Saskatoon, Calgary and Toronto also to benefit from new non-stop routes

    MONTREAL, Jan. 24 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced it is further
expanding its Ottawa service starting in May, adding four new markets with
non-stop flights to and from the capital region and increasing the number of
available seats by 19 per cent over last summer.
    "Air Canada has been steadily building its Ottawa presence in response to
market demand and it now connects the capital to 23 destinations with non-stop
service. This summer's schedule provides for a 19 per cent increase in
departing capacity over the previous summer and builds upon a 10 per cent
capacity increase this past winter," said Daniel Shurz, Vice-President,
Network Planning, at Air Canada. "Residents of the National Capital Region now
have more choice than ever when flying and visitors arriving for both business
and leisure will enjoy unprecedented access. This includes international
destinations through our new non-stop Ottawa-Frankfurt flight beginning June 1
and our continuing non-stop Ottawa-London service, as well as connections
through our Toronto hub to Air Canada's extensive, global network."
    Air Canada will also increase service to the Canadian cities of
Saskatoon, Calgary and Toronto beginning this spring.

    Starting May 1, 2008, Air Canada, through its regional affiliate Jazz,
will add non-stop flights between Ottawa and four new markets. These are:- Ottawa-Washington (National Airport) - twice daily, year-round non-stop
      service between Ottawa and Washington National. Operated with a 50-seat
      Bombardier regional jet, this will be the fastest way to downtown
      Washington. Flights will depart Ottawa at 6:50 a.m. and 6:10p.m. Return
      flights depart Washington at 9:00 a.m. and 8:15 pm.

    - Ottawa-Saskatoon - daily, year-round non-stop service using a 75-seat,
      Bombardier CRJ-705 regional aircraft featuring both Executive and
      Economy Class seating and personal audio-visual entertainment at every
      seat. This is the only daily non-stop service between the two cities.
      Flight AC8981 will depart Ottawa at 9:40 a.m. and arrive in Saskatoon
      at 11:20 a.m. Flight AC8982 will depart Saskatoon at noon and arrive in
      Ottawa at 5:15 pm. This route will also feature one-stop same plane
      service to and from Montreal with AC8981 departing Montreal at 8:25
      a.m. and AC8982 arriving in Montreal at 6:38 p.m.

    - Ottawa-Thunder Bay - daily, year-round non-stop service using a 50-seat
      Bombardier regional jet, the only daily non-stop between the two
      cities. AC7769 will depart Ottawa at 11:25 a.m. and arrive in Thunder
      Bay at 1:25 p.m. AC 7768 will depart Thunder Bay at 1:55 p.m. and
      arrive in Ottawa at 3:40 p.m. This route will also feature one-stop
      same-plane service to Montreal with AC 7769 departing Montreal at 10:15
      a.m. and AC 7768 arriving in Montreal at 4:50 p.m.

    - Ottawa-Charlottetown - year-round service using a Bombardier, 50-seat
      regional jet. This is the only daily, non-stop service between the two
      cities. AC8618 will depart Ottawa at 11:50 a.m. and arrive in
      Charlottetown at 2:05 p.m. Flight AC8619 will depart Charlottetown at
      2:40 p.m. and arrive in Ottawa at 3:15 p.m.

    In addition to these flights, Air Canada will also launch additional
service involving the following cities.

    - Calgary-Chicago - starting May 15, 2008, daily, year-round non-stop
      service using a 93-seat Embraer E190 aircraft. Featuring Executive and
      Economy Class, it is the only flight on this route offering a personal
      audio visual entertainment system at every seat.  AC580 will depart
      Calgary at 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Chicago at 12:48 p.m. AC581 will
      depart Chicago at 1:15 p.m. and arrive in Calgary at 3:57 p.m. This
      route will offer extensive connections throughout the eastern United
      States on Air Canada's Star Alliance partner, United Airlines.

    - Toronto-Austin, Texas - starting May 1, 2008, daily, year-round non-
      stop service using a 75-seat Bombardier CRJ-705 Jazz regional aircraft,
      featuring both Executive and Economy class and personal audio-visual
      entertainment at every seat. This will be the only daily, non-stop
      service between the two cities and solidifies Air Canada's position as
      the leading carrier serving the most destinations to Texas from Canada.
      AC8115 will depart Toronto at 1:20 p.m. and arrive in Austin at
      3:40p.m. AC8114 will depart Austin at 4:15p.m. and arrive in Toronto at
      8:25p.m.. The flight provides convenient connections to London, U.K.,
      in both directions.

    - Toronto-Richmond (Virginia) - starting May 1, twice daily, year-round
      non-stop service using a 37-seat, Jazz Dash 8 aircraft. It will be the
      only non-stop service between the two cities and the only international
      route out of Richmond. Flights will depart Toronto at 8:40am and
      4:50 p.m., and will return from Richmond at 11:10 a.m. and 7:25 pm.Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air
transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five
continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline in
the world and serves more than 34 million customers annually with a fleet
consisting of more than 340 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of Star
Alliance, providing the world's most comprehensive air transportation network.