Air Canada Celebrates Tango Service to One Million Customers with Unlimited
Complementary Flights for a Year for Lucky Tango Customer
TORONTO, June 19 /CNW/ - With 93 flights today to destinations from coast
to coast, Tango - Air Canada' s low fare, high value no frills service -
reached the milestone of serving one million customers in just over seven
months. Tango celebrated this important milestone with a customer draw for a
full year of unlimited complimentary flights for two anywhere in the Tango
network.
Tango flight No. 6051 from Toronto to Calgary was randomly chosen from
today's flights and Calgarian Marcel Schwalm was then randomly drawn from the
flight's passenger list just prior to boarding in Tango's new home at Terminal
3 at Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Mr. Schwalm, 31 years
old and a frequent Tango flier for both business and pleasure, with family
members living across Canada, will enjoy a full year of unlimited free flights
on Tango's extensive network for both himself and a companion.
"The advent of having served a million Tango customers not only
illustrates Tango's popularity but also confirms the growing demand for
simple, high value, low fare services provided by Air Canada," said Ben Smith,
Managing Director, Tango, before awarding Mr. Schwalm with his prize.
"Our first seven months has produced unprecedented online bookings on
Tango's customer friendly website, which keeps distribution costs down and is
a contributing factor to our low fares," Mr. Smith added. "We will continue to
build upon customer confidence that travel on Tango means consistently low
fares coupled with Air Canada's reputation for stringent maintenance,
uncompromising safety standards and professional, experienced flight crews,"
he concluded.
TANGO'S RAPID GROWTH IN RESPONSE TO CUSTOMER DEMAND
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Over the past eight months, Air Canada has rapidly added new Tango
routes, more service and additional aircraft to accommodate an ever-increasing
demand for low fare, high value service.
TANGO SERVICE NOVEMBER 2001 TANGO SERVICE FOR SUMMER 2002
_________________________________________________________________________
Service to 8 Canadian destinations Service to 23 Canadian
destinations
_________________________________________________________________________
8.5 % of Air Canada's domestic 20% of Air Canada's domestic
capacity capacity
_________________________________________________________________________
15 daily and 105 weekly departures 93 daily and 651 weekly departures
_________________________________________________________________________
6 Airbus A320 aircraft in operation 13 Airbus A320 aircraft and 8
Boeing 737-200 aircraft in
operation
_________________________________________________________________________
A more detailed summary of Tango's growth follows this release.
TANGO'S KEY CUSTOMER BENEFITS
-----------------------------
Since it first started accepting bookings on October 11, 2001, Tango has
proven increasingly popular with customers seeking low fares, high value, and
a convenient schedule. Most Tango fares are over 80 per cent off full economy
fares with no minimum stay or advance purchase requirement. In addition to low
fares, simplified ticketing, a convenient schedule and Aeroplan Mile
accumulation, Tango's popularity may be attributed to a host of additional
customer benefits including:
- Complimentary advance seat selection for a limited introductory
period.
- A unique "all extras are optional" in-flight service, including a menu
selection of hot and cold snacks and refreshments at reasonable
prices.
- A one class cabin providing up to a 33" seat pitch, a full three
inches more than other domestic discount carriers and consistent with
Air Canada's industry-leading level of comfort.
- Ample stowage space for personal articles and carry on baggage.
- Air Canada's reputation for the highest safety and operational
standards.
TANGO'S RAPID GROWTH:
---------------------
October 10, 2001 Air Canada announces the launch of Tango, a
separately branded service designed to offer
price-conscious consumers a no-frills alternative
complementing the airline's full service
operations
October 11, 2001 Tango accepts first bookings for flights starting
November 1, 2001 between Toronto and seven major
Canadian cities.
November 1 - 4, 2001 Tango commences operations from eight Canadian
cities: Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto,
Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
November 23, 2001 St. John's is announced as the ninth Canadian
destination in the Tango network. The Tango
website draws industry leading customer
bookings at over 80%.
January 10, 2002 Air Canada announces the addition of Regina,
Saskatoon and Thunder Bay to the Tango network,
bringing the total number of network destinations
in the Tango network to twelve. For summer 2002
Tango announces operations with over 200
departures a week operated with nine aircraft
including a fleet of 6 Airbus A320s and 3 Boeing
737-200s.
January 14, 2002 Air Canada announces the addition of nine new
destinations and 14 new routes to its Tango
network for the summer 2002 schedule for a network
of 21 cities coast to coast and more Tango service
between Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.
Air Canada also announces an expansion of the
Tango fleet from six to eight A320 aircraft (with
fleet of 13 A320's planned) and from three to
eight Boeing 737-200 aircraft (with more
anticipated).
January - April 2002 Tango commences operation from four more Canadian
cities: Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay and
St. John's.
February 21, 2002 Air Canada announces plans to increase Tango's
domestic capacity and add new service to Windsor
and London to its network, increasing its network
to 23 Canadian destinations coast to coast.
February 28, 2002 Tango's website at www.flytango.com starts to
offer the ability to check up-to-date day-of-
flight departure and arrival times. Air Canada
also announces that Tango's in-flight service will
be enhanced starting March 1, with new menu
selections and a variety of new Tango branded
merchandise available for purchase.
Tango commences new service from 11 additional
Canadian destinations: Gander, Deer Lake,
Charlottetown, Saint John, Fredericton, Quebec
City, Windsor, London, Kelowna, Abbottsford and
Victoria.
June 15, 2002 Due to strong customer demand and a growing
schedule, Tango operations move from Terminal 2 to
Terminal 3 at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson
International Airport.
PHOTO EDITORS' NOTE: A high resolution, color photo taken earlier today
of Tango customer Marcel Schwalm celebrating winning one year of
unlimited free Tango flights is available on Canada News Wire and is also
available at www.flytango.com under "Photo Gallery". A high resolution,
color downloadable map of Tango's cross-Canada network is also available
under "Photo Gallery".
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available
on the Canadian Press Photo Network/
The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site:
Roj (Roger James)
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escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca
Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com
CBC Website
http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/
The Trinbago Site of the Week:
(RBTT) http://www.rbtt.com/
(RBTT Financial Group)
courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory
Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com
TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt
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