New services offer more non-stop travel options and support international growth

MONTREAL, Nov. 19, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today the introduction of non-stop services between Montreal and three U.S. cities beginning next summer. The new transborder routes include Montreal-Denver, Montreal-Houston and Montreal-Philadelphia. With the addition of these three routes, Air Canada offers non-stop flights to 18 U.S. cities from Montreal, the most of any airline. To promote the new routes, Air Canada is offering special introductory fares; details are available on www.aircanada.com.

"As one of the major corporations headquartered in Montreal and the largest airline serving the city, we are pleased to play an active role in the business and economic development of Montreal," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada. "Our ongoing investment and commitment will provide greater access and opportunity for the Montreal business community and these three new routes to the U.S. will also support Air Canada's continuing global expansion and growth of Montreal as a strategic hub.  

"For customers traveling to the U.S., these new routes offer convenient connections at major hubs of our partner United Airlines, giving customers more travel options throughout the U.S. and Latin America. For international travelers flying to and from the U.S., it has never been easier to connect in Montreal to Air Canada's global network including Paris, Geneva, Brussels and, beginning next year, Lyon. In addition to the introduction of our new international services from Montreal to Europe and Asia, we are also seeing that international travelers are increasingly finding that connecting through Montreal on Air Canada is the most convenient way to fly to and from the U.S.," concluded Mr. Rovinescu.

"These new transborder routes are excellent news for Montreal. The addition of non-stop service to Denver, Houston and Philadelphia presents numerous business development opportunities, and is beneficial for the Montreal metropolitan area. We are delighted that Air Canada is such a great global partner," said Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal.

"Aéroports de Montréal welcomes Air Canada's decision to add these three new routes to the United States, which along with the increasing number of destinations and the use of larger aircraft on Europe routes next summer, confirms Air Canada's commitment to making Montreal–Trudeau an essential hub in its global expansion strategy," said ADM President and Chief Executive Officer James Cherry.

"Tourisme Montréal salutes Air Canada's efforts to facilitate access to Montréal for travellers from the United States. Direct flights from Philadelphia, Denver and Houston will open our city to new markets, increasing our attractiveness as a destination and offering new possibilities to the American business market. This important move underscores the fact that Montréal is increasingly a major gateway to North America," said Yves Lalumière, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tourisme Montréal.

Not only does Montreal offer some of the shortest elapsed travel times, it also provide international travelers seamless connections and Air Canada's Four-Star service, featuring lie-flat seats in International Business Class, a Premium Economy cabin on select flights, and seatback In-Flight Entertainment throughout all aircraft. All flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption, Star Alliance reciprocal benefits and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access at our hubs, priority boarding and other benefits.

The new year-round routes announced today will be operated by Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Express aircraft.

¹ Flights operated by Air Canada Express

Air Canada at Montreal-Trudeau airport – Summer 2016: Trans-Atlantic capacity increase of 27% over 2015 resulting in a 98% capacity growth in the last three years

Air Canada, Air Canada rouge and its regional airline partners flying under the Air Canada Express banner operate on average approximately 2,100 flights per week between Montreal and 78 destinations: 23 in Canada including nine in Québec, 18 in the United States, 25 in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, 11 in Europe, and one in North Africa. 

• 27% increase in peak trans-Atlantic capacity or 5,000 more seats per week to 12 cities across Europe and North Africa: Paris, London, Brussels, Geneva, Frankfurt, Lyon, Athens, Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Venice, and Casablanca, as well as Munich and Zurich in codeshare with Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines.
• Additional capacity on key Montreal routes:
  
  Paris – 35% increase with both daily flights operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft
  Athens – 20% increase, going from 4x to 5x weekly flights during the peak
  Barcelona – 67% increase, going from 3x to 5x weekly flights during the peak
  Nice – 33% increase, going from 3x to 4x weekly flights during the peak
  Venice – 50% increase, going from 2x to 3x weekly flights during the peak
  
• Five new destinations; Lyon, Philadelphia, Houston, Denver and Air Canada's first service to Africa with Montreal-Casablanca flights.
• Air Canada flies non-stop to the most popular U.S. destinations from Montreal: New York City (LGA and EWR), Chicago (ORD), Las Vegas (LAS), Orlando (MCO) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
• In addition, Air Canada is the only carrier at Montreal-Trudeau to fly non-stop to Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Boston (BOS), Denver (DEN), Tampa (TPA), Fort Myers (RSW), West Palm Beach (PBI), Hartford (BDL), and Washington Dulles (IAD) through our Star Alliance partner United Airlines.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2014 served more than 38 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 55 in the United States and 86 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 193 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada - Route & Network