TRAVELHotNews.com Magazine

MARIELA CASTRO LEAVES INSIGHT

Mariela Castro will leave her position at Insight today

Marketing Manager of Insight Vacations vacates position effective today
Mariela Castro, the marketing manager at Insight Vacations, will be leaving her position today, moving outside of the travel industry for a new role in marketing. In her absence, enquiries are to be directed to the following individuals. For any urgent marketing-related requests, contact Doug Patterson at doug.patterson@ insightvacations.com; for urgent sales-related requests, contact Nancy Putman at nancy.putman@insightvacations.com; and for urgent graphic design-related requests, contact Ivan Pacia at ivan.pacia@travcorp.ca.

TRAVELHOTNEWS POLL RESULTS

Survey shows that 54% of customers are still flying and paying surcharges
Last week, TRAVELHotNews.com asked you how clients are reacting to ever-increasing surcharges for flights. The majority of readers, 54 per cent, said their clients are �complaining but still paying the surcharges�. Some readers said their clients are thinking about their behaviours, such as �considering driving vs. flying�, with 27 per cent agreeing with the statement. Finally, 19 per cent of you said that your clients are �flying less than usual�.

DISNEY AND NOLITOURS WINNER

Gina Kirakopoulos accepts her Disney prize from Nolitours and Disney representatives

Gina Kirakopoulos from tripcentral.ca in Hamilton wins a 7-night trip to Walt Disney World Florida
Walt Disney World Resort and Nolitours have announced that Ms. Gina Kiriakopoulos, Vacation Expert from tripcentral.ca of Hamilton, Ontario is the lucky winner of a 7-night vacation package for four to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, including roundtrip airfare and one night in Cinderella�s Castle Suite. Gina was selected as one of Nolitours� top-producing travel agents for Walt Disney World Resort in 2007. In the photo at left, Kiriakopoulos receives her prize from Nolitours� Chad Burnett (left) and Walt Disney World Resort�s Hayden Yates (right).

TRAFALGAR CRUISE WEBINAR

Uniworld's River Empress

Free webinar on Tuesday July 8 covers river cruising
Trafalgar is offering travel agents and their clients a free online webinar on the world of European river cruises. Join Ingrid van der Venn, Uniworld Cruise Director, Cheryl Gregory, President of Trafalgar Tours, and Jackie Coulson, VP of Sales for Trafalgar Tours as they take you through what to expect and give tips on how to save and take advantage of special offers from Trafalgar. The webinar takes place on Tuesday July 8, 2008 at 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. EDT. To sign up, go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/162099136.

ICELANDAIR STATES THE FACTS

YYZ-Keflavik service suspended this winter; other service suspensions and staff layoffs to come

Icelandair has announced that they will not be ceasing operations in Toronto; instead, they are suspending service for the winter season only. The last flight on the summer schedule will operate October 26th and the first flight will be March 29, 2009. During the winter suspension, Icelandair will continue to operate through JFK and BOS gateways. The airline also stated that �Berlin and Minneapolis schedule changes are only winter suspensions and we will resume service to both of these cities in the spring of 2009.� The carrier also plans to cut 20 per cent of its workforce of 1,230 employees �as a result of financial pressures brought on by rising fuel prices. The reduction of approximately 240 staff will occur in the fall.� [Full text and pictures]

JAZZ AIR HITS A BLUE NOTE

Jazz Air cutting 270 workers as costly fuel forces capacity reduction
Canadian Press

Jazz Air is cutting 270 employees as the regional airline operator reduces capacity by five per cent. The Jazz reduction announced Thursday follows the mid-June move by Air Canada, from which Jazz was spun off and which buys most of its fleet capacity, to cut its flying by seven per cent with the loss of 2,000 jobs. ``The decrease in Air Canada's need for Jazz's services necessitates a reduction in staff of approximately 270 Jazz employees,'' the regional operator stated. Jazz CEO Joseph Randell added that ``every effort is being made to mitigate these job losses, and we hope this downturn in our industry's cycle ends soon. We are in a period of great uncertainty and cannot predict where the price of fuel is going.'' [Full text and pictures]

U.S. AIRLINES CUTTING JOBS

American Airlines could cut 900 flight attendant jobs; other U.S. airlines doing the same
Canadian Press

American Airlines says it could cut 900 flight attendant jobs as it reduces flights to cope with record high fuel costs. The Fort Worth, Tex.-based airline expects to reduce jobs for pilots and mechanics too, but it hasn't released numbers yet. American, the largest U.S. air carrier, said Wednesday that job cuts were necessary ``to overcome near-term challenges and secure our company's long-term future.'' Continental Airlines Inc. is cutting 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 jets, and offered voluntary-departure packages - but no cash - to employees with at least 10 years experience. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the second-largest U.S. carrier, plans to eliminate 950 pilot jobs and 1,600 salaried positions. Delta Air Lines Inc. is shedding 4,000 jobs, and US Airways Group Inc. is cutting 1,700. [Full text and pictures]