Air Canada to Offer Perks to Lure American Tourists

Canada’s national carrier, Air Canada, will try to use frequent flyer perks to lure U.S. tourists north of the border, a Canadian official exclusively told Reuters News Service.

It is part of a broader, C$14 million ($11.2 million) effort by the tourism commission to boost traffic after Canada recently opened its borders to vaccinated travelers. It is not clear how much the specific frequent flyer campaign will cost.

"This is super-focused in terms of our ability to reach frequent fliers," Gloria Loree, Destination Canada's chief marketing officer, said of the campaign.

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Under the plan, up to 20,000 U.S. frequent flyers with carriers who also fly to Canada on American Airlines, Southwest and Delta could get matching status when flying Air Canada to Canada.

Loree said she is prepared if U.S. carriers respond with a reactionary campaign.

The border between the U.S. and Canada had been closed for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and just reopened to American travelers last month.

Reuters reported that during the first half of 2021, Canada had about 178,000 overnight arrivals from the United States, compared with 6.8 million during the same period in 2019, according to government data.

Frequent-flyer status gives travelers perks like priority boarding that would normally cost a premium fare or a fee.

"This is the push to get them coming to Canada," said Mark-Ross Smith, chief executive of Status Match, which handles logistics for the Canadian project.

Eligible U.S. frequent flyers who book and travel north on Air Canada before Jan. 15, 2022 will keep their status with the carrier for all of 2022.

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