Air Canada to Start Non-stop International Services from Montreal to Rome, Beirut and Munich

Air Canada today announced that it will launch non-stop service between Montréal-Rome and Montréal-Beirut for the peak summer season.

With the launch of these new international services, Air Canada will offer the only non-stop scheduled flights between Montréal and both the Italian and Lebanese capitals.

Service to Rome will depart Montréal Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from June 18 to October 15, 2003, and service to Beirut, subject to government approval, will depart Montréal Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from June 3 to October 14, 2003. In addition, Air Canada will offer daily non-stop service to Munich from Montréal beginning May 19, 2003.

Air Canada codeshare flights to Munich will be operated by Star Alliance partner Lufthansa on a joint venture basis. Seats are now available for purchase.

"We are very excited with the prospect of offering these new international routes from Montréal. We have long viewed Rome and Beirut as important markets to serve, particularly for the large Italian and Lebanese communities in Montréal. In addition, through our Montréal hub, we can offer customers connections from points across Canada and the United States," said Bill Bredt, Vice President, Network and Revenue Management.

"These routes represent excellent strategic growth opportunities to redeploy existing aircraft to profitable international markets over the peak summer travel period."

Air Canada's new non-stop Montréal services to Rome and Beirut will be operated using 226-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft. The new Rome service will offer a choice of Air Canada's Hospitality service as well as premium 'Supercomfort' economy service that features the space and comfort of business class at economy class prices.

The new Montréal-Rome non-stop service with an eastbound flight time of only 7 hours 55 minutes will shave three hours off existing best routings, while the new Montréal-Beirut non-stop service at 10 hours 35 minutes will save travellers a minimum of three hours off alternate routings.

In Rome, flights connect to Air Canada codeshare flights operated by AirOne serving Lamezia Terme, Catania, Palermo and Venice.

Air Canada also recently announced the introduction of non-stop service between Toronto and Copenhagen to meet peak summer travel demand to Scandinavia. This seasonal non-stop service will operate between May 27 and October 24, 2003, complementing the carrier's year-round services via London and Frankfurt offered on a codeshare basis with its Star Alliance partners. This summer, Air Canada is also to operate non-stop seasonal services from Toronto to Zurich, Manchester and Glasgow.