Air Canada will now be charging economy class passengers extra for seats in exit rows and bulkhead seats at the front of aircraft sections which provide some extra legroom. Up to now the seats have been complimentary. The option to make advanced reservations for the seats on any flight operated by Air Canada or Jazz is called "Preferred Seats" and can be purchased, subject to availability, when you book your flight or any time before you check in. The amount of the extra fee will depend on the length of the flight, the fare class and the customer's Aeroplan status. The fee ranges anywhere from $14 for a one-way trip of up to 350 miles on Tango Plus or Latitude up to $100 for some international flights.

The charge will apply to new mothers with infants who were routinely placed in bulkhead seats with a "sky cot" bassinet.

It's all part of Air Canada's efforts to find cost savings and boost profits, and it's part of a growing trend. WestJet already charges up to $15 to reserve seats with extra legroom. It wouldn't be quite so bad if Air Canada didn't pitch the fee as "responding to consumer demands."

Photo: John Li / Getty Images

More on Travel for Canadians
Air Travel Complaints in Canada
Apply for Your Canadian Passport
Travel Documents to Enter the U.S.
Air Travel in Canada

Every year more than 11,000 Canada Post volunteers, both employees and retirees, help make sure children get replies to their letters to Santa. Children from all over the world can take advantage of the program, and their letters are answered in the language in which they are written, even Braille. There's an email option too. Make a note of the address to write to Santa, for both regular mail and email, and a few tips for those letters.

Photo: Janis Christie / Getty Images

More on Christmas in Canada:
International Holiday Mail Deadlines 2009
Christmas Lesson Plans K-8
Christmas Worksheets K-8
Christmas Stories Online

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are half-way through their Royal tour of Canada. It's the fifteenth visit to Canada for Charles, but just the first for Camilla.

The Royal couple has visited an archaeological dig at Cupids, Newfoundland, believed to be the first English settlement in Canada. Who knew the prince studied archaeology at Cambridge? They dropped in to see Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, which was the home of Camilla's great-great-great grandfather Sir Allan MacNab, a rail magnate and prime minister of the Province of Canada before Confederation from 1854 to 1856. In British Columbia, the pair toured the Olympic athletes village and posed for mug shots with the 2010 Vancouver Olympics mascots.

Read more...

The federal government has introduced legislation that would allow self-employed workers to opt into Employment Insurance to receive special benefits. The Bill to Extend Employment Insurance Benefits to the Self-Employed would allow self-employed individuals to pay the same premiums as salaried employees, and after a year be eligible for maternity benefits, parental/adoptive benefits, sickness benefits and compassionate care benefits. They could opt out of the program at the end of any tax year, unless they had claimed benefits, in which case they would be required to pay premiums as long as they were self-employed.

Read more...