Oregon Public Broadcasting

Air Canada announced Wednesday that it's starting routes to seven more American cities, including Portland. Krisitan Foden-Vencil reports.

The airline wants to fortify its Toronto hub, so it's offering flights to Orange County, San Diego, Memphis, Cincinnati, Syracuse and both Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine -- there might be a little confusion among passengers there.

Air Canada spokesman, Peter Fitzpatrick, says the company is hoping to get business off airlines that fly through big cities like Chicago and New York.

Peter Fitzpatrick: "People traveling from Portland, say to Europe, they would have to make  a connection somewhere and we think Toronto is a great spot. it doesn't have the congestion that a lot of the major American hubs do. And the flight times are very competitive because of the geographic situation of Toronto."

The flights to Oregon start June 17th -- Air Canada flies to several European cities like Paris, Munich and Copenhagen, as well as farther afield to Israel.