Only airline to offer non-stop scheduled flights from Alberta to Asia.

CALGARY, Feb. 29, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that its Calgary to Tokyo Narita non-stop flights will operate year-round beginning this winter.

"Following our announcement last fall that we were increasing our summer flights to five times weekly, we are pleased to extend our non-stop flights featuring Air Canada's Executive First service with lie-flat suites from Calgary to Tokyo Narita year-round, reflecting solid demand to and from Canada's energy centre," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.  "Since we launched this route in March 2010, demand has been strong from business and leisure travelers as well as freight forwarders.  This is a great example of how the Calgary business community, the Calgary Airport Authority, Travel Alberta and our travel partners understand that our industry is a significant catalyst for economic growth and have all come together to enable sustainable, year-round, direct links to Asia via Tokyo Narita's international gateway which offers a multitude of convenient flight options to Japan, China, Korea and beyond."

Beginning April 27, 2012, Air Canada will increase its Calgary-Tokyo non-stop summer service to five weekly flights, and service will continue this winter, beginning October 27, 2012 as follows:

"This announcement shows the continuous investment Air Canada is making in the Calgary market which is consistent with the Airport Authority's plans to constantly improve air service from the region we serve.  It also gives us the distinction of being one of only three airports in Canada to service both Asia and Europe, year round, on a scheduled basis consolidating Calgary's position as a major passenger and cargo hub," said Stephan Poirier, Chief Commercial Officer for the Calgary Airport Authority.

Bruce Okabe, President & Chief Executive Officer, Travel Alberta commented, "We are very pleased that Air Canada has decided to expand service from Narita. It is testament to the confidence they have in Alberta as a year round tourism destination. Japan is a key market for Alberta and has shown strong inbound growth since the service started in 2010."

Calgary-Tokyo year-round, non-stop service complements Air Canada's daily year-round Vancouver-Tokyo and Toronto-Tokyo non-stop flights. The carrier will offer 19 flights each week from Canada to Tokyo's Narita International Airport this summer and 17 flights each week during the winter.

Air Canada's non-stop services to Tokyo offer a multitude of connecting flights with its Star Alliance partners to key destinations in Asia, including: Hong Kong, Manila, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and several points across Japan.

Air Canada operates its Calgary-Tokyo flights with 211-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, offering a choice of Economy Class and Executive First service featuring lie-flat bed suites. Further details and a virtual tour of Air Canada's cabin amenities including complimentary personal seatback entertainment at every seat throughout the aircraft are available at:  http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/onboard/cabincomfort.html

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Calgary's largest airline, operating up to 816 flights each week from Calgary to 39 destinations across Canada, to the USA, Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Calgary is also home base to more than 1750 proud Air Canada employees.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 57 destinations in the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,290 destinations in 189 countries. Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.

In 2011, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.  Also in 2011, readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," and readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best In-Flight Services in North America."  In the annual Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey, Air Canada was named "Canada's Favourite Airline for Business Travel."  Air Canada was preferred by 73 per cent of Canadian business travellers surveyed for 2011, the third consecutive year of improvement in Air Canada's ratings in the national survey. For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com and follow @AirCanada on Twitter and Facebook.