Experts are predicting a very busy spring break and summer travel season and Canadians are being advised to be prepared for the worst, especially after the travel chaos over the 2022 winter holiday season.
Katie Kewley, the Alberta leisure manager with Direct Travel, told Global News that business is "booming," with many people booking vacations for the first time in three years, adding pressure to the recovering air travel industry that has had operational challenges dealing with post-pandemic spikes in demand.
Chaos erupted in the Canadian air travel industry last summer and then again in late DEC 2022 when winter weather in multiple areas across Canada coincided with high holiday travel bookings, resulting in mass trip interruptions, with flight cancellations and delays across Canada's airlines, with some passengers stranded in destination for days.
While Kewley doesn't believe the upcoming season will be as chaotic as it was over the winter, the report says she advises travellers to be prepared and to choose their airline wisely.
“How many planes are going into a certain destination per day?” she suggests travellers ask. “If one does happen to have certain mechanical failure or weather delay, is there options avail to get them off the ground on the same day? Or are you working with a company that only goes once a week?”
Kewley also advises travellers to consider travel insurance - especially 'cancel for any reason' insurance for maximum coverage in almost any eventuality.
In the report, Omar Kaywan, co-founder and chief growth officer at Goose Insurance, said he doesn't expect Canadian air travel to become as frustrating as during the last holiday season, but agreed we are not back to pre-pandemic operational smoothness and things can still go very wrong.
“We are starting to see well above 2019 for traffic in a lot of these airports,” he pointed out, but added a hint of optimism. “But the overall sentiment is, it’s not going to be as bad as winter.”
Both Kewley and Kaywan advised travellers extend their trip deadlines on the front and back end of their booking dates.
“Give yourself some time,” Kaywan advised. “I mean, you need to give yourself a day, just in case things happen. If you’re booking multiple adventures and trips this season — back-to-back — allow yourself some time.”
