Air Canada planes are parked at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
MONTREAL, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Canada is trying to use the lure of travel perks to convince America’s frequent flying elite to fly north on Air Canada (AC.TO), as the country steps up efforts to revive crucial traffic from the United States, a Canadian official told Reuters.
COVID-19 has battered travel from Canada’s largest tourism market. 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.
To help reverse that decline, government tourism body, Destination Canada will, roll out on Monday its first campaign targeting U.S. frequent fliers.
It is part of broader, C$14 million ($11.2 million) efforts by the tourism commission to boost traffic after Canada recently opened its borders to vaccinated travellers. 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,” said Gloria Loree, Destination Canada’s chief marketing officer ahead of the launch.
Under the plan, up to 20,000 U.S. frequent flyers with carriers like American Airlines (AAL.O), Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N), and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) could get matching status when flying Air Canada north of the border.
It is not clear how U.S. carriers would react to the plan, although Loree said the possibility of airline retaliation had been considered.
Frequent-flyer status gives travelers perks like priority boarding that would normally cost a premium fare or a fee.
While global airline alliances offer status-matching to passengers from their member carriers, having a destination sponsor such a plan is highly unusual, said Mark-Ross Smith, chief executive of Status Match, which handles logistics for the Canadian project.
“This is the push to get them coming to…