Official and other languages
Air Canada is proud to offer bilingual services in the country’s two official languages: English and French. We are the only airline in Canada with official languages obligations under the Official Languages Act (OLA), and we have honoured those obligations with steadfast commitment for more than 50 years, in a highly complex industry across a vast international network. Over time, we have developed unique expertise and become a leader in implementing sustained initiatives to deliver services in both official languages in multiple locations and route combinations, and in promoting the use of English and French in the workplace.
Official languages training and assessments 
By growing our investments in language course offerings, we are helping our employees continually improve and maintain their language skills. This includes offering language training and maintenance of skills to public-facing employees who serve customers in English and French, where required, across the Air Canada network. This is one of the ways we elevate our customers’ experiences and help our employees build their skills to rise higher.
As part of the initiatives announced to honour our commitment to official languages, we launched a special training program, developed in consultation with our employees. The program contains multiple modules to enhance knowledge regarding our responsibilities.
The Official Languages team regularly hosts drop-in sessions to inform employees of the courses and tools available to them to learn French, English and route languages.
The Language Buddy Program pairs public-facing employees to practise their linguistic skills with each other and help better serve our customers and colleagues in both official languages.
“J’apprends le français” pin
A pin, J’apprends le français ("I am learning French"), was relaunched in 2023 for members of our frontline teams who are strengthening their French-language skills. The pin signals to customers and colleagues that these employees are on a journey to improve their French, demonstrating they recognize the importance of serving our customers in the language of their choice. Customers can also embark on our employees’ journey to improve their language skill by not switching to English, choosing instead to communicate in French for their entire interaction.
Recognition and commitment
Air Canada is elevating official languages in its internal employee excellence recognition programs. We implemented a special incentive for employees who recommend bilingual candidates that are subsequently hired and complete their probation period.
Dialogue Award
Dialogue Award recipients are nominated by colleagues. The award is part of the Excellence Awards, Air Canada’s highest employee recognition, and is bestowed on an employee who demonstrates exceptional efforts to promote bilingualism in their day-to-day activities and to consistently deliver on our commitments to official languages while fostering a collaborative and inclusive workplace that is conducive to the use of both languages.