TORONTO — Aimia Inc. says it has a new deal for Toronto-based Porter Airlines to become a preferred Canadian airline for the Aeroplan loyalty points program as of July 2020, when the current arrangement with Air Canada ends.
The announcement follows Aimia’s rejection of a bid for Aeroplan from an Air Canada-led group that includes the key Aeroplan credit card partners Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Visa Canada.
Porter’s fleet of aircraft is only a fraction the size of Air Canada’s but Aimia has also been in discussions with the Oneworld airline alliance, whose members include British Airways, American Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
Aimia chief executive Jeremy Rabe says that his company’s plan is to strengthen its air offering after July 2020.
Aimia announced Thursday that it had formally rejected an offer for Air Canada and its partners to buy the Aeroplan program and assume the responsibility for honouring about $2 billion worth of points that consumers have accumulated.