Air Canada
will apply to Canadian and Australian authorities to commence a daily Toronto-Los Angeles- Sydney service.The plan comes as a result of new market opportunities presented by the recently
expanded Open Skies Agreement for Canada and the United States.

Flights would commence during the first half of
2007 with the delivery of Air Canada’s new Boeing 777 fleet featuring industry-
leading lie-flat suites in the Executive First cabin and personal
entertainment systems at each customer’s seat throughout the aircraft. Air
Canada already operates between the U.S. and Australia on its Vancouver-
Honolulu-Sydney service using existing route authorities.
  With an elapsed westbound time of 21 hours and 15 minutes, Air Canada’s
Toronto-Sydney flights via Los Angeles would offer the fastest elapsed time of
any airline from eastern Canada to Australia, shaving three and a half hours
off current Air Canada routings and also offering one-stop service from all
business markets across Canada. The daily flights would serve Canadian,
American and Australian consumers as well as freight forwarders, seeking
convenient and competitive air transportation between Canada and Australia,
the United States and Australia, and Canada and the United States. Air Canada
plans to work with its Star Alliance partners, Air New Zealand, United
Airlines and US Airways, through schedule coordination and codeshare services
to offer customers increased choice and convenience.
  “The recently concluded Open Skies Agreement for Canada and the United
States opens new opportunities for Air Canada to enhance service for consumers
and business in Canada, the United States and international markets, such as
Australia,” said Ben Smith, Vice President, Network Planning. “We look forward
to working with Canadian and Australian authorities to derive maximum benefits
for our customers in all three countries. Air Canada has long advocated the
further liberalization of our shared skies so that we can better link our
expanded North American network to our growing international network, and
further capitalize on our cooperative agreements with our commercial partners.
In addition to offering all our customers faster access to and from Australia,
same plane service from our main hub in Toronto will raise the bar in premium
in-flight comfort using our new 777 fleet.”
  The Toronto-originating flights would be timed to offer convenient
connection possibilities in Los Angeles to and from Montreal, Edmonton,
Calgary and Vancouver, as well as to and from points throughout the United
States via Los Angeles on flights operated by Air Canada’s Star Alliance
partners, United Airlines and US Airways.
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