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Loyalty program operator Air Miles has announced an exclusive partnership for hotels and vacation rentals with Expedia Group Inc. as part of its of newly launched travel booking platform.
The U.S.-based travel company says the partnership will allow Air Miles customers to access its 700,000 hotels and vacation rentals worldwide.
The deal is part of a number of improvements to Air Miles since being bought by Bank of Montreal earlier this year.
When it acquired Air Miles, BMO said it would look to expand the program with new ways to earn and redeem miles.
Alfonso Paredes, senior vice-president of private label solutions at Expedia, says the travel company has already seen strong booking interest during its soft launch.
Air Miles has nearly 10 million active collector accounts in Canada.
Air Canada’s share price hit a one-year low as the airline navigates higher fuel costs, competition and interest rates.
The company’s stock slipped nearly three percentage points to $17.29 by midday, marking its lowest price since mid-October last year and a one-third drop from its recent peak in July — part of a pattern seen across the North American airline sector.
On Monday, Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth lowered her earnings forecast for the Montreal-based company due to the run-up in jet fuel prices over the past three months.
She noted steeper competition with Porter Airlines Inc., Flair Airlines Ltd. and Lynx Air on domestic, cross-border and sun destination routes, but pointed to Air Canada’s loyalty program and fuel-efficient planes as an advantage.
ATB Capital Markets analyst Chris Murray said worries also persist over consumers’ willingness to keep spending on travel amid higher interest rates and inflation.
Nonetheless, he
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