Air Canada has announced that it will start daily flights between Brisbane and Vancouver from June 2023, increasing services from four times per week in a move that will see almost 109,000 one-way seats on the route each year.
After returning to the route in July 2022, the Canadian airline will commence daily services in June next year utilising its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
Air Canada’s Australian and New Zealand General Manager Vic Naughton said: “Air Canada has seen strong demand for the Vancouver–Brisbane service since its recommencement in July and is excited to add these additional frequencies with the support of the Queensland Government.”
“This will bring our operations back beyond their full pre-COVID level with these daily flights commencing from the northern summer next year.”
Vancouver-bound flights will depart Brisbane at 10:15 and arrive at 06:50, with returning flights leaving Canada at 22:45 and touching down in the Queensland capital at 06:40.
Brisbane Airport (BNE) CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said the increase was “a great sign of the recovery and firmly places Queensland as a destination of choice for the North American market in time for their summer period”.
A joint partnership between Queensland airports and the state government that seeks to boost tourism, the $200m Attracting Aviation Investment Fund helped finance the new expansion.
Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said: “Before the pandemic, Canada was the State’s eleventh largest source of tourism visitors with 67,000 Canadian holidaymakers spending up to 18 days in Queensland.”
Canada removed all COVID-19 travel rules for visitors from 1 October 2022.
In other BNE news, Mr de Graaff said he expects a full recovery of Australia’s domestic travel sector in 2023.
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