Group Travel

A group consists of ten or more passengers travelling together to the same destination on the same date and on the last outbound flight of their itinerary.

Flights become available for booking 360 days in advance.
International itineraries can be booked up to 14 days prior to departure.
North American and Sun itineraries can be booked up to 3 days prior to departure.

For bookings made within 14 days of departure, the Group contract must be signed and returned within the same day along with the passenger name list. Tickets also need to be issued within the same day to avoid any auto-cancelation by the system. Due to this condensed timeline, fare matches, feed-ins and deviations are not available for bookings made within 14 days of departure.

Yes, a minimum of six seats is required to book a group in Air Canada Signature Class and a minimum of eight seats is required in Premium Economy Class.

When a passenger needs to travel on a different flight than the rest of the group, it is called a Deviation. Deviations of up to 35% of the group are permitted on either the outbound or the inbound portion of the trip. A deviating passenger may depart or return on a different date and/or from/to a different city within 14 days before or after the main group’s departure or return date. A passenger deviating on the outbound must still travel to the same destination as the group. Not permitted on itineraries that include other airlines. Not permitted on bookings made within 14 days of departure.

When a passenger needs to depart from a different city and connect with the rest of the group on the way to their destination, it is called a Feed-In. There is no limit to the number of Feed-Ins permitted. Not available for bookings made within 14 days of departure.

The time frame to sign the contract is 14 days unless otherwise specified on the contract.

Payment deadlines are always specified on the contract once a group has been booked. As the deadlines are reached, you will simply be responsible for the applicable amounts; no physical payments will be made.

Refer to your Group Travel contract for all payment deadlines.

If a group booking is cancelled after the contract has been signed the space will be released and a debit memo will be sent to collect any applicable fees according to the contract deadlines.

The group number may be reduced by up to 20% of the initial group size without penalty if it does not drop below ten passengers. Passengers may be added after the final payment deadline; however, they will not be included when calculating the Tour Conductor (Free Ticket) Ratio.

Should the group number drop below ten passengers, the space will be released and rebooked as individuals via your GDS or Air Canada Reservations. Any applicable deposit will be collected.

Unless otherwise specified on the contract names are due 30 days prior to departure and should be sent via email using our Name List Form. The Air Canada Name List Form is mandatory and used to upload the names directly to the group files, thus minimizing delays and errors. All names must match travel documents.

Air Canada Group Travel offers one free-of-charge ticket (taxes and fees are applicable), known as a Tour Conductor Ticket, for every 20 paid tickets issued to a group. The Tour Conductor count is calculated at time of final payment. Please note that some restrictions apply. Refer to your contract or contact Air Canada Group Travel for details.

At this time the Tour Conductor ticket must be issued by Air Canada.

Once tickets have been issued, name changes can be made for free on 50% of the group up to two business days prior to departure. Beyond the 50%, change fees will apply;
$50 for North American itineraries
$100 for International itineraries.

Yes, Travel agencies will see the update to the claimed PNR and are able to exchange their original tickets themselves. The process is as follows:

1. The Travel Agency sends the request via the Name Change and Correction form or sends an email to the Group Case to clearly indicate which passengers need to be changed.
2. The Air Canada Group Travel Department removes the ticket number for the indicated customers, which enables a change of name on the PNR without reissuing the agency's ticket(s).
3. The Air Canada Group Travel agent changes the name, updates the passenger details and replies to the agency to confirm.
4. Agency views update in their GDS PNR and completes the even exchange of the affected ticket(s) without fee if within the 50%, or with a fee if exceeding 50% of their group.

Based on the applicable ticket rules, if a change is permitted, additional fare and change fees may apply. Please contact Air Canada Group Travel for details.

Altitude points cannot be used to purchase group tickets.

E-Upgrades are not permitted for Group bookings.

Equipment details must be provided at the beginning of the group booking as some of our flights are operated by smaller aircraft and we will need to confirm that the equipment can fit on the requested flight. The following aircraft cannot transport sports equipment: CRJ, CR9, Q400, E75

A standard advanced block of seats is reserved for all group bookings so that groups may sit together. Specific seat selection is not available for groups at this time. Group seating for reservations made within 14 days of departure is subject to availability.

Once you have completed the initial booking request process, please send any competitive information to us for review. Please include your Case number in the subject line and the routing, dates, base fare and total taxes information in the body of the email. Fare matches are not available for bookings made within 14 days of departure.

Groups can take advantage of booking Interline space with all of our Joint Venture partners (LH, LX, OS, SN, CA) as well as EI, NH and UA for bookings over the Atlantic.

At this time we will only be able to accommodate the carriers in the included list and requests for carriers outside that list will not be fulfilled.