MONTREAL, Aug. 16, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced that Benjamin Smith, President, Airlines and Chief Operating Officer, has advised the Corporation that he will resign his position effective August 31, 2018 to accept a role as chief executive officer at an European-based global airline. 

"We wish Ben well in his future endeavours and congratulate him on his appointment. On behalf of our Board of Directors, our executive team and our 30,000 employees, I thank Ben for his significant contributions in many various roles at Air Canada over the past two decades," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. 

"There have been many architects of Air Canada's highly successful transformation, and our deep and highly experienced leadership team will continue to deliver on our global ambitions, achieve our targets and drive our operational performance well into the future," added Mr. Rovinescu. 

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 220 airports on six continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2017 served more than 48 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 59 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 1,317 airports in 193 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 2018 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada