Air Canada to reduce flight frequency yet again

AIR Canada has announced further reductions in flight frequencies to meet its aim to lay off 2,000 workers, Logistics Week reported.

During the winter season, the carrier will cancel the service between Toronto and Madrid, effective from October 26. The Vancouver-Beijing and Vancouver-Shanghai flight frequency will be respectively cut down to three times and four times a week.

Service from Toronto to Tel Aviv will also be cut from five to three times weekly.

Air Canada earlier announced that 12 of its services will be suspended or cancelled, including the Hamilton-Montreal and Hamilton-Ottawa line, effective from July 31. Starting from October 25, the carrier will also cancel the round-trip service from Vancouver to Sacramento.

To cope with the surging fuel prices, Air Canada announced plans to reduce passenger capacity and to lay off seven per cent of its staff. The carrier expects that the annual cost in 2008 will be C$1 billion (US$994.5 million) more than last year.