Leisure carrier to launch new Toronto-Honolulu non-stop flights, operate Vancouver-Honolulu/Maui service

TORONTO, May 27, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced that its leisure carrier subsidiary, Air Canada rouge^TM, is expanding service to Hawaii with the introduction of new year-round non-stop flights between Toronto and Honolulu.  The new route, offering the only non-stop service between Toronto and Hawaii, will begin November 26, 2014. Flights will be operated using Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of two cabins with three choices of service, personal space and comfort. To promote the new route, Air Canada rouge is offering savings of 20 per cent on bookings made by June 10, 2014 for travel until April 30, 2015 using the promotion code "aloharouge."  Flights and optional Air Canada Vacations packages are available for purchase at aircanada.com.

"Hawaii has long been a very popular vacation destination for Canadians from coast to coast," said Benjamin Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada. "With the expansion of Air Canada rouge to Hawaii, we are delighted to introduce the only non-stop flights between Toronto and Hawaii. Flights are timed to provide convenient connections at our main Toronto hub for flights serving destinations throughout Air Canada's extensive network. In combination with Air Canada Vacations, we are pleased to offer Canadians even more holiday choices."

In addition, Air Canada announced that existing year-round non-stop service from Vancouver to Honolulu and Maui, currently operated by Air Canada, will be converted to daily Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300 ER service effective November 21 and December 1, 2014, respectively.

As part of its Air Canada rouge winter schedule to Caribbean destinations, twice-weekly seasonal service from Toronto to St. Maarten, previously operated by Air Canada, will be converted to Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300ER service effective December 20.

"Air Canada rouge is best suited to compete more cost effectively in markets where there is both a high leisure travel demand and low-cost competition. The expansion of our leisure carrier to Hawaii, in tandem with Air Canada's mainline fleet renewal, is a key element of our strategy for sustainable, profitable growth at both airlines," concluded Mr. Smith.

Air Canada will continue to evaluate future market opportunities as new aircraft are introduced into its mainline fleet and existing aircraft are released for operation by Air Canada rouge as market demand warrants.  Since the launch in July 2013 of Air Canada rouge, Air Canada has deployed its leisure carrier to a growing number of Caribbean, European and select sun destinations in the United States.

New Air Canada rouge Toronto-Honolulu year-round service:

Air Canada rouge Vancouver-Honolulu and Vancouver-Maui year round service:

Customers who have already booked travel to Hawaii directly through Air Canada on these routes converted to Air Canada rouge will be notified by email that their flight has been converted to Air Canada rouge. To mark the expansion of Air Canada rouge to Hawaii, the email includes a promotion code for 20 per cent off future travel on Air Canada and Air Canada rouge in North America including Hawaii and the Caribbean. The email also provides further information on Air Canada rouge, as well as the option to contact Air Canada Reservations at (844) 268-7290 for a full refund if the customer prefers to make a different travel choice to Hawaii. Customers who have booked through their travel agent would be notified by their travel agent who is also available to provide further information and options available to them.

With the addition of the Hawaii and St. Maarten routes, together with its previously announced summer 2014 schedule to Europe, the Caribbean and the United States, Air Canada rouge plans to operate a total of 58 routes by next winter, including service this summer to Barcelona, Dublin, Lisbon, Manchester, Nice and Rome.

Air Canada rouge's aircraft feature three customer comfort options: rouge^TM, rouge Plus^TM with preferred seating with additional legroom, and Premium rouge^TM with additional space and enhanced service on the Boeing 767-300ER and on select Airbus A319 routes.  Air Canada rouge offers a unique brand of customer service designed to make every flight a memorable start and end to a wonderful vacation.  Aircraft are equipped with player, a next generation in-flight entertainment system that wirelessly streams entertainment to customers' personal electronic devices.  Flights provide stylish and modern cabin interiors with new Slimline seats which have a trim profile that offers more personal space, and the ability to earn and redeem Aeroplan miles. For more information and bookings, visit: http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/rouge.html

Air Canada rouge operates a fleet consisting of Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A319 aircraft transferred from Air Canada. By the end of May 2014, Air Canada rouge's fleet will include six Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and 18 Airbus A319 aircraft.

Air Canada's mainline fleet renewal is ongoing with the introduction of new aircraft.  In May, the airline took delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner and is scheduled to receive a total of six 787 aircraft in 2014 with the remaining 31 scheduled between 2015 and 2019. In February 2014, Air Canada took delivery of the last of five new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to enter its mainline fleet.

About Air Canada rouge

Air Canada rouge is Air Canada's new leisure airline, part of the Air Canada Leisure Group, along with Air Canada Vacations. Together with Air Canada Vacations, Air Canada rouge offers competitively-priced travel to exciting leisure destinations in Europe and the Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S.: Edinburgh, Venice, Athens, Lisbon, Dublin, Nice, Barcelona, Rome and Manchester and multiple destinations in Mexico, the U.S. and the Caribbean such as Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Air Canada rouge is backed by Air Canada's 75-year reputation for safety and reliability and Air Canada Vacations' 30-plus year history of vacation travel excellence. Learn more at www.aircanada.com/rouge or www.facebook.com/aircanadarouge

About Air Canada Vacations

Air Canada Vacations is a leading Canadian tour operator offering a wide assortment of leisure travel packages, cruises, and flights to destinations around the world.   A repeat recipient of the Consumer's Choice Award for Best Travel Wholesaler, Air Canada Vacations services over 100 destinations in the Caribbean, Central & South America, Asia, Europe, and in the U.S.  And now, Air Canada Vacations will feature Air Canada rouge on several of its top vacation routes.  For more information, visit www.aircanadavacations.com

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2013 served more than 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 destinations in the United States and 73 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 1,269 destinations 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 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.

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SOURCE Air Canada