TORONTO — Under sunny skies at The Sheraton Centre Hotel’s beautiful Waterfall Garden event space, Air Canada and its many industry partners toasted VP International Sales, Virgilio Russi, who is retiring from the airline after 28 years.
Lisa Pierce, VP, Global Sales for Air Canada and ACV, praised Russi’s hard work and dedication in a heartfelt speech. “You have been so generous with your time, your good humour, and your common sense. Your can-do attitude and optimism on every project has been invaluable,” Pierce told Russi.
Pierce also welcomed Air Canada’s Rocky Lo to his new role leading international sales. “This is a time for new beginnings,” she said.
Russi got his start in the travel industry 30 years ago, at Amex. Two years later he joined Air Canada, and the rest is history.
“Thank you for your support, your patience, your feedback, your enthusiasm, your trust and your friendship,” said Russi. “I leave with so many friends, which tells me I’ve done something right.”
STRONG ROUTES, SEAT SELECTION & NDC
A quick interview with Pierce touched on everything from summer bookings, to routes-to-watch, to NDC and Air Canada’s seat selection policy.
Making sure Air Canada offers the routes customers want and need “is a matter of being in the right place at the right time,” Pierce told Travelweek. “There are lots of new routes we’re super excited about, in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean … we cover the globe.”
Overall market demand is increasing, she added. She singled out Air Canada’s Bangkok service as particularly strong, and also Japan, “especially with the favourable currency exchange.”
There’s no timeline yet on when Air Canada will confirm any direction on seat selection, after pausing implementation of a new policy last month. While Air Canada passengers have typically been able to select their seats for free at check-in (or for a fee pre-check-in), the revised – and so far, paused – policy assessed a fee for seat selection at check-in (or Air Canada would select the seat for the passenger at check-in, for free).
“When we do make an announcement, it will be done thoughtfully and with an eye to operational efficiency. We do know that seat selection is very important to our customers and stakeholders,” she said.
Pierce also noted that Air Canada is looking forward to marking the one-year milestone of its most recent NDC rollout. First announced in April 2023, the NDC initiatives debuted June 14, 2023.
“We’ve come a long way. We have at least 10 countries using NDC now including Canada, the UK, USA, Brazil, Australia and more,” said Pierce.
She added that this month, 20% of Air Canada agency bookings are coming through NDC channels.
“We’re looking forward to the one-year anniversary in June,” she said. “It’s been a very challenging year, but looking back on the year as a whole, there’s been an incredible amount of progress.”
Air Canada and industry partners mingle at the Sheraton Centre Hotel’s Waterfall Garden
