Although there’s been a lot of speculation in the airline industry lately due to post-pandemic travel plans, Air Canada recently announced that it plans to fly to 100 destinations beginning next month. Major service routes will include Vancouver to London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul; Toronto to Frankfurt, London, Zurich, Tokyo and Tel Aviv; and Montreal to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Brussels.
The airline also plans to expand international services including Montreal to Athens, Rome, Geneva; Toronto to Munich, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Rome and Athens; Calgary to Frankfurt; and, subject to government approval, Vancouver to Shanghai.
Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich, and Tokyo are all major Star Alliance hubs, giving passengers who need to go even further plenty of other options, according to Air Canada.
Air Canada is currently flying 34 routes domestically, set to increase to 58 next month, with additional destinations to be announced in August and September.
[Photo courtesy of Air Canada]
If you’ve got an unused Air Canada ticket, you may be able to convert the remaining value of your ticket into Aeroplan Miles.
The new goodwill policies and cancellation options (outlined below) are valid for customers who booked original travel between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
Just so we’re all clear, as of this writing, Canadians are supposed to avoid all non-essential travel and several provinces are still keeping the 14-day quarantine measures in effect for travellers, even those arriving from within Canada.
According to Lucie Guillemette, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, “As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, during which as much as 95 per cent of our flights stopped operating and which has left us flying to less than half last year’s destinations, our customers are expressing their eagerness to travel, where it is safe to do so.”
If Air Canada cancels a flight, it has to provide refunds to passengers. If however a passenger cancels their own flight, there are now two options:
– Receive a fully transferable Air Canada Travel Voucher for the remaining value of your ticket (no expiry date) which will also retain residual value.
– Convert the remaining ticket value into Aeroplan Miles, with a 65% bonus vs. the normal rate for buying Miles.
We’re more than anxious to get back into the skies and continue our travel adventures. What about you?
