Air Canada Enhances St.John's, NL Services this Summer

Leads the Way in Capacity Growth among Canadian Carriers
Serves More Destinations than Any Other Carrier

ST. JOHN'S, June 8, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced it is further enhancing its services in Newfoundland and Labrador by offering customers travelling to and from St. John's a five per cent increase in available seats over last summer.

"This summer, in response to the expanding economy and working closely with the local community, we are pleased to increase our departing capacity from St John's by five per cent above last year's level," said Marcel Forget Vice-President, Network Planning, Air Canada. "2012 is Air Canada's 75th anniversary and we take pride in having served the St. John's and Newfoundland and Labrador community for 70 of these years and we will continue to look ahead for new opportunities. Both business and leisure travellers will enjoy convenient connections to Air Canada's global network, Aeroplan rewards, and an opportunity to use our flight passes for convenience and savings."

St. John's-London Heathrow
Extension until the end of October of the only daily non-stop seasonal St. John's-London Heathrow, U. K. service offering the fastest and most efficient way of making connections throughout Europe with its Star Alliance partner carriers to several European capitals such as Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Vienna, Warsaw, and Berlin. Flights are timed to offer convenient connections to and from Deer Lake and Halifax.

St. John's - Toronto
Six daily flights operated with a mix of 93-seat Embraer E90, 120-seat Airbus A319, 146-seat Airbus A320 aircraft.  During the summer travel season two of the six fights, including same plane service to Edmonton and Fort McMurray, have been upgauged from A319 to A320 aircraft.

St. John's - Halifax
Five daily flights with four operated with 93-seat Embraer E90 aircraft and the fifth upgauged from a 93-seat Embraer E90 to a146-seat Airbus A320. 

In addition, this summer Air Canada will offer from St. John's up to two daily flights to Montreal, one to Ottawa, three to Deer Lake, three to Gander and one to Goose Bay.

Other Newfoundland and Labrador 2012 Air Canada service highlights include:

• Doubled frequency between Gander-Goose Bay-Wabush (twice daily)
  
• New Deer Lake-Goose Bay-Wabush service
  
• Three daily flights between Goose Bay-Wabush with convenient connections to/from Halifax and St. John's
  
• Three daily flights from Wabush to Sept Iles.

Air Canada and Air Canada Express offer over 150 scheduled flights each week to 11 destinations across Canada to and from St. John's, including non-stop service to Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and London Heathrow, as well as same plane service to Calgary, Fort McMurray and Edmonton.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 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 1,290 destinations in 189 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.

In 2011, 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. Also in 2011, readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," and readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best In-Flight Services in North America." In the annual Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey, Air Canada was named "Canada's Favourite Airline for Business Travel." Air Canada was preferred by 73 per cent of Canadian business travellers surveyed for 2011, the third consecutive year of improvement in Air Canada's ratings in the national survey. For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com and follow @AirCanada on Twitter and Facebook.