Air Canada Comments on Competition Bureau Agreement

MONTREAL, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Canada said today that it, together with United Continental Holdings Inc., United Air Lines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. have reached an agreement with Canada’s Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) which settles the Notice of Application filed by the Commissioner opposing a proposed Canada-U.S. transborder joint venture by the airlines as well as aspects of the airlines’ existing transborder cooperation arrangements. The conclusion of this agreement preserves, subject to agreed conditions, the airlines’ existing commercial arrangements and their ability to create a transborder joint venture.

“Air Canada is pleased this matter has been settled and that an agreement has been reached that preserves our longstanding commercial relationship with our alliance partner, United Airlines, while providing the flexibility to continue building on this relationship for the benefit of both airlines and our customers,” said Ben Smith, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "Air Canada has cooperated extensively with the Commissioner throughout this process, and will continue to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements of the jurisdictions in which we operate.

“This agreement re-confirms that the long-standing alliance relationship between Air Canada and United which has provided more efficient and convenient service to customers will continue to be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws.

“In addition, this agreement provides the flexibility to implement a Canada-U.S. transborder joint venture, an increasingly common practice in the global aviation industry, and one that is an important competitive consideration as the industry continues to evolve.”

Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents. Canada’s flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 destinations in the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,356 destinations in 193 countries. In 2012, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.