Air Canada plans to extend and expand commercial agreement with PAL Airlines | News

Air Canada and PAL Airlines today announced their intention to expand the commercial agreement under which PAL operates regional flights for Air Canada Express to help protect and expand service in Eastern Canada. The existing agreement will be extended for a further four years until 2032, and the number of PAL Airlines aircraft covered by the agreement is expected to increase by five to eleven.

“Air Canada is committed to regional connectivity. Our proposed agreement with PAL Airlines will allow us to protect existing services from Montréal to destinations in Québec and New Brunswick and support the overall growth of our regional network. Since PAL Airlines began operating for Air Canada Express in 2023, it has proven to be a strong partner, providing our customers in Eastern Canada with reliability, excellent customer service and a greater choice of flight options,” said Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and President of Cargo with Air Canada.

“PAL Airlines is proud to be working to expand our agreement with Air Canada, expanding our significant presence in Eastern and Atlantic Canada by delivering flexible solutions that support regional connectivity for the Air Canada network,” said Calvin Ash, president of PAL Airlines. “This proposed expanded agreement with Air Canada reflects their confidence in our operation, supports the continued growth of our airline and will solidify our presence in the regions that have supported our development.”

Air Canada and PAL Airlines have signed a letter of intent, which is still subject to final negotiations, to expand and extend the existing agreement between PAL and Air Canada until 2032. It would expand the fleet covered by the agreement with five additional Dash 8-400 aircraft that will operate on behalf of Air Canada on regional routes in Eastern Canada and Quebec.