MONTREAL — Air Canada will serve 50 Canadian airports this summer, and is set to offer three new routes, as it sharpens its focus on domestic travel for this second COVID summer travel season.

The company says its domestic peak summer schedule will begin at the end of June, and has been developed to advance the country’s economic recovery and support Canada’s tourism and hospitality enterprises during the high season.

The three new routes are:

• Montreal – Deer Lake (daily starting July 1)
• Montreal – Kelowna (starting June 26 and operating three times weekly in July and four times weekly in August)
• Montreal – Saskatoon – Regina (daily starting Aug. 1)

New route details:

The three new routes complement Air Canada’s extensive schedule of re-established routes plus Air Canada Signature Class and Premium Economy Class cabins on select transcontinental routes.

Says Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada: “With Canada’s ongoing vaccine roll-out acceleration together with various provincial governments’ reopening plans that include travel, this summer is looking brighter. As customers are ready to travel, Air Canada is taking a leadership position to support our partners in Canada’s tourism and hospitality sector with service to 50 destinations from coast to coast, the re-start of regional services and new, nonstop flights.”

Galardo added: “We are especially proud that our new state-of-the-art, Canadian-manufactured Airbus A220 aircraft will be operating across Canada. With our industry-leading CleanCare+ bio-safety protocols, promotional fares including for our premium cabins, compelling Aeroplan opportunities, and our new refund policy offering additional peace of mind, customers can book Air Canada with confidence.

And in a message to travellers, Galardo said: “We look forward to welcoming you onboard when you’re ready to fly.”

Air Canada’s revised refund policy, announced in April 2021, provides customers an option for a refund to the original form of payment in instances where Air Canada cancels their flight or reschedules the departure time by more than three hours, irrespective of the reason. Air Canada customers also have the option of accepting an Air Canada Travel Voucher or Aeroplan points with a 65% bonus.  Normal fare rules will apply when customers make voluntary changes to non-affected flights.

Resumption of services:

Air Canada is also providing connectivity to five additional regional communities through interline agreements with third party regional carriers: Wabush, Baie Comeau, Gaspe, Mont Joli, and Val d’Or.

The airline notes that its summer 2021 schedule may be adjusted as required based on the COVID-19 trajectory and government restrictions.

Air Canada is part of the Canadian Travel & Tourism Roundtable, which yesterday called on the federal government once again to take concrete steps to prevent permanent damage to the travel and tourism sector, and the Canadian economy, by providing a clear and comprehensive plan for safely reopening the country.