Air Canada partners with Brazilian carrier to ease travel ahead of Rio Olympics

MONTREAL – Air Canada has a new arrangement with Avianca Brasil that could ease travel to the South American country ahead of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Starting on Monday, Air Canada passengers from across Canada will be able to check in only once and have their bags sent to the final destination in Brazil — regardless of which of the two airlines completes the journey.

Efforts are also under way to allow Avianca Brasil to put its code on Air Canada flights.

Air Canada (TSX:AC) serves Brazil from its hub in Toronto, flying three times a week to Rio and daily to Sao Paulo.

The codeshare agreement was announced Wednesday, just days after Air Canada said its service to South America continued to feel the impact of weaker conditions in the first quarter, especially in Brazil.

However, the Montreal-based airline said it expects the Olympics will drive traffic to Brazil.

Brazilian destinations covered by the codeshare agreement are: Brasilia, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro’s Antonio Carlos Jobim-Galeao airport, Salvador and Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport.

Spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said in an email that the agreement with the Brazilian airline “really fits our international growth strategy by allowing us to expand our reach.

She added that the federal government has identified Brazil — Canada’s 13th largest global trading partner — a priority market with some 500 Canadian companies active in the country.

Passengers who are members of Avianca Basil’s Amigo or Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty programs will earn pointsand qualifying for upgrades and redemptions on other Star Alliance carriers to airports in 192 countries.

Avianca Brasil has been a scheduled carrier since 2002, offering service to 22 domestic and one international destination using 41 Airbus aircraft.