Air Canada flight makes abrupt landing in Halifax

An Air Canada plane came off the runway after landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia early Sunday, the airline reported, as passengers and crew were checked for injuries.

The airline said on Twitter that flight AC624 from Toronto "exited runway upon landing at Halifax. All passengers have deplaned, going to terminal."

Air Canada did not say what caused the aircraft to leave the runway after landing, but heavy snow was forecast in the eastern Canadian city. Environment Canada issued a snowfall alert and warned of low visibility.

Halifax Airport said 23 people were taken to hospital for observation and treatment of minor injuries.

There were 132 passengers and five crew aboard the flight, which departed from Toronto at 9:05 pm (0105 GMT Sunday).

Flightaware.com said the aircraft was an Airbus A320.

Several counties in the the eastern coastal province of Nova Scotia were affected by Saturday's winter weather alert.

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Air Canada orders 61 Boeing 737s for US$6.5b

Air Canada announced Wednesday it had placed a firm US$6.5 billion order for 61 Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body aircraft, with options on 18 more planes and purchase rights for 30 others.

The order -- which comes as the airline seeks to replace its aging Airbus A320 and A321 fleet -- concerns 33 of the MAX 8 version of the 737, and 28 of the MAX 9 aircraft with substitution rights between them as well as for 737 MAX 7 aircraft.

The country's biggest carrier said it was also weighing replacing 25 of its Embraer E190 fleet with other aircraft that can seat 100 to 150 people.

Deliveries for the Boeing order are due to begin with two aircraft in 2017, with 16 the following year, 18 in 2019, 16 in 2020 and nine in 2021.

Air Canada said the move would create "one of the world's youngest, most fuel-efficient and simplified airline fleets."

"Our narrowbody fleet renewal program is expected to yield significant cost savings," Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.

The airline estimated that the purchase would generate a 10 per cent reduction in cost per available seat miles compared to ots existing narrowbody fleet.

Air Canada, based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, plans to grow its fleet from 192 aircraft to about 214 by the end of 2019.

The airline said it has 13 options and rights to purchase 10 Boeing 787 aircraft, rights to purchase 13 Boeing 777 aircraft, in addition to the 18 options and 30 purchase rights for Boeing MAX aircraft.

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Air Canada to introduce service next summer to Istanbul and upgrade to Asia

Air Canada is introducing direct service next summer to Istanbul, Turkey and will use two new Boeing 777 aircraft to expand its reach into the lucrative Asia-Pacific market.

Year-round service to Istanbul three times a week from Toronto will begin June 4 and serve as a gateway to Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa with alliance partner Turkish Airlines.

"Istanbul and Turkey is growing incredibly fast. The traffic that we have been carrying to date via our European partners we feel warrants now a non-stop service," chief commercial officer Ben Smith said in an interview.

Air Canada will also add a fifth destination in Asia from Toronto by launching non-stop, three-times-a-week service to Seoul. The flights will complement existing service from Vancouver and provide daily departures from Canada to the South Korean capital.

Three more weekly departures between Toronto and Beijing will begin June 1, bringing the total to 10 a week. Vancouver will offer 11 weekly departures with the addition of four additional flights, including a new late night flight.

Service from Calgary to Tokyo Narita will be upgraded to daily flights on Boeing 767 planes with the addition of two flights a week starting May 1.

"We're now up to 12 times a day with these new routes to Asia-Pacific out of Canada and we expect with the (Boeing) 787s starting in 2014 to grow that even further," Smith said.

"So obviously we're going to deploy our aircraft with the most profitable opportunities that are out there and we feel that's what we're seeing in Asia."

The expanded service will appeal to leisure travellers, but the airline is focused on enhancing its Toronto hub for use by business travellers originating from the eastern United States and Canada.

The Montreal-based airline released part of its summer schedule on Thursday but hasn't yet disclosed the destinations for its new low-cost service.

The unnamed discount carrier will focus on leisure destinations in the United States and Caribbean and some routes in Europe. It will begin operations with two Boeing 767-300ER and two Airbus A319 aircraft that will be released from Air Canada's mainline fleet.

Additional planes will be added as Air Canada starts to take delivery of new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in 2014, ramping up to 50 planes.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline and the 15th largest airline in the world, serving more than 33 million passengers last year.

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Exciting times ahead for Air Canada as they recognise the fact that Asia's demand for air travel is far stronger than North America. Indeed, there isn't much flights which connect Asia or Singapore to Canada. I for one would love it if there's a reputable airline doing such a route. 

It's baffling as to why Singapore Airlines doesn't do it.