Annual readership surveys again rank Air Canada Best in North America

MONTREAL, Dec. 9, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada has once again been named best airline in North America by frequent travelers.  In annual readership surveys conducted in 2013 by U.S. travel magazines Global Traveler, Business Traveler and Premier Traveler, readers named Air Canada the best in North America in multiple categories, including tops for international travel and in-flight service.

"Air Canada is very pleased to be recognized as the North American leader by those frequent travelers whose wide experience of a variety of airlines uniquely qualifies them to judge. We have now won some of these awards for five consecutive years and the consensus that Air Canada is the best airline in North America is a welcome endorsement of our strategy to transform Air Canada into an international powerhouse. This entails building global hubs, including a North American gateway in Toronto, and offering customers industry-leading airport concierge, Maple Leaf Lounge and on-board services. We took another major step forward this month by unveiling our new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which will feature an enhanced version of the International Business Class lie-flat seats that have made Air Canada a North American leader. Our fleet of 37 Dreamliners will also feature a Premium Economy cabin, as well as other amenities such as a state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system available free at every seat," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.

The 2013 awards won by Air Canada and announced this month include:

• "Best Airline in North America" - Global Traveler magazine, tenth annual GT Tested Reader Survey awards
  http://www.globaltravelerusa.com/global-traveler-announces-10th-annual-gt-tested-reader-survey-awards/

• "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best North American Airline Inflight Experience" - Business Traveler magazine, 2013 Best in Business Travel Awards (the 25^th annual edition of these awards)
  http://www.businesstravelerusa.com/tags/Business+Traveler+Awards
  
  
• "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best Flight Attendants in North America" - Premier Traveler magazine, Best of 2013 awards
  http://www.premiertravelerusa.com/index

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2012 served close to 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 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: aircanada.com.

SOURCE Air Canada