Air Canada provided an insight into its future thinking following the simultaneous unveiling of its new corporate livery at ceremonies in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver on February 9, 2017 as the carrier prepares to enter its 80th anniversary year. The brand refresh continues a recent evolution at the Canadian flag carrier that has helped better position in the global market serving both business and leisure demands through its mainline and Air Canada rouge operations.
This year Air Canada has already launched new international services to Brisbane and to Dublin from Vancouver, with new flights launching to Delhi in October. Air Canada has also launched new US transborder flights from Vancouver this year to Chicago, San Jose, and San Diego.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2019 and extend to 2022. The first 25 aircraft on delivery will replace Air Canada's existing mainline fleet of Embraer E190 aircraft, with the incremental aircraft supporting Air Canada's hub and network growth, bringing numerous network development opportunities.
Air Canada continues to strategically grow its international network at Vancouver. This new seasonal route follows the recent announcement of several enhancements at the airline's Vancouver International Airport hub for 2016, including new Transborder services to Chicago, San Jose and San Diego, double daily flights to London Heathrow, and the only flights linking Canada to Brisbane, Australia.
The new route demonstrates the continuing rise in passenger demand for travel to Atlantic City and the surrounding region and is also is a reflection of the major investments put in Atlantic City International Airport in recent years, making this regional airport an attractive opportunity for carriers internationally, as well as domestically.
Air Canada estimates the new agreement will result in approximately $550 million in financial value over the next six years as compared to the previous CPA, of which two-thirds will be in network optimisation benefits.
The latest schedule update from the airline includes the introduction of new non-stop services from Calgary to Terrace and Nanaimo; from Vancouver to Comox; from Toronto to Austin and from Montreal to Mexico City. Air Canada is also switching its existing Toronto-Kelowna and Toronto-Sydney, NS services to Air Canada rouge due to the high volumes of leisure traffic on the routes, while Air Canada rouge will also introduce a new domestic seasonal link between Calgary and Halifax.
