Air Canada

Overview

Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by fleet size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to over 200 destinations worldwide. It is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Air Canada's major hubs are at Montreal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The airline's regional service is Air Canada Express. Canada's national airline originated from the Canadian federal government's 1936 creation of Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), which began operating its first transcontinental flight routes in 1938. In 1965, TCA was renamed Air Canada following government approval. After the deregulation of the Canadian airline market in the 1980s, the airline was privatized in 1988. On 4 January 2000, Air Canada acquired its largest rival, Canadian Airlines. In 2021, the Government of Canada acquired 6.4% of Air Canada as a part of a COVID-19 related assistance package, and has not ruled out further investment.