News
Air Canada now flies non-stop Montreal-Geneva

June 1, 2009, MONTREAL – Air Canada inaugurates today year-round non-stop service between Montreal and Geneva (first flight departs Geneva June 2, 2009), with same-plane service continuing on to/from Toronto. The carrier's Star Alliance partner, Swiss International Air Lines, will offer seats on a codeshare basis on the new route.
       
"The introduction of the only non-stop service between Montreal and Geneva is great news for customers traveling on business, including international organizations, as well as for leisure travelers providing easy access to major tourist locations in Switzerland and France," said Ben Smith, Air Canada's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "Air Canada's new non-stop Geneva service, offered in cooperation with our Star Alliance partner, SWISS, will provide more choice for convenient international travel via our Montreal hub."

"Air Canada's new service to Geneva is a significant addition to our European network from Montréal," said Mr. James Cherry, President and Chief Executive Officer at Aéroports de Montréal. "The link is a natural one between two international cities, headquarters to many international organizations."

According to Mr. Robert Deillon, Director-General of Geneva International Airport, "Montreal has been for years the unserved long-haul destination with the strongest demand from Geneva. This new Air Canada route is very exciting for our airport and I am convinced that both leisure and business passengers will make it rapidly a success."

Air Canada will operate the new Montreal-Geneva non-stop service using 211-seat Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of Economy Class and Executive First service featuring 24 lay flat bed suites. Further details and a virtual tour of Air Canada's new cabin amenities including personal seatback entertainment are available at: Air Canada
 
With the addition of non-stop service to Geneva, Air Canada expands its transatlantic network to complement its non-stop Toronto-Zurich flights, also offered on a codeshare basis by SWISS, and SWISS-operated Montreal-Zurich flights offered by Air Canada on a codeshare basis. The new Montreal-Geneva service will also provide easy access to a number of popular destinations in France served by train such as nearby Lyon, Annecy, Dijon and Grenoble.

Flights on the new Geneva route are timed to offer travellers convenient connections on Air Canada's extensive North America network via the carrier's Montreal hub to and from: Toronto (same plane), Ottawa, Quebec City, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and New York. In Geneva, connecting flights are available to/from a number of destinations including Beirut, as well as alternate routings for Athens, Barcelona, and Zurich on SWISS.

        ————————————————————————-
        Flight                Depart         Arrive        Depart         Arrive
                              Toronto        Montreal      Montreal       Geneva
        ————————————————————————-
        AC830                 18:00          19:18         20:45          10:05
        LX4643                                                            (+1)
        ————————————————————————-

        ————————————————————————-
        Flight                Depart         Arrive        Depart         Arrive
                              Geneva         Montreal      Montreal       Toronto
        ————————————————————————-
        AC831                 12:15          14:30         16:00          17:17
        LX4642
        ————————————————————————-

        With the addition of three new destinations this year, Geneva, Fort de France, Martinique and Rome, Air Canada offers non-stop service from Montréal to 50 destinations. By the summer Air Canada will have increased capacity across the Atlantic from Montréal by 35 per cent year over year, with non stop service to five European gateway cities including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Geneva and Rome.

Montréal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air
transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 13th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 33 million customers annually. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the world's most comprehensive air transportation network for Canadian domestic, transborder and international travel. Air Canada aircraft offer customers individualized seatback in-flight entertainment systems with hundreds of hours of digital audio-visual entertainment. As well, customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future awards through Canada's leading loyalty program.

In 2008, the readers of Business Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best In-Flight Services in North America," "Best Airline for Business Class Service in North America" and "Best North American Airline for International Travel."