No Disruption of Service at Air Canada

MONTREAL, March 8, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada's Minister of Labour, the Hon. Lisa Raitt, has issued a referral pursuant to the Canada Labour Code, to determine the activities that Air Canada may be required to maintain as relates to the health and safety of Canadians.

As a result of this CIRB referral, the IAMAW cannot commence a strike and Air Canada cannot lock out its pilots at least until this matter has been determined by the Board. The strike deadline by the IAMAW and Air Canada's lockout notice to ACPA, both originally scheduled for 00:01 am ET on Monday March 12, 2012, have therefore no effect.

There will therefore be no disruption of service and Air Canada's full schedule remains unchanged.

We thank our customers for their patience and loyalty during this time.  Customers should continue to book with confidence.

Air Canada encourages customers to visit aircanada.com for flight information and self service booking tools to avoid longer call centre wait times due to a higher volume of calls than usual.

Air Canada will continue to provide updates as developments warrant.

The IAMAW represents Air Canada's 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents. ACPA represents the airline's 3,000 pilots.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 57 destinations in the United States and 63 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 1,290 destinations in 189 countries. In 2011, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Air Canada's public communications may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to, amongst other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, industry, market, credit and economic conditions, the ability to reduce operating costs and secure financing, pension issues, energy prices, employee and labour relations, currency exchange and interest rates, competition, war, terrorist acts, epidemic diseases, environmental factors (including weather systems and other natural phenomena and factors arising from man-made sources), insurance issues and costs, changes in demand due to the seasonal nature of the business, supply issues, changes in laws, regulatory developments or proceedings, pending and future litigation and actions by third parties as well as the factors identified throughout Air Canada's public disclosure file available at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent Air Canada's expectations as of date of this news release and are subject to change after such date. However, Air Canada disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

For further information:

Isabelle Arthur (Montréal)  514 422-5788
Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto)  416 263-5576
Angela Mah (Vancouver)  604 270-5741

Internet :  aircanada.com