Domestic air travel picking up: airlines Last Updated Thu Jan 10 11:46:34 2002 CALGARY - Canadians are returning to air travel according to two of=20 Canada's airlines. They say people are headed to domestic locales and are=20 continuing to shun the United States. Air Canada released its latest=20 numbers showing that traffic was down in December compared to the same=20 period last year. However, it was down only by 2.5 per cent =97 something= =20 analysts say bodes well for the industry. In light of the terrorist=20 attacks of Sept. 11, worldwide air travel went into a tailspin. But in=20 Canada, travellers seem to be recovering from the shock. Air Canada's=20 Angela Mah says the U.S. market is a hard sell for Canadians and that's why= =20 the carrier dropped its discount Tango service to some American=20 destinations. "We have noted that traffic is coming back somewhat faster=20 in Canada than that of the U.S.A., and basically our sense is that the=20 further you get away from ground zero (in New York), the less the=20 impact." No-frills airline WestJet has seen its traffic volume grow in the= =20 months after Sept. 11, which has buoyed airline analysts and the industry. Jacques Kavafian, an analyst with Yorkton Securities, says the key is the=20 lower prices which are offered routinely by no-frills carriers such as=20 WestJet and through seat sales by Air Canada. "People are not afraid of=20 travelling. At a price, they're willing to travel," says Kavafian. "So=20 that's a good sign, because if the economy recovers, more people will have= =20 money and they'll travel again." Kavafian says the price of an airline=20 seat is down about 10 per cent from a year ago. While the outlook seems brighter for Canadian destinations, he expects=20 charter companies could be heading into some tough months. Warm weather at= =20 home is hurting sales for holidays in the sun. Written by CBC News Online staff The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com ICQ: ICQ # 15836110 ICQ Pager: mailto:15836110@pager.icq.com escape email #!1 mailto:ejames@escape.ca yahoo email #2: mailto:triniroj@yahoo.com Yahoo Pager: triniroj Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Group on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribsocabrass Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Club Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeansocabrassconnection/ ******************************************************* Steel Expressions Orch http://www.escape.ca/~ejames/se/ email #1: mailto:steelexpressions@yahoo.com email #2: mailto:steelexpressions@home.com ******************************************************* The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Traffik) http://www.cariwaksoca.com/trafik.htm (Caribbean Traffik Jam) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************