Air Canada adds nonstop service from PDX

o What: Air Canada will launch daily nonstop service between Portland and Toronto.

o When: June 17.

o Profile: Air Canada is the world’s 13th largest commercial airline.

o Systemwide passengers:

33 million.

o For more information: www.aircanada.com

Air Canada plans new daily nonstop service between Portland and Toronto beginning June 17.

Portland is among seven U.S. cities that will see new Air Canada flights into Toronto, where the carrier expects to add four international connecting destinations this summer. The airline has announced it will begin flying to Athens, Barcelona, and Copenhagen, and offer same-plane, direct service to Brussels through Montreal.

The PDX-Toronto service comes after the decisions last year by Lufthansa and Mexicana to pull out of the Portland-Vancouver market in response to the global economic downturn.

New nonstop flights also are planned between Toronto and San Diego, Memphis, Cincinnati, Portland, Maine; and Syracuse, N,Y. A Toronto-Orange County, Calif., flight is set to start in April.

Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five continents. Canada’s flagship carrier is the 13th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 33 million customers annually.

The global airline industry last year experienced its worst decline in passenger demand in history, the International Air Transport Association told Reuters news service on Wednesday. For the full year, demand from travelers fell 3.5 percent, although December showed an improvement with demand up 4.5 percent year on year.

PDX also saw passenger numbers increase in December over 2008. It was the first increase in 16 months.

Reuters said U.S. airlines have recently reported signs of improved demand, especially from business travelers.

Air Canada Jazz, a discount subsidiary, also operates at PDX and last year carried 95,213 passengers, an increase of 3.7 percent from 2008.