in an email.
Such a system would also depend on nations recognizing the vaccines being used outside their borders, as well as on the evolving circumstances of the pandemic.
“Vaccine passport systems won’t definitively solve all COVID-related travel challenges, but they may help get us closer to doing things that are important to many,” said Ali.
Each federal party has its own idea of how to safely reopen for international travel.
Canada’s federal government, prior to the election call, made arguments for such a system of proof-of-vaccination documentation for international travel. Each party has different plans for reopening the skies. (Lars Hagberg/Reuters)
The Conservatives, according to their platform, would require “rapid testing at all border entry points and airports” for all travellers, vaccinated and unvaccinated, without exception. The party says it also intends to help rebuild the country’s airline sector.
The New Democrats told CBC News that Leader Jagmeet Singh supports Canada developing a national vaccine passport enabling travel around Canada and abroad.
The Greens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A British Airways captain walks through the International arrivals area of Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport last month. Co-ordination of passport systems among nations will be crucial to the plan’s success, some travel experts say. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters)
Arvind Magesan, a University of Calgary economics professor, said it’s imperative to develop co-ordination among nations on vaccine passports for obvious reasons — as there’s “no point in getting on a plane” if your vaccine isn’t recognized by the place you’re trying to fly to.
“That’s a really hard problem, trying to co-ordinate policy across different countries,” Magesan said in an interview.
A different future?
Some observers think the pandemic may spur permanent shifts in airline travel patterns.
The industry may see fewer work trips in future, according to Marc-David Seidel, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.
A airport airline limo driver waits for customers in a nearly empty Toronto Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto in April of last year. Some people believe business travel will not return to pre-pandemic levels. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Seidel said people have become accustomed to using technology to conduct business in new ways and the advantages of not having to travel are clear to them.
“Do I really want to have to fly halfway around the world to have a four-hour meeting?” said Seidel, who sees the current moment as an opportunity to rethink what kinds of travel are truly necessary.
The University of Guelph’s Joppe, on the other hand, believes business travel will eventually recover.
“People want to travel and our whole lifestyle has become one of mobility,” said Joppe.
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.
