Aeroplan: Overview of the New Search Engine

Updated Sep 27, 2024
Aeroplan Featured Tool
To the point Here's an overview of the new Aeroplan search engine on aircanada.com.

This article will be updated throughout the day.

Aeroplan: Overview of the New Search Engine

Aeroplan search engine features

Under the new Aeroplan program, all bookings have to be made directly on the Air Canada website by selecting the “Points” option.

New Aeroplan Selector Option Points

Multi-city option

If the multi-city option exists in the Aeroplan search engine, it is rather useless at the moment. You can’t add more than two combinations, and it doesn’t reflect the new stopover option (5,000 Aeroplan points per stop).

It’s only good for open-jaw open routes (such as Montreal-Paris / Nice-Montreal).

multi city fr

IATA City codes

Aeroplan’s new search engine supports IATA City Codes. This means that you can target a city with multiple airports rather than each airport!

lon fr

This is convenient for these big cities:

Cities IATA City Code Airports IATA Airport Code
Osaka OSA Kansai International KIX
Itami ITM
Kobe UKB
Seoul SEL Incheon International ICN
Gimpo International GMP
Shanghai SHA Shanghai Pudong International Airport PVG
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport SHA
Tokyo TYO Tokyo Narita NRT
Tokyo Haneda HND
London LON London Heathrow LHR
London Gatwick LGW
London Stansted STN
London City LCY
Moscow MOW Sheremetyevo SVO
Domodedovo DME
Vnukovo VKO
Paris PAR Charles de Gaulle (Roissy) CDG
Paris Orly ORY
New York City NYC John F. Kennedy International JFK
Newark Liberty International EWR
La Guardia Airport LGA
Westchester County/White Plains Airport HPN
Toronto YTO Lester B. Pearson International YYZ
Toronto Billy Bishop YTZ
Hamilton YHM
São Paulo SAO Aeroporto Internacional Guarulhos GRU
Congonhas International Airport CGH

A search with the new system

Afterwards, once your search has been launched, a screen will offer you several options:

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Options

Filters

filtres aeroplan fr

You can filter based on:

  • Stops
  • Connecting airports
  • Airlines

Sorting the results

It is possible to sort the results by clicking “Sort and Filter” above flight schedules:

tri aeroplan fr

You can sort the results by:

  • Earliest departure time
  • Earliest arrival time
  • Shortest trip
  • Lowest price

By default, it is the “recommended” sorting that will generally offer the fastest options with Air Canada.

The options

It is possible to adjust the display on the screen with different options by clicking “Sort and Filter” above flight schedules:

options aeroplan fr

You can check different options to display in your results:

  • Flight number
  • Aircraft type
  • eUpgrades
  • Mixed cabin – Bar display

We would have liked these options to be enabled by default: it is convenient to immediately view the type of aircraft or the mixed cabin bar display. As in this example: the blacker the bar, the more the flight will be in business. Conversely, the less the bar is filled (red), the more the flight will be in the economy cabin.

Mixed Cabin Fr

Pricing

Here is a Business Class option for Air Canada’s direct flight between Montreal and Paris:

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Business

As you can see, there are different options that can increase the cost in Aeroplan points:

  • 50,900 points and $59 in taxes for the lowest fare option
  • 60,400 points and $59 in taxes for the flexible rate option

Next, here are the options displayed for the return flight:

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Options Back

Taxes are higher here (France has recently added taxes for departing flights):

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Business Back

This round trip would therefore cost 100,600 Aeroplan points for a Basic Member with no Aeroplan credit card.

Preferred Pricing

With the preferred pricing, available to members with Aeroplan status and/or holding an Aeroplan credit card,the rate may be lower.

Once logged in my Aeroplan account (35K status and with a TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card), the route now costs 87,200 points. You save 13,400 points there.

This is the screen showing the complete itinerary:

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Business One Way Return Price

Points + Cash Option

As you can see, “redemption options” are possible: more points or fewer points. By default, the initial Points + Taxes rate is displayed. Here, 87,200 points and $233.42.

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Business Option Exchange

This is the Points + Cash option that we showed you here.

Points Cash Value per point
110 542 $0 $0.001
87 200 $233.42
69 800 $546.62 $0.018
52 400 $859.82 $0.018

For example, if you want to pay airport taxes with your points (in the example above 23,342 points saves you $233.42), you will get a value of 1 cent per point.

