VANCOUVER, July 23, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that it will introduce a new seasonal non-stop service operated by Air Canada rouge between Vancouver and Palm Springs, California this winter. Flights to the 'Golf Capital of the World' will be operated with Air Canada rouge Airbus A319 aircraft featuring three customer comfort options: rouge, rouge Plus with preferred seating offering additional legroom, and Premium rouge with additional personal space and enhanced service. To promote this new route, Air Canada is offering savings of 20 per cent on bookings made by August 7, 2014 by using the promotion code "Palm20".  Flights are available for purchase at www.aircanada.com

"We are pleased to add Palm Springs to our route network of winter holiday choices," said Benjamin Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.  "Offering world class golf, tennis, arts, culture, entertainment and shopping, Palm Springs joins Las Vegas and Phoenix as three of the top US leisure desert playgrounds served by Air Canada rouge this winter. 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."

Air Canada rouge flights between Vancouver and Palm Springs, CA will begin December 18, 2014 and will operate three times weekly until April 12, 2015. Flights have been timed to connect conveniently at Air Canada's Vancouver hub to and from our extensive Western Canada network.

Air Canada will continue to evaluate future market opportunities as new aircraft are introduced into its mainline fleet and existing aircraft are released for operation by Air Canada rouge as market demand warrants.  Since the launch in July 2013 of Air Canada rouge, Air Canada has deployed its leisure carrier to a growing number of Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and select sun destinations in the United States.

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.  Air Canada rouge's player system has proven popular as customers increasingly bring their own personal electronic devices onboard.

Air Canada rouge aircraft have modern cabin interiors, featuring new Slimline seats with a streamlined profile. Customers have the ability to earn and redeem Aeroplan miles on Air Canada rouge flights.

Air Canada rouge operates a fleet consisting of Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A319 aircraft transferred from Air Canada.

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

About Air Canada rouge
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.

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
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 73 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 1,269 destinations 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 that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

SOURCE Air Canada