MONTREAL, Nov. 30 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada inaugurates today daily non-stop service between Montreal and Houston, further enhancing connection and routing possibilities for customers through both Montreal and the Texas hub of its new Star Alliance partner, Continental Airlines.

"Air Canada is pleased to launch this new route, offering the only daily, non-stop service between these two cities. While Montreal and Houston are both important business and leisure destinations in their own right, they are also convenient connection hubs for customers who wish to travel beyond. Through Houston, customers will have a wide range of choice for travelling further south in the U.S. or to Latin America, while customers arriving in Montreal will be able to easily connect to flights for elsewhere in Canada and across the Atlantic to Europe," said Marcel Forget, Vice President, Network Planning, Air Canada.

Air Canada flight AC7997 will depart Montreal at 09:00 arriving in Houston at 11:55; and Air Canada flight AC7998 will depart Houston at 12:25 arriving back in Montreal at 16:40. Flights are operated by Air Canada Jazz onboard 75-seat CRJ-705 aircraft offering a choice of Executive or Economy Class service, featuring individual seatback entertainment throughout the aircraft.

With the addition of Montreal-Houston service, Air Canada serves 17 U.S. destinations with non-stop flights from Montreal. From Houston, customers will be able to conveniently connect with Air Canada Star Alliance Partner Continental Airlines to fly to a wide variety of destinations such as New Orleans, Charleston, Acapulco, Belize and Honduras.

Fares currently start as low as $226 one way, before taxes and other fees, and are available for purchase at www.aircanada.com

Montreal-based 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.

In 2008, the readers of Business Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best In-Flight Services in North America," "Best Airline for Business Class Service in North America" and "Best North American Airline for International Travel."