MONTREAL — Air Canada is marking its 70th anniversary on its Montreal – Paris route, a route that has never been suspended, not even for the pandemic.

On April 1, 1951, a four-engine, 40-passenger Canadair North Star, registered as CF-TFO and operated by Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada), touched down for the first time at Orly airport.

While the route initially included a London layover, it soon went nonstop, with weekly flights.

These days Air Canada’s Montreal-Paris route serves Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport on a year-round basis.

The regular schedule consists of two daily flights in summer season and one daily flight in winter season. Aircraft include B777-300ERs, A330-300s or B787-9 Dreamliners.

“This is an important milestone for our airline, our customers and, more specifically, Air Canada’s French colleagues,” said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada.

Galardo added: “This 70th anniversary is a testament to the special, enduring relationship between the two cities, which have a long history of partnership and collaboration. This transatlantic flight from Canada sees the most demand and is a key part of our DNA. In addition, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, Air Canada has never suspended its Montreal – Paris route during the pandemic, and our sole ambition is to re-establish Air Canada’s presence in other French cities in order to continue to strengthen the ties that unite us.”

Before the pandemic started, Air Canada served seven French cities: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, and Nice, as well as Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre in the Caribbean. The airline operated up to 45 weekly flights from its hub airports in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, with connections to over 50 destinations in the Americas.

Air Canada is the longest-serving North American airline in France.