With the arrival of two flights in Europe today, Air Canada has inaugurated two strategic non-stop routes from its Montreal global hub to Europe.
Air Canada’s non-stop, year-round service to Toulouse is the airline’s fourth destination in France and marks the only year-round service between North America and southwestern France, connecting two global aerospace centres, as well as two dynamic francophone cities. Additionally, Air Canada’s seasonal services from Montreal to Copenhagen complement its year-round services to the Danish capital from Toronto.
“We are very excited to have launched our long-awaited, year-round new flights between our Montreal global hub to the French-speaking world, and Toulouse, said Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning. “Not only are we connecting two significant business cities in the international aerospace industry, we are establishing another convenient link to France, and providing travellers from Toulouse connections to a wide variety of destinations via our Montreal hub,”
“We are thrilled to inaugurate our second route from Canada to Copenhagen, offering travellers from both sides of the Atlantic more choices to visit and explore each other’s countries,” Galardo said. “Via Copenhagen, a Star Alliance hub, our customers will be able to easily connect to the larger Scandinavian market. These two exciting routes are a further sign of our commitment to Montreal as an important hub in Air Canada’s global network growth.”
Air Canada Inaugurates International Flights from Montreal to Toulouse and Copenhagen. (CNW Group/Air Canada)
AIR CANADA FLIGHT PROBLEMS CONTINUE TODAY
The good news comes after a rough day for Air Canada, with hundreds of delays and cancellations due to issues with its flight communications network.
Things began to ease a bit later on Thursday, but I can report that my Dad’s flight from Toronto Pearson to San Francisco was delayed nearly four hours.
“The communicator system has begun to stabilize, and aircraft continue to move although still at a lower than normal rate,” Air Canada said in a statement yesterday. “As a result, customers may experience delays and in some instances cancellations as we move through recovery.”
According to the Toronto Star, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said he spoke with Air Canada officials yesterday, and that some passengers who had flights delayed or cancelled will be eligible for compensation.
The website FlightAware.com reported 48 cancelled Air Canada flights on Thursday, or eight per cent of all flights. A whopping 360 flights (66%) were delayed, the site said. For Air Canada Rouge on Thursday it showed 30 cancellations (19%) and 97 delayed flights (62%).
Things were better today, but there were still delays. As of 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time today, Flight Aware was reporting 32 cancelled Air Canada flights (6%) and 113 delays (21%). For Air Canada Rouge it was showing 19 cancelled flights (12%) and 49 delays (31%).
BMO Financial Group says it completed its purchase of the Air Miles rewards/loyalty program.
BANK OF MONTREAL COMPLETES PURCHASE OF AIR MILES
BMO Financial Group says it has completed its purchase of the Air Miles loyalty/rewards program.
Canadian Press says the bank says it plans to expand the program with new ways to earn and redeem points, including an improved travel booking platform and a new way for collectors to earn Bonus Miles through receipt scanning.
Reports said the deal was valued at $160 million.
I’ve had an Air Miles card for years, and it helps save me money at the gas pump, at Metro grocery stores, and other places.
