Starting October 27, 2009, only year-round service with business class
    featuring lie flat bed suites between Canada and Italy

    MONTREAL, June 20 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada inaugurates today daily
non-stop flights between Montréal and Rome. During this summer's peak travel
season, this service will link on a daily basis the Italian capital with Air
Canada's extensive Québec and Atlantic Canada network, as well as major cities
on the Eastern U.S. seaboard. Starting October 27, 2009, Air Canada will offer
year-round Montréal-Rome flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with
same-plane service continuing on to/from Toronto.
    "This is great news for Montreal's Italian community and travelers in
Atlantic Canada and the U.S. who will benefit from year-round direct service
and substantial time savings," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and
Chief Commercial Officer. "The inauguration of our year-round non-stop service
between Montréal and Rome strengthens Air Canada's commitment to offer
convenient flights from Montréal to key international destinations. Air
Canada's superior schedule, product offering and loyalty benefits through
Aeroplan clearly make Air Canada the airline of choice for customers."
    For greater convenience and travel choice, this service is timed to offer
connecting flights to popular destinations in Italy, including Bari, Lamezia,
Milan, Palermo and Venice. As well, Air Canada's Star Alliance partners
Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines offer service from Montréal to
Munich and Zurich respectively, further increasing connections and travel
options.
    "Given the popularity of Rome as a summer and business travel
destination, we are pleased Air Canada will provide year-round direct access
to Italy," said Mr. James Cherry, President and Chief Executive Officer at
Aéroports de Montréal.
    Air Canada's Montreal-Rome non-stop service will be operated using a
newly refurbished 211-seat Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of
Economy Class and Executive First service featuring 24 lie flat bed suites.
Further details and a virtual tour of Air Canada's new cabin amenities,
including personal seatback entertainment at every seat, are available at:
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/onboard/cabincomfort.html .
    This summer Air Canada will have increased capacity across the Atlantic
from Montréal by 35 per cent year over year, with non stop service to five
European gateway cities including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Geneva and Rome.
With the addition of three new destinations this year, Geneva, Fort de France,
Martinique and the return of Rome service, Air Canada offers non-stop service
from Montréal to 50 destinations. As well, Air Canada's Star Alliance partners
Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines offer service from Montréal to
Munich and Zurich respectively, further increasing connections and travel
options.

    Montréal-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. Air Canada aircraft offer customers individualized seatback in-flight
entertainment systems with hundreds of hours of digital audio-visual
entertainment. 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."