Leisure carrier to operate select U.S. routes from Vancouver and Calgary
New Vancouver-Phoenix flights to start next winter

VANCOUVER, March 25, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced that its leisure carrier subsidiary, Air Canada rouge^TM, is expanding to Western Canada to serve a number of predominantly leisure markets from Vancouver and Calgary to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Anchorage.  Flights on these routes, currently operated by Air Canada, will be converted to Air Canada rouge service beginning this spring, as will flights to San Diego from Toronto.

In addition, the airline announced that it will introduce new seasonal non-stop service operated by Air Canada rouge between Vancouver and Phoenix beginning December 17, 2014.  Existing service from Calgary and Toronto to Phoenix will also be converted to Air Canada rouge. Flights and optional Air Canada Vacations packages are available for purchase at aircanada.com and through travel agents.

"We are very excited to bring Air Canada rouge to Western Canada and launch new seasonal service between Vancouver and Phoenix. The expansion of our leisure carrier to Vancouver and Calgary, in tandem with Air Canada's mainline fleet renewal, is a key element of our strategy for sustainable, profitable growth at both airlines," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "California and the U.S. Southwest are favourite vacation destinations for our Western Canada customers and Anchorage is an important port of call offered with Air Canada Vacations cruise packages. Air Canada rouge is best suited to compete more cost effectively in these markets where there is both a high leisure travel demand and low-cost competition.

"We will continue to evaluate future market opportunities as new aircraft are introduced into the mainline fleet and existing aircraft are released for operation by Air Canada rouge as market demand warrants.  Since its launch in July 2013, we have successfully deployed Air Canada rouge to serve Caribbean, European and select sun destinations in the United States.  We look forward to offering customers in Western Canada a full range of products and services offered by both airlines, each suited to specific markets on a route-by-route basis," concluded Mr. Smith.

Air Canada flights on the following routes will be converted to Air Canada rouge Airbus A319 service beginning this spring: 

With the addition of these routes, together with its previously announced summer 2014 schedule to Europe, the Caribbean and the United States, Air Canada rouge plans to operate a total of 54 routes, including new service this summer to Barcelona, Dublin, Lisbon, Manchester, Nice and Rome.

Air Canada rouge's aircraft feature three customer comfort options: rouge^TM, rouge Plus^TM with preferred seating with additional legroom, and Premium rouge^TM with additional space and enhanced service on the Boeing 767-300ER and on select Airbus A319 routes.  Air Canada rouge offers a unique brand of customer service designed to make every flight a memorable start and end to a wonderful vacation.  Aircraft are equipped with player, a next generation in-flight entertainment system that wirelessly streams entertainment to customers' personal electronic devices.  Flights provide stylish and modern cabin interiors with innovative new seats, and the ability to earn and redeem Aeroplan miles. For more information and bookings, visit: http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/rouge.html

Air Canada rouge operates a fleet consisting of Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A319 aircraft transferred from Air Canada. By the end of March 2014, Air Canada rouge's fleet will include four Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and 13 Airbus A319 aircraft, and by December 31, 2014, the carrier's fleet is planned to consist of eight Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and 25 Airbus A319 aircraft.

Air Canada's mainline fleet renewal is ongoing with the introduction of new aircraft.  In February 2014, Air Canada took delivery of the last of five new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to enter its mainline fleet, and is scheduled to take delivery of the first three of 37 Boeing 787 aircraft by the summer of 2014. Air Canada is scheduled to take delivery of a total of six 787 aircraft in 2014 and the remaining 31 between 2015 and 2019.

About Air Canada rouge

From the moment you book your ticket to the moment you're warmly welcomed onboard, you'll see that Air Canada rouge is a new way to vacation ahead.  Enjoy the upbeat Air Canada rouge spirit, and our newly designed cabins. You've never flown leisure like this before.
Air Canada rouge is Air Canada's new leisure airline, part of the Air Canada Leisure Group, along with Air Canada Vacations. Together with Air Canada Vacations, Air Canada rouge offers competitively-priced travel to exciting leisure destinations in Europe and the Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S.: Edinburgh, Venice, Athens, Lisbon, Dublin, Nice, Barcelona, Rome and Manchester and multiple destinations in Mexico, the U.S. and the Caribbean such as Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

Air Canada rouge began operating July 1, 2013 with a start-up fleet of two Airbus A319 aircraft and two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The fleet grew to ten aircraft by the end of 2013 with the addition of six Airbus A319 aircraft and Air Canada rouge plans to add another five Airbus A319 aircraft and two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft by end of March 2014, for a total of 17 aircraft.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Air Canada rouge is backed by Air Canada's 75-year reputation for safety and reliability and Air Canada Vacations' 30-plus year history of vacation travel excellence. Learn more at www.aircanada.com/rouge or www.facebook.com/aircanadarouge

About Air Canada Vacations

Air Canada Vacations is a leading Canadian tour operator offering a wide assortment of leisure travel packages, cruises, and flights to destinations around the world.   A repeat recipient of the Consumer's Choice Award for Best Travel Wholesaler, Air Canada Vacations services over 100 destinations in the Caribbean, Central & South America, Asia, Europe, and in the U.S.  And now, Air Canada Vacations will feature Air Canada rouge on several of its top vacation routes.  For more information, visit www.aircanadavacations.com

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2013 served more than 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 destinations in the United States and 72 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.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Air Canada's public communications may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to, amongst other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, industry, market, credit and economic conditions, the ability to reduce operating costs and secure financing, pension issues, energy prices, employee and labour relations, currency exchange and interest rates, competition, war, terrorist acts, epidemic diseases, environmental factors (including weather systems and other natural phenomena and factors arising from man-made sources), insurance issues and costs, changes in demand due to the seasonal nature of the business, supply issues, changes in laws, regulatory developments or proceedings, pending and future litigation and actions by third parties as well as the factors identified throughout Air Canada's public disclosure file available at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent Air Canada's expectations as of date of this news release and are subject to change after such date. However, Air Canada disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

SOURCE Air Canada