MONTREAL, March 27, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada President of Passenger Airlines, Benjamin Smith, today announced the appointment of Robert Alan (Al) Read as Vice President, Airports – North America. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Read was Vice President, Operations at Air Canada Rouge.
"A top priority for Air Canada is the continual improvement of the airport experience for our customers, including ease of connections. We know this is also a key consideration for global travellers. Al Read, with his wide experience in all aspects of airline operations, is well- suited to lead our airport teams as we take customer service and our airport operations to the next level, especially at our Toronto-Pearson global hub and hubs in Vancouver and Montreal," said Mr. Smith.
As Vice President, Airports – North America, Mr. Read has overall responsibility for the strategic direction and leadership of Air Canada's airport operational reliability and customer service delivered across the continent. He also has oversight of Air Canada's Concierge program that offers priority and premium ground services to the airline's most frequent customers at more than 40 airports worldwide.
Mr. Read began his career at Air Canada in 1979 on the front line as a ramp Station Attendant at Toronto-Pearson. He has held progressively senior management positions across various branches in customer sales and service, resource planning, cargo operations and system operations control. In 2012, as Vice President, Operations at Air Canada Rouge, he was responsible for operational aspects of the leisure carrier's start-up and since 2015 overall management responsibility for Air Canada Rouge.
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 2017 served close to 48 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 60 in the United States and 98 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 1,300 airports in 191 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, which also named Air Canada the 2017 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
SOURCE Air Canada
