Savvy Traveller: New Services and Hot Spots

Book now: these new services and hot spots will help you look ahead.

Going South
That old saying “opposites attract” may just work when it comes to travelling to the Southern Hemisphere during our winter months. In autumn, for example, while it’s gearing up for winter here, spring has already sprung south of the equator.

To help facilitate flight to better weather, Air New Zealand will be launching its updated Boeing 777-200ER planes in October out of Vancouver for direct service to Auckland. And in mid-December 2015 through to late January 2016, service to New Zealand’s largest city will operate daily. The jets will feature a modern, more spacious premium economy section with individual pod-like seating, along with the airline’s innovative Skycouch in Economy, where two of you can book a row of three and have the seating turn into a sort of flat sofa bed. Now, that’s what we call a love seat. www.airnewzealand.com

Up & Down
Air Canada Rouge, which its parent company, Air Canada, refers to as a more competitively priced option, is launching year-round direct flights between Hamilton and Calgary late this month, while seasonal service will begin between Toronto and Abbotsford, B.C. At press time, one-way introductory fares were running at just under $200, not including taxes. Flyrouge.com

In November 2015, Air Canada will take off with its Dreamliner, the Boeing 787 the airline introduced last year, from Toronto to Dubai, its first non-stop flight between Canada and the U.A.E. The same month, the company will introduce the 787-9 series, a larger Dreamliner that will make the non-stop flight from Toronto to Delhi. www.aircanada.com

Hotel News

Four Seasons Orlando
Yes, we said Four Seasons and Orlando in the same sentence. The Canadian hotel brand has moved into the Magic Kingdom. Well, not exactly, but this Central Florida outpost is situated on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort, and its location is in the area where the most famous theme park of them all lights up its Cinderella castle every night. After all the hubbub at the parks, the hotel provides a luxe respite with its own attractions: spa, golf, globally inspired dining, a complimentary kids’ camp, an adults-only swimming pool, plus Explorer Island, a five-acre mini-water park that includes a lazy river – and that good, old-school bred-in-Canada friendliness and hospitality. Spotted: John Travolta, floating along in his inner tube, and Sir Paul McCartney, while on a visit with one of his kids who studies in the Sunshine State. www.fourseasons.com/orlando; (407) 313-7777.