Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Calin Rovinescu Named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year for 2016

MONTREAL, Nov. 1, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Calin Rovinescu was today named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year® for 2016.

In selecting Mr. Rovinescu, the award program's Advisory Board cited his record in transforming Air Canada into a profitable, globally competitive and highly regarded organization. It noted the carrier's success growing operating revenues for six consecutive years and its record EBITDAR, operating income and adjusted net income in 2015. It also cited Air Canada's strong growth, notably a 50 per cent increase in international capacity since 2009, the achievement of long-term labour stability and the reversal of the company's $4 billion pension plan solvency deficit into a $1.3 billion surplus as of Jan. 1, 2016.

"Since becoming President and Chief Executive of Air Canada, Calin has worked tirelessly to advance the interests of all our stakeholders, including those of our shareholders, customers and employees. Under his leadership, Air Canada has positioned itself for long-term, sustained profitability and secured a place among leading global carriers. For all these reasons, this recognition as Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year for 2016 is richly deserved," said David Richardson, Chairman of the Board, Air Canada.

"This award that I've been fortunate to be given is not my award. It is an award for the 30,000 people at Air Canada who have made this happen by being entrepreneurial and finding creative ways to grow our revenue, to compete effectively where we could not compete before, and to serve our customers better than ever," said Mr. Rovinescu.

Mr. Rovinescu became President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada on April 1, 2009. He is also the chairman of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board, the controlling body of Star Alliance, and is a member of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association, having served as its chairman in 2014-2015. Mr. Rovinescu is also a member of the boards of directors of BCE Inc. and of the Business Council of Canada. In 2015, he was appointed the 14th chancellor of the University of Ottawa.

About Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year®
Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year® is the country's preeminent award for chief executives, founded in 1990 to identify and recognize exemplary leadership and achievement in business. The program is sponsored by presenting partner Bennett Jones, founder Caldwell Partners and media partners National Post and BNN.

About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2015 served more than 41 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 54 in the United States and 90 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,330 airports in 192 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada

Isabelle Arthur (Montréal), [email protected], 514 422-5788; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), [email protected], 416 263-5576; Angela Mah (Vancouver), [email protected], 604 270-5741; Internet: aircanada.com