TORONTO and MONTREAL, June 5, 2015 /CNW/ - Air Canada further expanded its global network with this morning's arrival of AC824 in Amsterdam from Toronto and the departure of AC994 from Montreal to Mexico City. The launch of these non-stop services marks a further advance of the airline's international expansion strategy, which has seen its international capacity grow more than 50 per cent since 2009.

"Air Canada has firmly committed to a strategy of profitable international expansion and these flights are yet further evidence that we are delivering on this promise. The addition of Amsterdam to our global network is being welcomed by customers because the city is both a popular tourist destination and a major business center with longstanding links to Canada. Air Canada is the only Canadian carrier to offer the route year-round and it will complement our existing service to Brussels, providing customers wider access to the Benelux region," said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines, at Air Canada.

"Our new route to Mexico City from Montreal expands upon our current services to the Mexican capital from Toronto-Pearson and Vancouver. As one of the largest cities in the world, Mexico City offers great potential for business and leisure traffic travelling in both directions, which is why we are deploying mainline aircraft with Business Class service. The flights are also conveniently timed for onward connections through our domestic and international network."

New routes launched by Air Canada this year, in addition to Toronto-Amsterdam and Montreal-Mexico City, include: Montreal-Venice, Vancouver-Osaka, Vancouver-Comox, Calgary-Halifax, Calgary-Nanaimo, Toronto-Austin, Toronto-Atlantic City and Calgary-Terrace.  Announced new routes still to launch include: Toronto-Dubai, Toronto-Delhi and Toronto-Abbotsford.

Toronto-Amsterdam

The new service will be operated with 211-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with a choice of both International Business Class, with fully lie-flat suites, and Economy Class service. All Air Canada flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access, priority boarding and other benefits.

*Flights will initially operate Monday, Thursday and Saturday from Toronto, and return Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday from Amsterdam. As of June 29 the service will operate daily for the summer.

Montreal-Mexico City

The new service will be operated with 120-seat Airbus A319 aircraft with a choice of both Business and Economy class cabins. All Air Canada flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access, priority boarding and other benefits.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 190 destinations on five 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 64 Canadian cities, 52 destinations in the United States and 78 cities in Europe, the Middle East, 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 rewards its most loyal customers through its top tier recognition program, Altitude, that offers frequent flyers a range of priority travel services, lounge access and upgrades to Executive Class, complementing their membership in Aeroplan, Canada's premier loyalty program, which provides numerous ways to earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles with over 150 travel and retail partners.

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. In 2014, Air Canada was ranked for a fifth consecutive year "Best Airline in North America" in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by Skytrax. According to the 2014 Canadian Business Travel Survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, Air Canada was the preferred airline for more than 80 percent of frequent business travellers in Canada. In 2014, readers of Global Traveler magazine again voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," the readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best North America Airline Inflight Experience," and the readers of Premier Traveler voted Air Canada "Best Flight Attendants in North America." For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook

SOURCE Air Canada