Air Canada traces its roots to Trans Canada Air Lines (TCA), established in the year 1936. TCA inaugurated its first flight on September 1, 1937. The inaugural flight flew from Vancouver to Seattle, carrying only two passengers and some mail. By 1964, TCA had grown to become Canada's national airline and changed its name to Air Canada as well. In 1987, Air Canada became the first airline in the world to have a fleet-wide non-smoking policy. Two years later i.e. by 1989, the airline became completely privatized. In 2000, Air Canada acquired Canada's second largest air carrier, Canadian Airlines International.
Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic as well as international airlines. A wholly owned subsidiary of ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., it also serves as the flag carrier of Canada. The airline is headquartered in Montreal.
The fleets of Air Canada include Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200, Airbus A321-200, Airbus A330-300, Boeing 767-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-8, Embraer 175 and Embraer 190.
Through its strategic and commercial arrangements with Star Alliance members and several other airlines, Air Canada offers service to over 795 destinations, in 139 countries. It covers US, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean, in Americas. In Europe, the airline serves destinations like France, Germany Switzerland, U.K, Italy, Spain and Ireland. It flies to China, Japan and South Korea in East Asia. The air service also offers air travel to Australia. In India, Air Canada flies to Delhi.
Air Canada gives two types of service on board. For longer international routes, Executive First Class and Economy Class are offered. On domestic or shorter routes, it offers Executive Class and Economy Class. Its Maple Leaf lounges are open for Executive First Class and Executive Class passengers, apart from Super Elite, Elite, and Star Alliance Gold passengers.