Air Canada

Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by fleet size and passengers carried. Headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in Montreal, the airline was founded in 1937 and operates a fleet of 335 aircraft serving 208 destinations worldwide through its major hubs at Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson and Vancouver. It is a founding member of Star Alliance. In 2025, the airline transported 45.3 million passengers. Canada's national airline traces its origins to the Canadian federal government's 1936 creation of Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), which launched its first transcontinental flight routes in 1938. TCA was renamed Air Canada in 1965 and was privatized in 1988 following the deregulation of the Canadian aviation market. In 2000, Air Canada acquired its largest rival, Canadian Airlines. The carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003 and emerged from restructuring the following year. Air Canada operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft on long-haul routes alongside narrow-body aircraft on short- and medium-haul services. Its divisions include Air Canada Cargo, Air Canada Express, Air Canada Jetz, and Air Canada Rouge, while subsidiary Air Canada Vacations offers vacation packages to more than 90 destinations. Together with its regional partners, the airline operates an average of more than 1,600 scheduled flights daily.