New and expanded services in international, transborder and domestic markets

MONTREAL, Feb. 11 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that through its continuing international expansion strategy it will add for this summer 450,000 more seats than summer 2010 to and from its Toronto hub, including new daily service to four major international destinations. The expansion is part of a system-wide capacity increase for summer 2011 that will result in additional international, transborder and domestic flying.

"Air Canada is expanding its international, transborder and domestic services this summer, with much of that growth occurring in our Toronto hub. Following the success of new route additions last year we are enhancing our schedule and adding 450,000 more seats than last summer, primarily by making flights to Copenhagen, Madrid, Dublin and Santiago daily, doubling the number of flights to Barcelona to six a week, and adding a fourth weekly frequency to Athens," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada. "This growth comes on top of 680,000 seats we added to and from Toronto in 2010. As the world's most multi-cultural city, Toronto by itself generates and attracts a great deal of international traffic. With Lester B. Pearson International Airport's ideal geographic location, easy in-transit customs and connection processes for international travelers, and the fact Air Canada's operations are consolidated in a single terminal featuring comfortable Maple Leaf Lounges, we are poised to make Toronto a leading global aviation hub."

Major increases in service from Toronto for summer 2011 include:

The additional capacity will result in more service from points across Canada in all three of Air Canada's major market segments. New service highlights for summer 2011 include:

Air Canada received top honours in Business Traveler magazine's Best in Business Travel 2010 annual reader survey, winning five awards: Best Flight Attendants in North America, Best In-flight Services in North America, Best North America Airline for Business Class Service, Best North American Airline for International Travel, and Best Airline Web Site. Readers of Global Travel magazine voted Air Canada Best Airline in North America, for the sixth consecutive year in their 2010 reader survey. Air Canada was named Best Airline North America in a worldwide survey of more than 17 million air travelers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax for its 2010 World Airline Awards. Air Canada was named Canada's Preferred Airline by frequent business travellers in the 2010 Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international full-service airline providing scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo from 60 communities large and small across Canada to more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 31 million customers annually.  Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,172 airports in 181 countries.    Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.