Air Canada Vacations has unveiled its all-new Escapades programme to Europe featuring a selection of affordable, convenient packages to London, Paris and Rome.

Non-stop flights aboard Air Canada are available to all three destinations from Toronto or Montreal, as well as from Halifax, St.John’s, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to London.

Connecting flights are also available on Air Canada to and from 65 major Canadian Cities, featuring the convenience of through-baggage check, advance boarding passes, online check-in 24-hours prior to departure as well as express check-in kiosks at major airports in Canada, London, Paris and Rome.

“Travellers are realizing that Europe is not inaccessible for a short stay holiday,” said Smith, “so people who think nothing of spending a short break in California, Arizona or Florida are looking for new experiences. Europe is very much an option and we have the means to give it to them.”

Partnering with Air Canada he said, gives ACV the convenience and reliability of 15 daily flights to Europe from across the country.  Then there are the added benefits of Frequent Flyer points and key connections with Jazz making short stays a viable option from cities like Sudbury and Timmons.

“A lot of customers are already flying to Europe for short stays.” Said Smith. “We looked at what we could do to marry the air to European destinations serviced by Air Canada’s extensive network with a land component and have come up with a selection of nearly 30  three to five star hotels in major European cities.” 

That selection includes seven hotels in Rome and eleven each in Paris and London—all centrally located to major attractions.

Designed with convenience in mind, packages of three nights or more are the ideal option for spontaneous long weekend getaways, or for combining a business trip with pleasure. All packages include roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodation starting at three nights and up 9,400 Aeroplan Miles per traveller.

“For most Canadians, time to unwind is a luxury. Quick getaways—especially long weekends—are a growing trend,” said Smith. “We’re delighted to expand our product-line to offer more destinations. We look forward to further developing our new short-stay Escapades programme to offer Canadians all the accessibility, affordability and ultra convenience associated with ready-to-go bundled packages everywhere Air Canada flies.”

Special introductory fares, ideal for a quick weekend getaway such as three-night packages to London, start as low as $689. On bookings made by March 31, for travel completed on or before April 30, 2007, travellers can collect 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles.