MONTREAL, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada has introduced a brand new kids' club called Air Canada Altitude Skyriders™ designed to make flights even more exciting and enjoyable for children between the ages of two and 12 years old. Once parents register their children for free online at Air Canada Altitude Skyriders, children will receive a kit containing a welcome letter, an exclusive Skyriders luggage tag and a logbook to chart their flights. Every time the child travels, he or she will also earn printable badges online to commemorate special milestones or achievements. First flights, new regions or destinations explored all have special meaning, and will be commemorated online. E-mail notifications will be sent once new badges are earned.

"The Air Canada Altitude Skyriders club will introduce kids to the exciting world of travel making their journey with Air Canada a memorable experience," said Benjamin Smith, Air Canada President, Passenger Airlines.  "It's not about points or rewards, it's about making their trip as fun as possible and we hope to nurture and encourage childhood curiosity and create lifelong memories."

Each flight that a Skyrider takes will be an opportunity to collect stickers to fill their logbooks. Additionally, all children on board will receive, activity books, headphones, backpacks and puzzles, depending on their destination.

Air Canada has a broad range of initiatives in place to meet the needs of families and the hundreds of thousands of children who fly with the airline each year including:

• NEW! Altitude Status Extension for Parental Leave. Air Canada recognizes that life changes, and with it, so do travel patterns. Air Canada now offers the Altitude Status Extension for Parental Leave, a North American first. This unique privilege for new parents is one or the many special ways the airline accommodates parents and families.
  
  When expecting a baby or welcoming a new child and planning on taking a parental leave, Altitude members can request a parental extension in order to continue enjoying the privileges of their Altitude status when resuming flying more frequently.  Learn more about Altitude Status Extension for Parental Leave: https://altitude.aircanada.com/status/overview
  
• Complimentary seat assignment for parents/guardians and children under the age of 12 who are travelling together. Air Canada assigns seating without an advance seat selection fee soon after the booking has been made, either directly through Air Canada or through a travel agency, for parents and guardians who have indicated they are travelling with children.
  
• Free travel for children under two sitting on their parents' lap. We welcome babies as young as seven days on board and each bundle of joy has to be accompanied by a passenger aged 16 or older. More information about travelling with an infant or child is here: http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/before/youngtravellers/infant-child.html.
  
• Air Canada Rouge Crew are trained at Disney Institute to create memorable moments for customers and a relaxed atmosphere onboard Air Canada's vacation carrier, Air Canada Rouge. The Rouge Crew have also painted children's faces, created puppets and distributed signature buttons commemorating "Happy Birthday!" and "First Flight!"
  
• Enjoy family friendly inflight entertainment like complimentary movies, TV shows, kids' programming, music playlists and more on Air Canada's personal seatback inflight entertainment system available when flying on Air Canada aircraft (except Bombardier Dash 8 and Q400 aircraft). Our in-flight entertainment system on Rouge has seen upgrades across the entire fleet, with new iPads available for rent or streamed directly to your personal device during your Air Canada Rouge flights, just make sure to download the Air Canada App before you board and you'll be good to go.
  
• More than 10,000 young travelers fly unaccompanied with Air Canada each year. And regardless of whether they're travelling on a short flight, or are embarking on a longer journey, our Unaccompanied Minor service ensures that children travelling alone receive the best of care, and are escorted by our highly-trained staff from the moment they arrive at airport check-in until they reach their destination.
  
• Other travelling information
  • Formula, breast milk, juice and baby food (in small containers) are permitted in carry-on baggage. Because onboard refrigeration may not always be available on all aircraft types, please bring these items in a small cooler bag to keep them at the desired temperature. If available, extra ice may be provided as needed.
  • Special infants' and children's meals are available on International flights and in Business Class within North America. For more information and to order an infant/child meal, please call Air Canada Reservations at least 18 hours prior to departure.
  • All of our aircraft (with the exception of our Bombardier Dash 8-300 (DH3) and Dash-8 100 (DH1) aircraft) have diaper-changing tables located in either the front or back lavatories.

The Air Canada Foundation

The Air Canada Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on the health and well-being of children and youth, was launched in 2012. It offers both financial and in-kind support, through travel assistance, to Canadian registered charities.  With the support of Aeroplan Miles generously donated by customers, the Foundation manages a Hospital Transportation Program to ensure free travel to pediatric hospitals across Canada for seriously ill children who are unable to get the medical help they need in their local communities. The Foundation also manages the Volunteer Involvement Program which recognizes the involvement of employees in their local community by providing airline tickets to the registered charities in support of their fundraising initiatives.  The Foundation in collaboration with the airline also engages directly in fundraising activities such as Every Bit Counts program which encourages customers to donate loose change of all denominations onboard flights or through airport collection containers. The Foundation also offers continued support to major health-related causes that benefit Canadians and is an active participant in international humanitarian relief activity as the need arises.  For more information about the Air Canada Foundation, please visit www.aircanada.com/foundation or the 2015 Corporate Sustainability Report, Citizens of the World, online at www.aircanada.com/csr.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2015 served more than 41 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 54 in the United States and 87 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 192 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada