Air Canada today announced the introduction of new year-round service between Montreal and Bogotá, Colombia beginning June 2, 2020
MONTREAL, Sept. 18, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Canada today announced the introduction of new year-round service between Montreal and Bogotá, Colombia beginning June 2, 2020.
Flights will operate three times weekly onboard Air Canada Rouge Boeing
767-300ER aircraft offering a choice of premium and economy service.
Special introductory fares start as low as $795 round-trip, all in, and tickets are now available for purchase at aircanada.com or through travel agents. “We are very pleased to offer the only non-stop, year-round flights connecting Montreal and Bogotá, two vibrant cities steeped in history and culture. This new route complements our existing Toronto-Bogotá service, and positions Air Canada as a significant player linking the growing markets between Montreal and Colombia’s capital and largest city. The addition of Bogotá represents Air Canada’s 39th new route launched from Montreal-Trudeau Airport since 2012, firmly illustrating our commitment to developing Montreal as an important, strategic hub. Bogotá is also strategically situated to allow for seamless travel across South America through Star Alliance partner Avianca,” said Mark Galardo, Vice President of Network Planning at Air Canada.
Air Canada has now begun offering flights on its brand new A220-300s months ahead of schedule.
Earlier this month, Simple Flying reported that Air Canada had announced the first routes for its new A220s
in the spring of 2020. The routes designated as the airline’s first on
this type of aircraft were meant to be Toronto to San Jose and Montreal
to Seattle. Both services were supposed to be in operation starting the
4th of May 2020.
However, Simple Flying has now learned that Air Canada will launch alternative routes using its A220s as soon as 16th of January 2020.
I laughed out loud reading Tessa Surany’s “Oh Canada” letter (Traveller letters, June 22).
As an expat Canadian, I can tell you the long-standing joke that the
unofficial motto of Air Canada is “We’re not happy, unless you’re not
happy”.
I avoid them like the plague, and use Westjet for internal
Canadian flights whenever possible. On a visit last year, we had one
leg where we couldn’t avoid them.
Landing in Quebec City, on time,
with our bags, I breathed a sigh of relief until I realised I’d left my
mobile in my seat pocket. Forty-five minutes later, when the mobile was
finally returned by a surly, unconcerned employee, the screen was
smashed to bits.
Yes,
Air Canada eventually paid the cost of the repair, but really ? In
three weeks’ time, we are again visiting, and again, have one leg with
Air Canada (stay tuned for an update).
Canada’s flagship airline is getting into the business of delivering cargo by drones, announcing on Tuesday a sales agreement with Drone Delivery Canada to market its services across the country.
The 10-year deal will see Air Canada’s cargo division pursue sales of
the start-up’s delivery services on tens of thousands of planned
routes.
“We believe drone
technology has the potential to offer the cargo community
cost-effective solutions to complex issues,” Air Canada vice president
Tim Strauss said in a statement.
Strauss emphasized how the service could be particularly useful in remote communities.
Drone Delivery Canada said it is planning to build and operate up to
150,000 drone delivery routes in Canada, before pushing in the United
States and Europe.
It must still obtain regulatory approvals.
The company last year signed its first contract, a Can$2.5 million
(US$1.9 million) deal to deliver supplies, medicine, food and mail to
the remote Moose Cree First Nation in the north of Ontario province.
Legroom is limited and I can, unfortunately, feel the passenger behind me digging his knees into the seat. This is a daytime flight so I’m glad I’m not attempting to sleep. A pillow and blanket are provided. Row 41 is a good spot – not too close to the toilets but close enough that it’s easy to pop down throughout the flight or to head to the rear galley to grab a bag of pretzels, a biscuit or just stretch your legs in the space. On the return leg I decide to stump up $C140 to secure an exit row.
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Air Canada today launched an expansive multi-media advertising campaign to showcase for customers the industry leading attributes and benefits of its award-winning, North America Business Class service. (CNW Group/Air Canada)
MONTREAL, April 8, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Canada today launched an expansive multi-media advertising campaign to showcase for customers the industry leading attributes and benefits of its award-winning, North America Business Class service and its commitment to customer service excellence. The campaign is set to run until June 2, including a three-week television component starting today to coincide with the beginning of the NHL playoffs.
“Air Canada’s North
America Business Class offers customers unmatched services and amenities
that deliver on and even anticipate their expectations. This campaign
will reinforce how our employees strive to earn our customers’ loyalty
each day by providing a superior travel experience through customer
service excellence, while also highlighting the very real benefits to
their businesses of choosing Air Canada Business Class,” said Andrew Shibata, Managing Director of Brand at Air Canada.
“The superiority of Air Canada’s Business Class has been
recognized by numerous industry awards and confirmed by the 2018 Ipsos
Reid Canadian Business Traveller Survey, which found Air Canada is the
preferred airline for domestic travel for 92 per cent of frequent
business travellers. Our unrivalled Business Class service is a key
reason why Air Canada has been named the Best Airline in North America
at the Skytrax World Airline Awards for seven of the last nine years,
including in 2017 and 2018, when it also won the Skytrax Best Business
Class in North America.”
Among the unique offerings of Air Canada North America
Business Class are an elevated end-to-end travel experience, with
airport priority services, access to Maple Leaf Lounges, a dedicated
aircraft cabin with larger seats, complimentary meal and beverage
service including a wine selection curated by Air Canada sommelier
Véronique Rivest, seatback in-flight entertainment with more than 600
hours of content in 15 languages and the Altitude Loyalty Program. Air Canada
customers can also enroll in Air Canada for Business, a tailored
program offering travel benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The
campaign, centred on the concept of “We’re in the business of you”,
will feature one 60-second and two 15-second television spots, which can
be viewed on YouTube (see links below). These will be supported by
airport and arena out-of-home placements and extensive digital, print,
social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn), and other
sales communications. The campaign was developed in partnership with FCB
Montreal.
Air Canada, the only
Skytrax Four Star international network carrier in North America, has
recently won numerous awards for its Business Class and other services.
These include:
PAX International Readership Awards – Outstanding Food Service by a Carrier in North America and Best Business Class Amenity Kit in the Americas
TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards – Best Business Class in North America
Skytrax – Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness in North America 2018
Business Traveler USA – Best North American Airline for
International Travel and Best North American Airline for Inflight
Experience
Frequent Business Traveler GlobeRunner Awards – Best Airline in the Americas and
MONTREAL, March 1, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Canada has been named one of Canada’s
Best Diversity Employers for the fourth consecutive year. In
recognizing Air Canada, Mediacorp Canada Inc. cited the airline’s
ongoing work to foster inclusiveness through various partnerships, its
success outreaching directly to diverse communities when recruiting and
other initiatives.
“We are very proud to be recognized for cultivating diversity and
inclusion as these are important strengths for a global airline like Air
Canada. By having a diverse and inclusive workforce, we can attract
and retain the best talent and our customers and stakeholders also see
themselves and their cultures reflected in our 30,000 employees. Our
people work in more than +80 languages, and women occupy prominent roles
throughout our airline, from non-traditional roles to the C-suite,”
said Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Senior Vice President, People, Culture and Communications at Air Canada.
“We continually nurture diversity and inclusivity by offering equal
career opportunities to qualified members of all communities. The
recruitment partnerships we have undertaken with First Nations, LGBTQ,
people with disabilities, and other communities all aim to replenish our
diverse talent base. This award is also welcome because it raises
awareness that anyone qualified with the right skills and aptitude can
be sure Air Canada is inclusive and welcoming.”
In naming Air Canada, Mediacorp Canada Inc. cited the airline’s inclusivity through partnerships including:
Indspire’s Indigenous scholarship and award program,
providing financial support for Indigenous students completing their
education in an aviation-related program such as pilot or aircraft
mechanic;
a program with Jazz Aviation to create a partnership
with First Nations Technical Institute to help young Aboriginal students
become pilots — the initiative includes guidance on resume and job
interview preparation as well as site visits to flight simulators and
flight operations;
Ready, Willing and Able to match the unique
qualifications of candidates with intellectual disabilities or Autism
Spectrum Disorder to specific roles — the company also participates in
Dolphin Digital Technologies’ disability mentoring day.
Canada’s Best Diversity Employers competition recognizes the nations’ leaders in creating inclusive workplaces for employees from five diverse groups: women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) peoples. Employers are selected by the editors at Mediacorp based on submissions to the annual Canada’s Top 100 Employers project.
Air Canada in February 2019 announced Trans-Border service expansion from Toronto, for summer 2019 season. A number of routes will see capacity increase, with the introduction of Embraer E175 aircraft on additional markets.
Toronto – Austin eff 29APR19 Increase from 1 to 2 daily, Embraer E175 operating Toronto – Baltimore/Washington eff 04JUN19 Increase from 1 to 2 daily, Embraer E175 operating Toronto – Charlotte eff 01MAY19 Embraer E175 replaces CRJ200, 2 daily Toronto – Memphis eff 01MAY19 Embraer E175 replaces CRJ200, 1 daily Toronto – Minneapolis/St. Paul eff 03JUN19 Increase from 3 to 4 daily, Embraer E175 operating Toronto – Nashville eff 01JUN19 CRJ900 replaces CRJ200, 2 daily Toronto – Philadelphia eff 03JUN19 Increase from 4 to 5 daily, Embraer E175 operating Toronto – Raleigh eff 01MAY19 Embraer E175 replaces CRJ200, 3 daily Toronto – Washington Dulles eff 01MAY19 Embraer E175 replaces CRJ200, 3 daily
Separately, the airline is ending Toronto – Jacksonville FL service on 30APR19, currently served by CRJ200 aircraft.
Air Canada has invested C$97.3 million ($74.1 million) in regional carrier Jazz Aviation’s parent company, having closed a previously announced agreement under which Jazz will also acquire nine additional Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets.
The agreement extends the carriers’ contract through the end of 2035 while reducing the fees Jazz charges to Air Canada. It calls for Jazz to stop flying aging Dash 8-100 turboprops, reduce its Q400 fleet and fly more 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200s
Montreal-based Air Canada and Jazz parent Chorus, based in Halifax, have positioned the deal as responding to threatening competition. They do not name competitors, but in recent years Air Canada has faced threats from rapidly expanding WestJet and from new ultra-discount startups.
