MONTREAL — This year marks Air Canada’s 80th anniversary, a major milestone that caps off a “highly satisfying” 2016 that included the launch of 28 new routes and a slew of rewards.

According to Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer, the airline produced record EBITDAR financial results during each of the first three quarters of 2016, as well as significantly increased its global footprint with 28 new routes, including 15 new international and 12 U.S. trans-border routes. And with new service to Morocco, Air Canada “joined the elite club of global carriers serving all six continents,” he said.

In addition, the airline created 1,500 new jobs in Canada last year between its mainline, rouge and Express services, with Air Canada now employing approximately 30,000 people.

“We generated greater customer engagement, serving approximately 45 million people on our expanded network,” Rovinescu added.

As the icing on the cake, Air Canada raked in several awards in 2016, including the distinction of being named the fastest growing brand among Canada’s largest companies and the only Four Star international network carrier in North America by Skytrax. The airline was also named among Canada’s Top 100 Employers for a fourth year in a row.

“We invested significantly in our fleet and product, taking delivery of nine new Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2016 with nine more planned for 2017, reconfiguring our entire Boeing 777 fleet with our state-of-the-art Dreamliner cabin configuration and inflight entertainment systems, and completing our milestone order for up to 75 Bombardier C Series aircraft,” he said. “Shareholders took note as well. Our common shares returned nearly 34% over the year, outperforming all of our North American airline peers, the Dow Jones U.S. Airlines Index and the S&P/TSX Composite Index.”