Widening Margin Confirms Air Canada's Lead Position Among Canadian Carriers

MONTREAL, Sept. 16, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada has been named Canada's favourite airline for business travel in the Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey. Air Canada was preferred by 81 per cent of Canadian frequent business travellers surveyed for 2013, an improvement of 12 percentage points in Air Canada's ratings in the national survey over the past five years.

"Air Canada is proud to be named Canada's preferred airline by our most discerning customers -business travellers. This year's Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey confirms that Canada's frequent travelers recognize Air Canada as their preferred airline by a growing margin - the widest margin versus our domestic competitors since 2008," said Ben Smith, Air Canada's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "Air Canada's year-over-year increases in ratings underscore our commitment to continued improvements in our products, including new and refurbished aircraft and Maple Leaf Lounges, improved priority airport services and on-board service enhancements for the comfort and convenience of our customers. In addition, our efforts to improve On-Time Performance are succeeding with increases of 30 per cent over last year achieved in the past two quarters. On behalf of our 27,000 employees worldwide, we would like to thank our customers for having voted Air Canada Best Airline in North America for the past four years and assure them we remain focused on earning their loyalty as North America's only international four-star airline."

The survey showed consistently strong ratings in customer preference for Air Canada's frequent flyer reward program, flight schedule, business class service, Maple Leaf Lounges and complimentary in-flight entertainment. Among other things, the survey of frequent business travelers found:

• Overall satisfaction with Air Canada's service climbed six percentage points over last year.
  
  
• 95 per cent intend to use Air Canada for business travel in the coming year, an increase of six percentage points over the previous year.
  
  
• Air Canada is the preferred airline from Canada to the U.S. for 73 per cent of respondents, an improvement of four percentage points over last year and 15 percentage points over the past five years.
  
  
• In addition, Air Canada is the airline flown most often when going to the United States for 60 per cent of respondents, an increase of three percentage points over last year and 10 percentage points over the past five years.

About the Survey

The 21st annual Canadian Business Travel Study is an online survey conducted independently by Ipsos Reid.  The survey includes business travellers who travel a minimum of six round trip flights for business in the past 12 months.

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999.

Visit www.ipsos.ca to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.

About 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 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 rewards its most loyal customers through its top tier recognition program, Altitude, that offers frequent flyers a range of priority travel services, lounge access and upgrades to Executive Class, complementing their membership in Aeroplan, Canada's premier loyalty program, which provides numerous ways to earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles with over 150 travel and retail partners.

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. In 2013, Air Canada was ranked for a fourth consecutive year "Best Airline in North America" in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by Skytrax.  According to the 2012 Canadian Business Travel Survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, Air Canada was the preferred airline for more than 79 percent of frequent business travellers in Canada.  In 2012, readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," the readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best In-Flight Services in North America," and the readers of Premier Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for Business Class Service," "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best Flight Attendants in North America."  For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada