Air Canada rouge unveiled

Air Canada is promising that its new leisure carrier Air Canada rouge will have what Air Canada COO Ben Smith terms “affordable prices”as it prepares to carry vacationers across the Atlantic and to Caribbean sunspots. Flights start in July. Reservations are now being accepted for a network that will initially feature flights from Montreal and Toronto to Athens, and the airline will also link Toronto with Venice and Edinburgh and three points in the Dominican Republic; Kingston, Jamaica; two destinations in Costa Rica and four in Cuba. Special introductory transatlantic fares available until Dec. 25 for travel between July and Oct. 26 start at $949, including taxes and surcharges, while Cuba fares will start at $538 return, and Costa Rica fares begin at $389 each way. “This new airline is going to have some very attractive fares… We’re hopeful consumers will embrace it,”Smith told a Toronto audience earlier today. The airline will begin operation with two B767-300ER and two A319s and is expected to have some 50 planes within the next three to five years. Smith said Air Canada rouge, Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations will together “create a market-leading leisure group.”Air Canada rouge will begin expanding to other holiday destinations as Air Canada starts to take delivery of the B787 Dreamliner in 2014, freeing up planes for the rouge fleet. Smith also said that Air Canada rouge passengers will find “the next generation of entertainment.”rouge bookings can be made through www.aircanada.com.