MONTREAL — Air Canada and Avianca Brasil, both Star Alliance members, have implemented the first stage of a new codeshare agreement, which will significantly expand Air Canada’s distribution in the local Brazilian market.

Initially, Air Canada will sell – in all its channels – tickets for flights operated by Avianca Brasil under the AC code. The agreement includes flights to and from Brasilia, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro (Antonio Carlos Jobim-Galeao airport), Salvador and São Paulo (Guarulhos airport).

Air Canada passengers will enjoy the benefit of boarding through direct connections, checking-in only once and dispatching baggage to the final destination.

Codeshare flights are for sale effective today for travel beginning May 9.

“Air Canada operates the only service between Canada and Brazil with non-stop flights from our Toronto global hub daily to Sao Paulo and three-times weekly to Rio de Janeiro. We are pleased to enhance these services by offering our customers convenient codeshare connections to other Brazilian cities with our Star Alliance partner Avianca Brasil,” said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada.

For more go to aircanada.com.