The Rouge crew
Michael Friisdahl & Paul Larcher
Paul Larcher talks Vegas, baby
Travelsensations made a sensational appearance
The Rouge effect
The gauntlet was dropped by Air Canada Leisure Group’s CEO, Michael Friisdahl, at a Vegas soiree atop the Trump Tower in Toronto last week.
“Having had significant share for many years to Vegas, Rouge will regain market share lost by Air Canada. Toronto will have more Vegas flights than any other carrier. Montreal service begins in March with more growth planned for next winter. Overall we are looking at a 13% growth in capacity over last winter.”
With that, it was clear that Rouge has every intention of retaking Sin City.
The Rouge Effect
According to the Vice President Commercial for Rouge, Vijay Bathija, to date, wherever Rouge goes, seats fill. He calls it ‘the rouge effect’. Whether it’s the buzz of trying out a new carrier, or having distribution via the largest booking engine in Canada – aircanada.com – no one knew for sure. But the unexpected results have the rouge team giddy with success.
One of the oft cited reasons for the success of the carrier thus far is the crew. The Disney training and cute Fluevog shoes are a cheery package. They are scoring 95% approval ratings on the surveys and create a loyal passenger base.
Flights
This past Sunday, October 27, Air Canada rouge flew its maiden flight from YYZ to LAS (knowing full well that a maiden won’t last in Vegas). Ten flights a week were thus launched on a 264 seat wide-body 767-300, representing a capacity increase of 13%. Montreal service will be assumed by Rouge on March 13, 2014 with ten flights a week.
Air Canada will continue to operate service between Vancouver and Calgary to/from Las Vegas for the winter season.
The Vegas Effect
For hotels, attractions and entertainment, Paul Carter, previously known as Mr Vegas, joined the ACV team to negotiate tight rates and exclusive product.
Paul Larcher, who is representing the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in Canada for VoX International reminded the crowd of all the latest and greatest Vegas has to offer this coming season. Celine Dion, Shania, Rod Stewart, Blue Man and of course Britney Spears; six different Cirque du Soleil shows, (one of which includes a hologram of Michael Jackson joining the dancers); a monorail built around the convention centre; Ski Vegas venue with real snow; a stratosphere sky jump and a voodoo zipline which travels at 35mph from one tower to the next. If that isn’t enough, a new entertainment area is being built between The Quad and the Flamingo, The Linq – which includes the High Roller, a 550-foot observation wheel right in the heart of the Strip (The High Roller will open in Spring 2014). It will be nine feet taller than the Singapore Flyer and 107 feet taller than the London Eye. The observation wheel will have 28 transparent pods holding 40 passengers each. The ride itself is half an hour long and can take approximately 2,200 passengers in an hour. It can also be catered! After all, this is Vegas.
