- 100 million Aeroplan Points donated for travel on Air Canada,
Star Alliance partners
- Shapiro Foundation to double Aeroplan member donations up to 50
million points; Miles4Migrants to manage and facilitate
bookings
MONTREAL, April 20,
2022 /CNW Telbec/ -Air Canada today said it is
donating 100 million Aeroplan points to support the Canadian
government's initiative to bring Ukrainians to Canada. The
points will contribute towards facilitating transportation and can
be used on flights operated by Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners including Lufthansa, LOT
Polish Airlines, SWISS, United Airlines and other carriers.
The Shapiro Foundation is also contributing to this effort and
Miles4Migrants, a non-profit charity will manage and facilitate the
flight bookings.
"Together with our employees, we are ready and prepared to
assist and support the Canadian Government's plans to bring
Ukrainian people to Canada. With
our 100 million Aeroplan points donation, we offer our global
network and the strength of our Star
Alliance partnerships, in facilitating travel to
Canada. We are proud to work with
other organizations and international programs to contribute
towards a goal to enable up to 10,000 people to travel to
Canada as quickly as possible,"
said Michael Rousseau, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.
"Our vision at Miles4Migrants is a world where displaced persons
of all backgrounds can find safety and community in new homes. As
we have been seeing Ukrainians become displaced, our community of
donors has once again responded, donating to support flights for
Ukrainian families to reach safety over the past weeks,"
said Diane Padilla, Executive Director of
Miles4Migrants.
"We are honoured and ready to join the Government of
Canada, The Shapiro Foundation,
and Air Canada to expand our impact and help fly thousands of
Ukrainians to their new homes. We are confident that the Canadian
public and private sector will join us in our effort to fund their
flights."
"We are humbled to be able to play a part in assisting Ukrainian
families who are being so warmly welcomed by Canadians. We know
that access to flights is a critical need and we are proud to
partner with Air Canada. We will double Aeroplan member donations
towards Ukrainian travel, and donate the equivalent of up to 50
million Aeroplan points to help more people travel to Canada," said Ed
Shapiro, trustee for The Shapiro Foundation.
Aeroplan members may elect to contribute towards this initiative
facilitating Ukrainians travelling to Canada by donating Aeroplan points at
Ukrainian Relief Fund. From April
20 2022 until July 2022,
members who donate Aeroplan Points to the Ukrainian Relief Fund or
to Miles4Migrants will double the impact of their contribution as
the value of the points donated will be matched, by a donation
equal to up to 50,000,000 points, by the Shapiro Foundation.
Air Canada's support for
Ukrainian relief aid to date includes:
- An Air Canada donation of $10 per
booking made on its website starting March
22 for a total donation of $250,000 to Ukraine relief aid;
- Air Canada employees and the
Air Canada Foundation donated $170,000 to support Ukraine relief;
- On March 9 Air Canada operated a
humanitarian special cargo flight on behalf of Airlink and other
aid partners transport hospital beds, humanitarian and medical
supplies to Warsaw, Poland and
medicines destined for Lviv, Ukraine;
- Ongoing transportation of medical supplies to Europe with a final destination in the
Ukraine;
- Transportation of rapid response teams to scale up operations
in Europe to help arriving
Ukrainian families.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international
airline, the country's flag carrier and a founding member of
Star Alliance, the world's most
comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada is the only international network
carrier in North America to
receive a Four-Star ranking from the independent U.K. research firm
Skytrax, which in 2021 also named Air Canada as having the Best
Airline Staff in North America,
Best Airline Staff in Canada, Best
Business Class Lounge in North
America, as well as an Excellence award for its handling of
COVID-19. Also in 2021, Air Canada was named Global Traveler's Best
Airline in North America for the
third straight year. In January 2021,
Air Canada received APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air
Canada CleanCare+ biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only
airline in Canada to attain the
highest APEX ranking. Air Canada
has also committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global
operations by 2050. For more information, please visit:
aircanada.com/media, follow Air Canada on Twitter and
LinkedIn, and join Air Canada on Facebook.
Internet: aircanada.com/media
Sign up for Air Canada news: aircanada.com
Media Resources:
Photos
Videos
B-Roll
Articles
SOURCE Air Canada