Air Canada Vacations Has All Kinds Of Plans To Celebrate 50 Years

Air Canada’s route map had a lot fewer lines in 1975 when what became Air Canada Vacations launched as VentureX, an air-only distributor of AC seats. Industry members who were alive then likely had a lot fewer lines too.

In the late 1970s, the tour division started to take shape, adding ski fares, motor holidays, rail journeys and air and hotel packages. In the 1980s the brand was changed to Air Canada Touram, and the company rapidly expanded to 40 destinations across North America. It also did significant air-cruise business, partnering with up to 30 different cruise lines.

It wasn’t until 1990 that Air Canada Vacations became the public-facing brand of Air Canada’s travel product. Touram lives on in the background as the name of the operating company behind ACV.

As Air Canada Vacations celebrates 50 years in 2025, parent Air Canada is a much larger global carrier than it was before the turn of the millennium. Today, Canada’s biggest airline offers 222 domestic and international destinations around the globe. And ACV is right there alongside it. 

“We’ve got product everywhere Air Canada flies – at the very least air and hotel choices – and we’re adding tour product where we know there’s a good leisure component,” said ACV vice president Nino Montagnese, who joined Travel Market Report Canada on a Zoom call to preview the company’s 50^th anniversary plans, which kick off February 11.

“We’re launching a 50th anniversary sale on 50,000 packages, which will run through February 23, for travel through December 18, 2025,” Montagnese said. “Virtually everywhere we’ve got product, there will be something on sale there.”

That’s just the beginning of the celebrations. “We’ve got ton and tons of things for agents, with lots of incentives,” Montagnese said. “There will be ACV&Me promotions, fam trips, trivia games and more.” 

The ACV executive is excited about a “destination anniversary party” that is still taking shape. He won’t say too much, but hinted about a seriously big party in a sun destination with plenty of travel partners in attendance. Montagnese promises more details later in the year, around the time of the operator’s September product launches.

Montagnese brings more than three decades of travel industry experience to his leadership role, including more than a decade with Sunquest followed by over twenty years with ACV, starting as Senior Director Sales. The company has grown exponentially over that time.

“We just keep growing with the footprint of the airline. Today’s Air Canada Vacations offers over 600 resorts in 60 sun destinations, and 350 tours in Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Europe, Dubai, Morocco, Central and South America and more.  Flight and hotel options are available in just about all of AC’s 64 domestic and 158 international destinations.”

Montagnese says the company wouldn’t have enjoyed such strong growth without the support of the trade.

“Travel advisors have been our partners all the way. We have so much to thank them for. Sun was our core business up until the last few years, then Europe came in. The team has done a great job of getting that out there and on the shelf and our partners, our travel agent partners, are doing an amazing job of selling it.”

Cruise continues to be an important component, and Montagnese said to expect some announcements soon, with Virgin Voyages joining the lineup along with niche river and coastal cruise operator CroisiEurope. A new “key river cruise partner” is close to being revealed, with Montagnese hinting that with long-time partner Uniworld on the luxury end, the next partner will be closer to the mainstream of the market.

Another key differentiator for ACV is Aeroplan, Air Canada’s successful loyalty program. Montagnese says ACV started working with Aeroplan back in 1988, and travel agents weren’t happy.

“The biggest fear years ago was well, you’re giving them points and then they’re going to redeem and book direct — and it’s not what happens. They collect points and they typically go to their travel agents when they’re ready to book.

The ACV vice president says his team is comprised of talented individuals who exceed the sum of their parts. “They’re all good, but together we’re the best because we complement each other. We debate. Trust me, there’s debates. But we’ve got a lot of strong, good people across the entire organization,” Montagnese said.

Two decades ago as he was starting out at Air Canada Vacations, it sometimes seemed that the tour subsidiary was something of an afterthought for Air Canada. But Montagnese says that has changed significantly over the past 10 years, as Air Canada rapidly expanded its global footprint, and ACV embraced the new destinations with profitable product.

“The collaboration between Air Canada, Air Canada Vacations, Aeroplan – even cargo – is the best I’ve ever seen. We are constantly in meetings together and sharing ideas. Air Canada will often come to us and say we’re thinking about going into this new destination. Would it support any leisure? What do you think? We didn’t always have that in the past. It comes from the top and it’s making a big difference.”

How does Montagnese sum up his feelings about Air Canada Vacations, 50 years in: 

“We’re in a very good place,” he said.