Canadian airlines revamp offerings as travellers ditch U.S. vacations

A steep decline in Canadian travel to the U.S. has dealt a blow to airlines that usually cash in on popular Florida beach vacations and family trips to Disneyland. That's left airlines scrambling to adjust their summer schedules, trim U.S. flight capacity and add more seats to destinations within Canada and overseas. WestJet, for example, says it has scaled back some capacity between Canada and the U.S. and shifted its summer schedule to redeploy aircraft to "markets of strength," including Europe and sun destinations. "The current political environment and differences in currency exchange rates are likely contributing to the shift in demand," said WestJet spokesperson Josh Yeats. Air Canada says that, as of mid-March, transborder bookings were down about 10% for the next six-month period. The airline said it is adjusting some of its U.S. flights by using smaller aircraft and reducing certain frequencies. Porter Airlines, which has significantly increased its service to the U.S. over the past year, has slightly reduced its summer service into the U.S. and shifted some capacity to domestic markets. While airlines frequently tweak their schedules, it's unusual to see such a significant dip in demand for Canada-U.S. travel, said Mike Arnot, a spokesperson for airline analytics firm Cirium. "It's a tough place for the airlines to be," said Arnot.<br/>