New non-stop flights from Vancouver to Paris and Zurich

Aug 31 2017, 11:49 pm

Vancouver’s connections to the European mainland will be significantly expanded beginning in the summer of 2018 thanks to Air Canada’s ambitious plans of strengthening its Pacific hub at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

The flag carrier announced this morning it will introduce new separate seasonal services to both Paris, France and Zurich, Switzerland starting in June 2018. As well, the existing route to Delhi, India and the planned route to Melbourne, Australia will be bolstered.

All four of the new and expanded routes will utilize the new state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

“We continue to strategically broaden our international network from our Vancouver hub with the addition of two new, non-stop international services to Europe in 2018, more year-round flights to Australia, and additional flights to Delhi and London Heathrow,” said Benjamin Smith, President of Passenger Airlines at Air Canada, in a statement.

“With the launch of flights to Paris and Zurich, Air Canada will fly non-stop from YVR to five European destinations next summer, offering excellent options for travellers from BC and the North American west coast to Europe, and as well as for European visitors and beyond to western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.”

New route to Paris

Direct, non-stop flights to Paris will operate four times weekly from June 8 to October 15, with flights leaving YVR at 1:30 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday and arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) at 8:15 am the next day.

For return trips, flights will depart Charles de Gaulle Airport at 9:55 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and arrive at YVR at 10:50 am the same day.

The new service will complement the existing route to the French capital operated by Air France, which flies directly three times weekly during the fall, winter, and early-spring months and five times weekly during the summer months.

New route to Switzerland

Air Canada’s new service to Zurich Airport (ZRH) will be YVR’s first and only direct, non-stop flight connection to Switzerland’s largest city.

Flights will operate three times weekly from June 7 to October 14, with flights departing YVR at 12:55 pm on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and arriving at ZRH at 7:50 am the next day. Return trips will leave ZRH at 9:30 am on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday and land at YVR at 10:50 am the same day.

This new service to ZRH will provide passengers from YVR with the ability to connect to Star Alliance partner Swiss International Air Lines’ flights reaching other destinations in Europe, Africa, and India. Likewise, flights from ZRH to YVR are timed to optimize connections to Air Canada’s flights serving North American destinations.

Air Canada expansion in 2017

A number of new major Vancouver services have already been rolled out by Air Canada this year to date, including: Taipei, Taiwan (year-round); Frankfurt, Germany (seasonal); Nagoya, Japan (seasonal); London-Gatwick, UK (seasonal); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (year-round); Denver, Colorado (year-round); and Boston, Massachusetts (seasonal).

The airline also plans to launch seasonal flights to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Orlando, Florida starting on December 15 and 20, respectively.

New and improved major YVR routes 2016/2017

  • January 1, 2016: Orlando International Airport – WestJet to begin twice weekly non-stop seasonal flight service.
  • January 20, 2016: Orlando-Sanford International Airport – National Airlines to begin two times weekly seasonal flight service.
  • February 15, 2016: Cancun, Mexico – Air Canada to begin weekly, non-stop seasonal service.
  • May 1, 2016: London Heathrow Airport – British Airways to use an AirBus A380 superjumbo jet for its existing daily non-stop London Heathrow Airport service. The A380 will only be used during the summer months.
  • May 6, 2016: London Gatwick Airport – WestJet to begin six times weekly non-stop flight service.
  • May 9, 2016: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport – Air Canada to begin twice daily, non-stop service to San Jose.
  • June 1, 2016: Brisbane, Australia – Air Canada to begin daily non-stop flight service.
  • June 2, 2016: San Diego International Airport – Air Canada to begin daily, non-stop seasonal service.
  • June 4, 2016: Chicago O’Hare International Airport – Air Canada to begin daily, non-stop service.
  • June 10, 2016: Dublin Airport – Air Canada to begin seasonal, three times weekly non-stop flight service.
  • June 29, 2016: London, Ontario – WestJet to begin four times weekly non-stop seasonal flight service.
  • June 29, 2016: Halifax, Nova Scotia – WestJet to begin four times weekly non-stop seasonal flight service.
  • June 30, 2016: Hamilton, Ontario – WestJet to begin three times weekly non-stop seasonal flight service.
  • July 25, 2016: Xiamen, China – Xiamen Airlines to begin three times weekly non-stop flight service.
  • October 20, 2016: Delhi, India – Air Canada to begin three times weekly non-stop flight service.
  • December 1, 2016: Mexico City, Mexico – Aeromexico increases weekly flights from 14 to 20.
  • December 20, 2016: Nanjing, China – China Eastern Airlines to begin three times weekly non-stop flight service.
  • December 30, 2016: Hangzhou, China via Qingdao, China – Beijing Capital Airlines to begin three times weekly service.
  • February 5, 2017: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas – Air Canada to begin daily service.
  • March 28, 2017: Hong Kong, China – Cathay Pacific increases weekly flights from 14 to 17.
  • May 1, 2017: Phoenix, Arizona – Air Canada to begin daily service.
  • May 18, 2017: Denver, Colorado – Air Canada to begin twice daily service.
  • June 1, 2017: Nagoya, Japan – Air Canada to begin seasonal three times weekly service.
  • June 1, 2017: Frankfurt, Germany – Air Canada to begin daily service.
  • June 8, 2017: Taipei, Taiwan – Air Canada to begin daily service.
  • June 8, 2017: London, UK (Gatwick Airport) – Air Canada to begin three times weekly service.
  • June 23, 2017: Boston, Massachusetts – Air Canada to begin daily summer seasonal service.
  • June 30, 2017: Hong Kong, China – Hong Kong Airlines to begin daily non-stop flight service.
  • October 29, 2017: Huatulco, Mexico – WestJet to begin weekly non-stop flight service.
  • October 29, 2017: Kona and Kauai, Hawaii – WestJet to start seasonal service earlier than usual.
  • December 1, 2017: Melbourne, Australia – Air Canada to begin four times weekly non-stop seasonal service.
  • December 15, 2017: Yellowknife, Northern Territories – Air Canada to begin daily non-stop service.
  • December 20, 2017: Orlando International Airport – Air Canada to begin twice weekly non-stop seasonal service.
  • January 1, 2018: Reykjavík, Iceland – Icelandair to upgrade existing seasonal service to three times weekly year-round service.
  • June 1, 2018: Melbourne, Australia – Air Canada service to be upgraded into three times weekly year-round service.
  • June 7, 2017: Zurich, Switzerland – Air Canada to begin three times weekly seasonal service.
  • June 8, 2018: Paris, France – Air Canada to begin four times weekly seasonal service.
See also
Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

+ News
+ Venture
+ Travel Deals
ADVERTISEMENT