Air Canada expands Asia’s links with Vancouver

With its location on the Pacific Rim, Vancouver is already one of the best connected long-haul destinations from Asia.

And these links will be strengthened even further next year when Air Canada launches two new trans-Pacific routes from the Canadian city.

On 1 June 2017, the national carrier will start offering direct flights connecting Vancouver with Nagoya. Operated by its Air Canada Rouge subsidiary, this route will be served three times a week using a Boeing 767-300 aircraft, rising to four weekly flights in August and September.

Then on 8 June 2017, Air Canada’s mainline carrier will launch daily year-round flights between Vancouver and Taipei using its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

Air Canada will be the only airline operating the Nagoya-Vancouver route, while it will compete with Taiwan’s China Airlines and EVA Air on the Taipei service.

These two new routes form part of a major expansion plan for Air Canada, which will see the launch a total of six new routes to destinations on three continents within the space of a month next summer.

This growth spurt will kick off on 1 June 2017 with the launch of the Vancouver-Nagoya route and another Air Canada Rouge service between Toronto and Berlin. A day after the launch of the Vancouver-Taipei route, the airline will commence direct flights between Montreal and Marseille on 9 June 2017. And another new service from Montreal, this time flying to the Algerian capital Algiers, will commence on 26 June. Both of these routes will be operated by Air Canada Rouge.

And finally on 1 July 2017, Air Canada will launch daily Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flights between Toronto and Mumbai.

“Air Canada is pleased to offer customers these new non-stop routes to exciting destinations around the world. While extending our global reach, they also represent a further deepening of our already substantial international network,” said Benjamin Smith, Air Canada’s president of passenger airlines.

“Toronto-Mumbai is our third route between Canada and India starting with the launch of Toronto-Delhi service last fall, and Nagoya will be our fourth airport in Japan. With these new services, we will now operate 21 routes between Canada and Asia, including the Middle East.

“Berlin and Marseille will bring the number of European routes we serve to 44 next summer, including four cities in France. Algiers will be our second destination in Africa, which makes Air Canada one of only a small number of global carriers flying to all six inhabited continents,” Smith added.

Vancouver Airport has attracted a slew of new Asian airlines and flights in recent years, due to its relative close proximity to the Asian continent and a programme of incentives for airlines, including lower landing fees.

In total, 15 Asia Pacific-based carriers now fly to the city, alongside with Air Canada’s eight Asia Pacific routes from Vancouver, not including those announced today.