A Letter from Outgoing Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu

After nearly 12 years I am retiring this month as President and Chief Executive of Air Canada. I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for trusting your travel to us and for choosing to fly with Air Canada. Our success transforming our airline into a proud, Canadian global champion would not have been possible without your loyalty.

But while my tenure is ending, Air Canada’s continued pursuit of excellence is not. An entrepreneurial mindset is now ingrained at our airline and Air Canada will continue to innovate and evolve, always with enhanced customer safety and service in mind. This same goal has driven us over the past decade.

Its most obvious manifestation has been our expanded network, growing to over 100 international destinations before Covid–19 forced a retrenchment that I assure you is temporary. We will keep offering customers more choice of places to go and convenient, non–stop routings to get there, truly connecting the world to Canada and through Canada.

And we can now transport you in greater comfort than ever. Over the decade we have put in place a fully renewed, environmentally friendly fleet, new onboard amenities such as Wi–Fi and next generation entertainment systems, three choices of cabin on long–haul flights, premium products such as our refurbished Maple Leaf Lounges™ and Air Canada Signature Suites, and, for leisure travellers, a dedicated airline, Air Canada Rouge®.

We have also embraced technology to make transacting with us easier through advanced IT–based, self–service options. Major investments in a new reservation system and our re–geared Aeroplan program position us to fully exploit AI, machine learning, heuristics, data mining and other analytics for our customers’ benefit.

I have always held that the past is important in understanding and shaping the future. Each of us has the duty to appreciate and to contribute to Air Canada’s rich heritage so as to collectively leave the room better than when we came in, something to which I have devoted all my energies these past 12 years. Instead of adieu, then, I will simply say thank you. Thank you for your loyalty and your support. Thank you for joining me on this most wonderful journey towards excellence – towards making the room better.