Celebrating Excellence: Air Canada's Top Employees Honored with the Distinguished Awards

Image: Air Canada Award of Excellence Gala (Photo Credit: Air Canada)
Image: Air Canada Award of Excellence Gala (Photo Credit: Air Canada)
Last updated: 6:00 AM ET, Tue May 6, 2025

WHY IT RATES: Air Canada's Excellence Awards honor outstanding employees annually, celebrating leadership, commitment, and safety, with recipients' names featured on a special Boeing 787 Dreamliner. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Managing Editor


 

For the past 35 years, Air Canada has bestowed a special honour on employees who demonstrate the best of what it means to work at Canada’s flag carrier.

Known as the Excellence Awards, they are Air Canada’s highest form of honour, annually recognizing employees who stand out as role models among their colleagues.

“Being an Excellence Award recipient means your colleagues look up to you for leadership. It means you have the courage to show up as your best self, every single day. It means putting safety first, always. It means rolling up your sleeves, putting in the effort, and committing to Rising Higher, no matter what,” said Leslie Ann Vezina, Senior Director, Human Resources Centre of Excellence, Travel and Talent.

For the second straight year, the names of the 55 recipients now adorn the tail of Fin 852, an Air Canada Boeing 787 Dreamliner, criss-crossing the globe and proudly honouring Air Canada’s people excellence at the highest level.

You may see this special aircraft the next time you’re at one of our global airports!

"Over the past 30 years, I've had the chance to work on many projects and work assignments. From teaching Initial Training to new flight attendants, to working on developing and enhancing the Initial Training Program, to operating a Dreams Take Flight out of Halifax, and also operating a few Jetz flights. But what I am most proud of, is becoming a Service Director when I first started flying.  What I like most about being a Service Director, is that it gives me the opportunity to set the tone for the flight. It has a direct impact on the flight and everyone onboard,” said Silvana Cavallieri, a Montreal-based Service Director.

“I have worked at Air Canada for 35 years and I have loved my job from the start and would never have thought about leaving the Scheduling department to work anywhere else,” said Karen Lee Ann Glover, Lead Scheduler in Air Canada’s Crew Scheduling department.

“One of my favourite moments as a check pilot is seeing a new captain pass his assessment, demonstrating competence, confidence and finally being ready to lead his crew. My role as a check pilot is to ensure safety while supporting crew and company development,” said Captain Patrice d’Alcantara, who flies on the A330 and is based in Montreal. 

SOURCE: Air Canada press release.


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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