Aeroplan's Miles Matching Week Program Starts 2019 by Raising 2.1 Million Miles to Combat AIDS/HIV in Africa

Year-long program gives Aeroplan members' donations twice the impact

MONTREAL, March 1, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada said today that more than 2.1 million Aeroplan Miles have been raised for The Stephen Lewis Foundation to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa in the first Aeroplan Miles Matching Week of 2019. The Foundation is one of eight Canadian charities that will benefit during the year from the Miles Matching Weeks from the Aeroplan member donation program, during which miles will be matched by Aeroplan on a one-for-one basis up to 500,000 Aeroplan Miles for each partner organization during their dedicated week.

"For more than a decade, our mile donation program has allowed Aeroplan Members to support the causes that matter most to them. Since inception of the program in 2006, more than 1 billion miles have been donated by our members and Aeroplan to charities across Canada," said Anne-Josee Laquerre, Director, Social Purpose and Sustainability, Aeroplan. "In 2018, more than 24.4 million miles were donated to our charitable partners during the matching weeks. We are inspired by the positive impact charities create with their Aeroplan Miles donations and sincerely thank our members for their generosity."

To donate miles, members simply visit www.aeroplan.com/donate.   

During the week of February 11 to 17, members had the opportunity to donate to The Stephen Lewis Foundation, which works with community-level organizations which are turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa by providing care and support to women, orphans, grandmothers and people living with HIV and AIDS. Aeroplan's Miles Matching Weeks will be held during the following weeks:

David Suzuki Foundation (March 4 ? 10) ? The David Suzuki Foundation's mission is to protect the diversity of nature and our quality of life, now and for the future.

Veterinarians without Borders (April 22 ? 28) ? Veterinarians without Borders Canada works with those in need to foster the health of animals, people and the environments in which they interact.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (May 6 ? 12) ? MSF is an independent international humanitarian organization that delivers emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters or exclusion from healthcare in more than 70 countries around the world.

MusiCounts (June 10 ? 16) ? MusiCounts, Canada's music education charity associated with the JUNO Awards, is keeping music alive in schools and communities across Canada by putting musical instruments into the hands of children that need them most.

Engineers Without Borders (September 2 ? 8) ? Engineers Without Borders Canada brings people and ideas together to tackle the most crucial causes of poverty and inequality.

War Child Canada (October 7 ? 13) ? War Child protects children from the brutal impact of war.

Air Canada Foundation (December 2 ? 8) ? Through its Hospital Transportation Program, the Air Canada Foundation helps sick children reach medical treatment not available in their community allowing them to receive the best medical care possible.

Since the member donation program was launched in 2006, more than one billion Aeroplan Miles have been donated by Aeroplan and its members. Aeroplan offsets carbon emissions from flights taken by our eight core charitable partners using donated miles. Aeroplan Members can also automatically donate two percent of all miles accumulated to any charitable partner of the member's choice. Members interested in donating two percent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the charitable partner they would like their miles to go to.  Members can also donate miles to over 200 local grass roots charities in need. More information is available at www.aeroplan.com/donate.

About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 220 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2018 served nearly 51 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 60 in the United States and 98 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2018 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada