Air Canada unveils major expansion to 12 U.S. destinations

MONTREAL – Air Canada announced new non-stop services between 12 U.S. cities and its four key Canadian hubs beginning next summer. The new transborder routes will introduce new destinations, such as Washington-Dulles-Toronto, Salt Lake City-Toronto and San Jose-Vancouver, while also creating new city-pair routings, such as Chicago-Vancouver, Houston-Montreal, Denver-Montreal and San Francisco-Calgary.

“Air Canada is the foreign carrier operating the most flights to the U.S., carrying the most customers and serving the most destinations. As such, we are pleased to strengthen our market presence, particularly as the U.S. is the top destination for Canadian travelers and Canada is one of the most popular destinations for Americans. These new routes will make it easier for international travelers flying from and to the U.S. to connect to Air Canada’s global network through its major Canadian hubs. Additionally, customers travelling in the U.S. or from Latin America on our partner United Airlines will have more travel options and connection opportunities at UA’s hubs in Houston, Denver, San Francisco and Washington-Dulles,” said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines, at Air Canada.

“International travelers are increasingly finding that connecting through Canada on Air Canada is the most convenient way to fly from and to the U.S. to both Europe and Asia. Not only do our hubs offer some of the shortest elapsed travel times, they also provide international travelers seamless connections and Air Canada’s Four-Star service, featuring lie-flat seats in International Business Class, a Premium Economy cabin on select flights, and seatback In-Flight Entertainment throughout all aircraft. All flights provide for Aeroplan accumulationand redemption, Star Alliance reciprocal benefits and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access at our hubs, priority boarding and other benefits.”

The new routes announced will be operated by Air Canada mainline, Air Canada rouge and Air Canada Express aircraft.
 

1Flight operated by Air Canada Express;  2 Flight operated by Air Canada rouge.

Air Canada Unveils Expansion from Montreal to Three U.S. Destinations
Air Canada also announced the introduction of non-stop services between Montreal and three U.S. cities beginning next summer. The new transborder routes include Montreal-Denver, Montreal-Houston and Montreal-Philadelphia. With the addition of these three routes, Air Canada offers non-stop flights to 18 U.S. cities from Montreal, the most of any airline.

“As one of the major corporations headquartered in Montreal and the largest airline serving the city, we are pleased to play an active role in the business and economic development of Montreal,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada. “Our ongoing investment and commitment will provide greater access and opportunity for the Montreal business community and these three new routes to the U.S. will also support Air Canada’s continuing global expansion and growth of Montreal as a strategic hub.  

“For customers traveling to the U.S., these new routes offer convenient connections at major hubs of our partner United Airlines, giving customers more travel options throughout the U.S. and Latin America. For international travelers flying to and from the U.S., it has never been easier to connect in Montreal to Air Canada’s global network including Paris, Geneva, Brussels and, beginning next year, Lyon. In addition to the introduction of our new international services from Montreal to Europe and Asia, we are also seeing that international travelers are increasingly finding that connecting through Montreal on Air Canada is the most convenient way to fly to and from the U.S.,” concluded Mr. Rovinescu.

“These new transborder routes are excellent news for Montreal. The addition of non-stop service to Denver, Houston and Philadelphia presents numerous business development opportunities, and is beneficial for the Montreal metropolitan area. We are delighted that Air Canada is such a great global partner,” said Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal.

“Aeroports de Montreal welcomes Air Canada’s decision to add these three new routes to the United States, which along with the increasing number of destinations and the use of larger aircraft on Europe routes next summer, confirms Air Canada’s commitment to making Montreal–Trudeau an essential hub in its global expansion strategy,” said ADM President and Chief Executive Officer James Cherry.

“Tourisme Montreal salutes Air Canada’s efforts to facilitate access to Montreal for travellers from the United States. Direct flights from Philadelphia, Denver and Houston will open our city to new markets, increasing our attractiveness as a destination and offering new possibilities to the American business market. This important move underscores the fact that Montreal is increasingly a major gateway to North America,” said Yves Lalumiere, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tourisme Montreal.

Not only does Montreal offer some of the shortest elapsed travel times, it also provide international travelers seamless connections and Air Canada’s Four-Star service, featuring lie-flat seats in International Business Class, a Premium Economy cabin on select flights, and seatback In-Flight Entertainment throughout all aircraft. All flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption, Star Alliance reciprocal benefits and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access at our hubs, priority boarding and other benefits.

The new year-round routes announced today will be operated by Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Express aircraft.

Air Canada at Montreal-Trudeau airport – Summer 2016: Trans-Atlantic capacity increase of 27% over 2015 resulting in a 98% capacity growth in the last three years

Air Canada, Air Canada rouge and its regional airline partners flying under the Air Canada Express banner operate on average approximately 2,100 flights per week between Montreal and 78 destinations: 23 in Canada including nine in Quebec, 18 in the United States, 25 in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, 11 in Europe, and one in North Africa.

• 27% increase in peak trans-Atlantic capacity or 5,000 more seats per week to 12 cities across Europe and North Africa: Paris, London, Brussels, Geneva, Frankfurt, Lyon, Athens, Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Venice, and Casablanca, as well as Munich and Zurich in codeshare with Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines.
• Additional capacity on key Montreal routes:
  – Paris – 35% increase with both daily flights operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft
  – Athens – 20% increase, going from 4x to 5x weekly flights during the peak
  – Barcelona – 67% increase, going from 3x to 5x weekly flights during the peak
  – Nice – 33% increase, going from 3x to 4x weekly flights during the peak
  – Venice – 50% increase, going from 2x to 3x weekly flights during the peak
• Five new destinations; Lyon, Philadelphia, Houston, Denver and Air Canada’s first service to Africa with Montreal-Casablanca flights.
• Air Canada flies non-stop to the most popular U.S. destinations from Montreal: New York City (LGA and EWR), Chicago (ORD), Las Vegas (LAS), Orlando (MCO) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
• In addition, Air Canada is the only carrier at Montreal-Trudeau to fly non-stop to Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Boston (BOS), Denver (DEN), Tampa (TPA), Fort Myers (RSW), West Palm Beach (PBI), Hartford (BDL), and Washington Dulles (IAD) through our Star Alliance partner United Airlines.

Tatiana Rokou

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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