MONTREAL, Dec. 22, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada is advising customers that winter storm conditions in eastern Canada are impacting its operations. Customers are advised to check on-line at www.aircanada.com for Travel Advisories and also to confirm that their flight is operating on schedule before going to the airport.

"Air Canada appreciates the importance to our customers of traveling during the holiday. Adverse weather can reduce airport operations and affect an airline's ability to keep to its schedule, but we are doing our utmost to get customers safely to their destination and we appreciate our customers' patience and understanding. We have a wealth of travel tips and information available on our website for customers so they can be informed as to how the storm is affecting them and their travel options," said Klaus Goersch, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating officer.

Customers traveling during this period are advised to take the following steps:

Before your flight

• The day before your flight, check our Travel Advisories.
• Within 24 hours of your flight, save time by checking in online or with your mobile device
• On the day of departure, confirm your flight's status before going to the airport.
  
  

If your flight is cancelled

• Do not go to the airport unless you have a confirmed ticket on another flight.
• Do not go to the airport to rebook your flight as you may encounter lengthy line-ups and wait-times. Instead, use our Self-Service Rebooking Tool to make alternate arrangements using your booking reference number and passenger name. Call centres are also available, but wait-times can be long during storms.
  
  

Please be patient

• Immediately after a storm it takes time to resume normal operations. If required, we will add extra capacity when aircraft and crew are available to clear the backlog of affected customers.
• If a suitable flight is not immediately available, check back frequently because our schedule may change and capacity may be added.
  
  

For more information about the impact of winter storms please go to:

http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/media/facts/winter_readiness.html

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 is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

SOURCE Air Canada