News and notes: Montreal to Shanghai, protected lighthouses and exploding phones

Plenty of travel-related press releases landed in my inbox in the past week or two. Here are a few interesting ones that caught my eye.

Direct flight to Shanghai is first Air Canada Dreamliner service from Montreal

Air Canada announced the introduction of daily year-round flights from Montreal to Shanghai, China beginning February 16, 2017. This marks Air Canada’s first direct service to China from Montreal as well as the introduction of state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft on flights departing from Montreal.

Tickets will be available for purchase on aircanada.com and through travel agents on September 28. All Air Canada flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access, priority boarding and other benefits.

With this announcement, Air Canada has increased its international capacity from Montreal by 133 per cent since 2009, with direct service to 13 cities in Europe, North Africa and China.

In Shanghai, Star Alliance partners Air China and Shenzhen Airlines, along with partner Juneyao Airlines, will launch an interline agreement with Air Canada in the coming weeks, offering connectivity to domestic China destinations such as Chengdu, Chongqing and Shenzhen.

Three more Canadian lighthouses protected under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act

The Government of Canada announced the designation of three more heritage lighthouses.

With these new designations, a total of 90 lighthouses in eight provinces have now been protected under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act – and more designations will follow.

The latest lighthouses to receive this designation are the St. Peters Harbour Lighthouse, a square, tapered, wooden lighthouse with an unusual hexagonal lantern located in Prince Edward Island; the Woody Point Lighthouse located in Newfoundland and Labrador, which is surrounded by Gros Morne National Park and is an important landmark from both land and water; and the Cape St. Marys Lighthouse located in Nova Scotia, one of a series of lighthouses from this location to provide navigational aid for shipping and fishing fleets in the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy for almost 150 years.

Among the 90 heritage lighthouses, 42 are to be managed by the federal government and 48 are to be managed by new, non-federal owners. Many community-based organizations and other levels of government are currently working with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to take over responsibility for the care and protection of many more lighthouses that are important to their communities.

Fire containment kit prevents your smartphone from setting the plane on fire.

Baker Aviation, the Master Distributor for the HOT-STOP^® ‘L’ Fire Containment Kits, in affiliation with Industrial Energy Products (IEP), the manufacturer of the HOT-STOP^® ‘L’ product line, offers a containment solution for smartphone battery malfunctions that can cause fires and explosions on board aircraft.

In the wake of recent events and FAA recommendations to not charge or turn on a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone while on an aircraft, Baker Aviation is now offering the HOT-STOP^® ‘L’ Fire Containment solution for mobile devices to the flying public and will make them available on Amazon.com soon as well as through other retailers.

The HOT-STOP^® ‘L’ bags are made up of multiple durable fabrics with a felt inner core that has a 3200ºF melting point which is sandwiched between two outer layers that have a 2080ºF melting point and are proven to absorb energy and fire while eliminating the escape of smoke, sparks, and flames.

Multiple sizes are available to fit various devices up to the large 25″ x 25″ bag designed to contain defibrillators and all-in-one computers and custom solutions are available.

To learn more, go to HOT-STOPL.com.

Chototel Introduces the World’s First “Super Budget Hotel”

Chototel is derived from the words “chotu”, meaning small in Hindi, and “hotel”. The London head-quartered business has been established to provide dignified housing solutions for the global accommodation crisis.

The concept seeks to offer accommodation starting from just US$2 per night and to use technology to provide residents with the services they need – paying only for what they consume. The US$2 rent can be potentially shared by up to four residents. Electricity, water and gas will be charged on a consumption basis, which will discourage wastage. The cost of utilities per room is not expected to exceed US$0.50 per day, as the equipment in each room has been optimally sized to maximize efficiency.

Chototel was founded by Rhea Silva, who is a third generation social entrepreneur with experience in building affordable housing and hotels.

To give global context to the housing crisis – access to decent, affordable shelter is embedded in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and yet, according to a 2014 McKinsey Global Institute report, it is still estimated that 440 million households or 1.6 billion people (a third of the urban population) will occupy crowded, inadequate and unsafe housing by 2025.

For more information, visit http://www.chototel.co.uk.