CALGARY, Dec. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - This weekend, Air Canada brings the Hawaiian sun closer to Calgary with the departure of flight AC43 non-stop to Maui on Saturday, December 5 and the departure of flight AC41 non-stop to Honolulu on Sunday, December 6.

"With winter's definite arrival in Calgary, we are delighted to be launching new non-stop flights bringing the warmth of the Hawaiian sun, beaches and ocean just a few hours closer to Calgarians," said Marcel Forget, Vice President, Network Planning, Air Canada. "These flights are already proving to be particularly popular with Albertans looking to escape winter and enjoy the tropical Hawaiian islands. The non-stop Calgary to Hawaii flights save more than two and a half hours of trip time in each direction when compared to flying over other routings. Air Canada's new Calgary-Hawaii flights are also timed for convenient connections to and from Edmonton and other points in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Toronto and across eastern Canada."

Flights are operated with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft offering a choice of Executive or Economy Class service. This winter, Air Canada offers up to five weekly flights from Calgary to Hawaii, with three flights a week to Maui and two flights weekly to Honolulu during the peak. The Calgary-Hawaii flights complement the carrier's 15 weekly peak winter flights from Vancouver to Hawaii.

With these new flights to Maui and Honolulu, Air Canada over the past eight months has launched six new routes serving Calgary, with daily non-stop flights to San Diego CA, Portland OR and London ON, and summer seasonal service to Whitehorse YT. The carrier will be launching non-stop flights to Tokyo in March, 2010.

Air Canada was recently voted the Best Airline in Canada and the Best Airline in North America by the readers of Global Traveler magazine in an international survey of business travelers.

Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 13th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 33 million customers annually. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the world's most comprehensive air transportation network for Canadian domestic, transborder and international travel. As well, customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future awards through Canada's leading loyalty program.