Manager, New Routes

**Description**

**Being part of Air Canada is to become part of an iconic Canadian symbol, recently ranked the best Airline in North America. Let your career take flight by joining our diverse and vibrant team at the leading edge of passenger aviation.**

The Manager, New Routes & Market Development leads the New Routes Launch team to ensure the successful introduction and operational readiness of Air Canada's new trans-continental routes and new markets. This role is responsible for mobilizing cross-functional efforts to ensure the commercial success of new routes as part of Air Canada's 2030 growth vision, developing strategic plans for market growth, and fostering tourism partnerships to support global sales and marketing initiatives. This position will work closely with local market sales and leadership teams across the Air Canada network to ensure strategy alignment to our growth plans and champion resource support at the headquarters level for the new markets.

This role requires a strategic thinker with strong project management skills and the ability to work collaboratively across various departments - providing leadership, vision, while leveraging interpersonal rapport to obtain buy-in and follow-through.

**Responsibilities**:

- Lead and oversee the cross-functional New Routes Launch team to ensure the successful commercial launch and operational readiness of Air Canada's new trans-continental routes.
- Responsible for the commercial success of new routes in support of our 2030 growth vision: ensure the commercial viability and long-term success of all new routes over multiple years, mobilizing necessary resources, which can include AC marketing budget, external tourism partnership funding, helping the
- international teams to build business cases for local headcounts in-market, etc. Review financial reports to ensure that the new routes are meeting or exceeding budgetary expectations.
- Spearhead development and execution route-specific strategic plans to achieve market growth; monitor competitive actions and leverage partnerships to secure market share and sustain route profitability.
- Oversee cross-functional team efforts at HDQ and internationally; work closely with Regional Sales Directors, General Managers, and other stakeholders to align efforts to grow each new route to maturity state
- Develop KPIs and periodically report out route performance and summaries; highlight opportunities, risks, and mitigation plans; Track achievement of milestones set for each new route/market.
- Work closely with the Sales Analytics to improve upon existing reports and BI dashboards, solicit user input, and implement improvements.
- Lead cross-functional market development initiatives to find and capitalize on growth opportunities in each new market; collaborate closely with Marketing, Revenue Management, and Global Sales teams across the globe to develop and execute market-appropriate growth initiatives.
- Ensure Operational Excellence and Readiness: ensure proper operational set-up, lead-time, and effectiveness for ongoing route operations
- Create and develop detailed route launch playbook.
- Identify gaps in departmental requirements across the company to incorporate into launch readiness checklist.
- Codify processes and map out inter-dependencies for new route launch preparation both commercially and commercially.
- Manage and execute stakeholder communications.

**Qualifications**
- University Degree in Economics, Business, or related fields.
- 3 years or more experience in aviation related Revenue Management, Network Planning, Sales, or other commercial management experience.
- Strong knowledge of the travel industry markets globally including having good knowledge of Air Canada, its alliance network, and products
- Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills and a friendly and sincere demeanor.
- Strong written communication skills - ability to develop business briefs, business plans, presentations, operational processes, and business requirements documents.
- Strong analytical skills, with an attention to detail.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, engages and builds effective relationships with everyone across the organization.
- Excellent project management skills; experience in implementing complex projects.

**Conditions of Employment**:
**Linguistic Requirements**

**Diversity and Inclusion**

Air Canada is strongly committed to Diversity and Inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible and rewarding work environment which highlights employees' unique contributions to our company's success.