MONTREAL, July 31, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that it will launch weekly seasonal flights between Halifax and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, beginning December 14, 2013 until the end of April, 2014. Air Canada will operate flights on Saturdays using 97-seat Embraer E190 aircraft offering a choice of Executive or Economy Class service and featuring complimentary seatback entertainment throughout the aircraft. Flights are timed to offer customers easy connections to and from major Air Canada destinations in Atlantic Canada. Air Canada's new service complements its existing Halifax winter weekly seasonal service to Tampa and twice weekly to Orlando.

"Our upcoming winter sun schedule offers our customers in Atlantic Canada a choice of several popular holiday destinations to escape the winter cold," said Marcel Forget, Air Canada's Vice President, Network Planning.  "Our new Fort Lauderdale service complements Air Canada's existing Halifax flights to Tampa and Orlando. This winter, Air Canada will be offering 12 per cent more seats from Halifax to the warm sun and beaches of Florida."

"We are delighted to welcome Air Canada's seasonal service to Fort Lauderdale," says Jerry Staples, Halifax International Airport Authority Vice President, Air Service Marketing & Business Development.  "Southeast Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach are becoming increasingly popular among sun seekers and this additional service provides our passengers with another great option to meet their winter travel needs."

Flights are available for purchase now at www.aircanada.com and through travel agents.  Customers also collect Aeroplan Miles through Canada's leading loyalty program when travelling with Air Canada.

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 60 Canadian cities, 53 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 1,328 destinations in 195 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 Airline in North America in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

SOURCE Air Canada