MONTREAL, May 7, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada welcomed today's launch of Automated Passport Control (APC) at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), now giving U.S. passport holders options for streamlining their airport travel experience while pre-clearing U.S. Customs at YVR.

"Air Canada congratulates YVR's leadership in being the first Canadian airport to launch with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Automated Passport Control that gives customers tangible options to use technology to expedite the U.S. pre-clearance process," said Nick Careen, Air Canada's Vice President Airports, Call Centres and Customer Relations. "We look forward to this option being made available for Canadian passport holders. As the largest airline in the transborder market, Air Canada encourages other Canadian airports to implement the same technology to enhance customer airport travel experiences for the 21^st century."

Together with its Air Canada Express regional affiliates, Air Canada operates more than 400 non-stop flights per day on over 85 routes to and from 51 U.S. and six Canadian airports. From Vancouver, Air Canada operates up to 159 flights per week to 10 U.S. destinations.

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 2012 served close to 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 51 destinations in the United States and 67 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 1,329 destinations in 194 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 that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best International Airline in North America in 2012 for the third consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

SOURCE: Air Canada