Air Canada and Avianca Brasil Announce Codeshare Agreement

MONTREAL, May 4, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Star Alliance partners Air Canada and Avianca Brasil announced today they have implemented the first stage of a codeshare agreement. Initially, Air Canada will sell, in all its channels, tickets for flights operated by its partner Avianca Brasil under the AC code, significantly expanding its distribution in the local Brazilian market.

The agreement includes flights to and from Brasília, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro (Antonio Carlos Jobim-Galeao airport), Salvador and São Paulo (Guarulhos airport). Air Canada customers will enjoy the benefit of boarding through direct connections, checking-in only once and dispatching baggage to the final destination. Codeshare flights are for sale effective today for travel beginning May 9.

"Air Canada operates the only service between Canada and Brazil with non-stop flights from our Toronto global hub daily to Sao Paulo and three-times weekly to Rio de Janeiro. We are pleased to enhance these services by offering our customers convenient codeshare connections to other Brazilian cities with our Star Alliance partner Avianca Brasil," said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada.

"Through this agreement, we reinforce our commitment to Star Alliance, contributing to the expansion of the flight network, which is already the most extensive among all global alliances," said Frederico Pedreira, President of Avianca Brasil.

Customers who are members of Avianca Brasil's Amigo or Air Canada's Aeroplan programs already benefit from being able to earn points/miles, qualifying for program status upgrades and redemption on all 18,500 daily flights operated by Star Alliance carriers to 1,330 airports in 192 countries. In addition, members of Gold and Diamond categories are entitled to preferential check-in, extra baggage allowance, priority boarding and access to VIP lounges.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2015 served more than 41 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 55 in the United States and 87 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,330 airports in 192 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.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

About Avianca Brasil

Avianca Brasil has been a scheduled carrier since 2002. Covering 22 domestic and one international destinations with nearly 220 daily flights, the company transported 8.5 million passengers in 2015 on its modern fleet of 41 Airbus aircraft. As a Star Alliance member, the airline offers customers access to more than 1,300 airports worldwide through the networks of its 27 international air partners. Avianca Brasil is widely recognized for the quality of its products and services, such as free meals, individual in-flight entertainment and more legroom, in addition to its Amigo loyalty program, which has over 3.4 registered customers. The company is certified with IATA's IOSA audit, recognized as the benchmark for global safety management in airlines. For more information, please access: www.avianca.com.br.

 

SOURCE Air Canada

 

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For further information: Air Canada Contacts: Isabelle Arthur (Montréal), Isabelle.arthur@aircanada.ca, 514 422-5788; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), peter.fitzpatrick@aircanada.ca, 416 263-5576; Angela Mah (Vancouver), angela.mah@aircanada.ca, 604 270-5741; Internet: aircanada.com; Avianca Brasil Contacts: Tel.: +55 (11) 3475-8012, E-mail: imprensa@avianca.com.br