On the other hand, if you don’t have enough points – or want to keep them – the cash option is to “virtually buy” points, paying 1.8 cents per point. (When the program was presented to us, the examples were on a value of $0.021 per point: Air Canada seems to be dynamically adjusting this option).

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Business Repartition Prices

Anyway, this is a good surprise for this specific flight. Indeed, according to the Aeroplan reward chart, a flight reward with Air Canada should have cost between 60,000 and 160,000 points (one-way). While here, we get a return-trip for 87,200 Aeroplan points (43,600 points one-way!).

Air Canada had told us that there could be adjustments at both fare ends based on demand. Therefore, we can conclude that there will be good deals during the COVID-19 pandemic and the anemic demand for flights!

aeroplan – grille – amerique nord – atlantique

If you wanted to buy that same itinerary in cash, it would have been $3,943!

New Aeroplan Yul Cdg Business Silver

Which, in my situation, allows me to value the Aeroplan point at:

($3,943 – $233) / 87,200 = 4.26 cents per dot!

Some itineraries

Montreal - Cancun - Economy Class - Air Canada

Here is another example for a Montreal – Cancun flight, in economy, with Air Canada.

3 options are available:

  • Standard
  • Flex
  • Latitude
New Aeroplan Yul Cun Eco

Thus, the cost in Aeroplan points in this example varies from 12,600 points to 23,600 points.

Here are the options for the return flight:

New Aeroplan Yul Cun Eco Return

Note that if you wish to take the Latitude option to get 2 pieces of luggage for free (22,500 points), it will be wiser to choose business class for 21,600 points!

An evidence, when you look at the difference:

New Aeroplan Yul Cun Business Back

This round trip would therefore cost 24,100 Aeroplan points for a Basic Member with no Aeroplan credit card.

Once registered in my Aeroplan account (35K status and with a TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card), the flight now costs 20,700 points. A gain of 3,400 points.

This is the screen showing the complete itinerary:

New Aeroplan Yul Cun Eco Roundtrip

If you want to pay for that itinerary, that’s $693.

New Aeroplan Yul Cun Eco Round trip Silver

Which, in my situation, allows me to value the Aeroplan point at:

($693 – $139) / 20,700 = 2.67 cents per point!

Montreal - Tokyo - Air Canada

Here is another example for a Montreal – Tokyo flight with Air Canada:

  • 35,000 points in economy class
  • 44,200 points in premium economy
  • 63,500 points in business class
New Aeroplan Yul Nrt Business

Here are the options for the return flight:

New Aeroplan Yul Nrt Business Back

This is the screen showing the complete itinerary:

New Aeroplan Yul Nrt Business One-Way Return 1

127,000 Aeroplan points and $106.51 in taxes, business class.

If you wanted to buy that same route in cash, it would have cost $6,721.

New Aeroplan Yul Nrt Business Silver Aeroplan

Which, in my situation, allows me to value the Aeroplan point at:

($6,721 – $106) / 127,000 = 5.20 cents per point!

What about economy class? This is the screen showing the complete itinerary:

New Aeroplan Yul Nrt Eco Roundtrip

70,100 Aeroplan points and $106.51 in taxes, economy class.

If you want to buy the same itinerary, it would have cost $1,205.

New Aeroplan Yul Nrt Eco Silver

Which, in my situation, allows me to value the Aeroplan point at:

($1,205 – $106) /70,100 = 1.57 cents per point

Vancouver - Sydney - Air Canada

Here is a situation that shows the bad aspects of the dynamic chart: Vancouver – Sydney. Probably one of Air Canada’s most popular flights.

570,000 Aeroplan points for a one-way business class flight!

Yvr Syd Fr

Whereas according to the Aeroplan chart (North America – Pacific), it should have been between 130,000 and 300,000 points given that the distance (7,757 miles, according to GCMAP):

aeroplan – grille – amerique nord – pacifique

Montreal - Casablanca - Air Canada

Montreal-Casablanca is a sweetspot that we identified from Montréal. And it’s confirmed:

  • 29,000 points one-way in economy with Air Canada
  • 48,800 points one-way in business class flight with Air Canada
Yul Cmn Fr
Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine
Jean-Maximilien is an expert in Canada and France about Loyalty programs, Credit cards and Travel. He is the Founding President of Milesopedia.
All posts by Jean-Maximilien Voisine

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