Air Canada looks to Europe

   Starting next summer, Air Canada will embark on a significant expansion of its flights to Europe, adding services to Lisbon, Manchester and Milan from its hub in Toronto.
   The non-stop, Toronto-Milan flight, which will be operated up to five times a week all year, will become the only direct flight between Canada and the Italian city. Air Canada’s subsidiary, Air Canada rogue, will offer the flights between Toronto and Lisbon and Manchester, as well as flights between Montreal and Nice. 
   At the same time, Air Canada will increase its Toronto-Istanbul service to three times a week and will deploy larger, widebody planes on its Calgary to London and Frankfurt service.
   “The growth of Air Canada’s international network, within forecasts previously announced, is possible due to our ability to deploy capacity and continue growing at significantly lower incremental cost,” Air Canada’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Ben Smith, said in a statement.
   Air Canada’s European expansion and its dedication to Air Canada rogue comes at the start of a major fleet renewal. By February, Air Canada will take delivery of the last of its five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. By next summer, the carrier will receive the first three of 37 Boeing 787s it has on order, the remainder of which will all be received by 2019.