Air Canada and Canadian Airlines now share a
common computer reservations system and customers are already benefitting from
improved service at airports and call centers throughout the airline`s
network.

On Saturday, October 21 the single biggest milestone in the integration
of the two carriers occurred when one million Canadian Airlines reservations
were successfully transferred to the Air Canada computer reservations system.
Through the combination of a single computer system and a September 29
workforce integration agreement, customer sales and service employees are now
equipped to serve either airline`s customers at airports and on reservations
telephone lines.

“Today represents a defining moment in terms of delivering on the
customer service improvements we have committed to,” said Robert Milton,
President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am very pleased to report that
during the critical initial period of the transfer process, the airline`s on-
time performance has been strong and our customers are already experiencing
tangible benefits at airports and call centers. The transfer to one computer
reservations system, while maintaining day-to-day operations, has been a
tremendous challenge and I congratulate the entire team who have made it such
a success,” he said.

Customers were quickly and efficiently checked in today at airport
counters by employees of either airline. Over 100 special coaches assisted
Canadian Airlines agents new to the computer reservations system. For the
first time, passengers on Canadian Airlines-operated flights used Air Canada`s
93 self-service Express Check-In kiosks, available at five major airports
across the country.

Several hundred new signs were posted today in airports system-wide
advising passengers of the single computer reservations system and new
interchangeable service. Airport flight information monitors displayed Air
Canada flight numbers for all Canadian Airlines-operated flights and a
dedicated team of customer service agents assisted Canadian Airlines
passengers in determining their new Air Canada flight numbers.
Customer service was also improved at call centers as Air Canada and
Canadian Airlines agents began taking reservations from either airline`s
customers. Over 50 coaches were on hand to assist Canadian Airlines agents new
to the Air Canada reservations system. Tickets are now issued on Air Canada
ticket stock and, effective October 23, electronic ticketing will resume on
eligible Canadian Airlines operated flights.

Preparations for migration to the Air Canada system involved 50,000
person days of training and technical preparation over a nine month period -
about the same magnitude as Air Canada`s preparations for Y2K but in one third
the amount of time.

“I commend the airlines` IT team and all our major suppliers, in
particular ISM and SABRE, for their hard work and support throughout the
preparation and execution of this complex systems migration, ” said Alice
Keung, Vice President Information Technology and Chief Information Officer.

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