Air Canada tops second international passenger survey released in December

MONTREAL, Dec. 13, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada has won two top honours in Business Traveler's "Best in Business Travel" award program, winning awards for the North American carrier with the best in-flight service and the best for international travel.

"Air Canada is very pleased to be recognized by the readers of Business Traveler magazine because these are the travelers who fly most frequently and have the widest experience of different airlines to draw upon in making judgments. It is especially meaningful to win awards for in-flight services and for our international travel experience because that has been a primary focus at Air Canada, which is building upon its international reputation and developing its main Toronto hub as a convenient international connection point. These awards show our customers appreciate the amenities we offer, such as our lie-flat suites in our Executive First international service and the seatback video available throughout our fleet at every seat. Most importantly, these awards also honour the hard work of Air Canada's 26,000 employees, who are the real winners of these awards," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.

Air Canada has been voted by the readers of Business Traveler as offering the Best In-Flight Services in North America and the Best North American Airline for International Travel, the fourth consecutive year it has won these awards. Earlier this month, Air Canada was honoured by another influential business travel magazine when Global Traveler named Air Canada the Best Airline in North America.

Results of the 23rd annual "Best in Business Travel" awards were revealed at a ceremony in Los Angeles.  Business Traveler is one of the world's leading authorities on business travel and the awards were based on its North American readership survey.  Business Traveler has an audited circulation of more than 150,000 subscribers.

Air Canada has renewed its international and North American fleets with new Boeing 777 and Embraer aircraft.  Air Canada has also refurbished its existing fleet to offer all customers personal entertainment systems at each seat, fleet-wide on North American and international routes.  Fleet-wide amenities include digital in-seat monitors with touch-screen controls offering hundreds of hours of audio and video on-demand programming, standard in-seat power within reach of every customer, lie-flat beds in Executive First suites, Air Canada's international business class service, and the ability to collect and redeem Aeroplan miles.

In addition, Air Canada customers benefit from a simplified airport experience for connecting between U.S.-Canada transborder flights and either domestic Canada or international overseas flights world wide, via new facilities all under one roof at its main Toronto hub.

About Air Canada

In addition to the 2011 Business Traveler awards, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax for its 2011 World Airline Awards. Also in 2011, Air Canada was named Best Airline in North America by readers of Global Traveler magazine. For the fourth consecutive year, Air Canada has received top honours for Best Flight Experience to Canada in Executive Travel magazine's 2011 Leading Edge Awards readers' survey.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international full-service airline providing scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and serves over 32 million customers annually. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 57 destinations in the United States and 63 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 1,160 destinations in 181 countries.  Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.  For more information visit aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.