MONTREAL — ********** is marking its 70th anniversary on its Montreal – Paris route, a route that has never been suspended, not even for the ********.
On April 1, 1951, a four-engine, 40-passenger Canadair North Star, registered as CF-TFO and operated by Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada), touched down for the first time at Orly airport.
While the route initially included a London layover, it soon went nonstop, with weekly flights.
These days **********’s Montreal-Paris route serves Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport on a year-round basis.
The regular schedule consists of two daily flights in summer season and one daily flight in winter season. Aircraft include B777-300ERs, A330-300s or B787-9 Dreamliners.
“This is an important milestone for our *******, our customers and, more specifically, Air Canada’s French colleagues,” said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada.
Galardo added: “This 70th anniversary is a testament to the special, enduring relationship between the two cities, which have a long history of partnership and collaboration. This transatlantic flight from Canada sees the most demand and is a key part of our DNA. In addition, despite the challenges posed by the ******** ******, Air Canada has never suspended its Montreal – Paris route during the ********, and our sole ambition is to re-establish Air Canada’s presence in other French cities in order to continue to strengthen the ties that unite us.”
Before the ******** started, Air Canada served seven French cities: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, *********, and Nice, as well as Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre in the Caribbean. The ******* operated up to 45 weekly flights from its hub airports in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, with connections to over 50 destinations in the Americas.
Air Canada is the longest-serving North American ******* in France.