MONTREAL, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced that in response to growing customer demand it will launch daily, year-round service between Sydney, Nova Scotia and Toronto beginning December 18, 2013. The route will offer Sydney customers convenient, one-stop connections to Air Canada's extensive Canadian, U.S. and international network through Air Canada's Toronto Pearson hub.

"Air Canada has been serving Sydney and Cape Breton for 71 years and we are pleased to further expand our services in response to local demand by linking the community directly with our Toronto hub to bring the world within one stop on a daily basis, year-round. This service caters to the business community, the tourism market and those visiting friends and relatives. Air Canada will be the only airline offering daily, year-round service between Toronto and Sydney, making it more convenient to fly to Toronto-and-back from Sydney for a one-day meeting or travel beyond to destinations in the rest of Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia," said Marcel Forget, Vice President Network Planning at Air Canada.

"Air Canada's decision to operate year-round between JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport and Toronto is very welcome news for the entire Cape Breton community. A daily flight to Toronto will not only make it easier for people to travel for business and leisure, but also provide an economic boost for tourism and businesses in the community. We appreciate that Air Canada has been responsive to our needs and now it is up to residents of the region to use this service in order to ensure it succeeds and is sustainable," said Helen MacInnis, Chief Executive Officer of the Sydney Airport.

Air Canada's year-round, daily service between Sydney and Toronto will be operated by Jazz Aviation LP under the Air Canada Express brand using a 50-seat CRJ regional jet. It will be the only year-round, non-stop flight operated between Sydney and Toronto.

Sydney-Toronto year-round service

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2012 served close to 35 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 53 destinations in the United States and 67 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 1,328 destinations in 195 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 that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

SOURCE Air Canada