Air Canada will be implementing non-stop flights between Vancouver and Osaka, Japan beginning summer 2015.
The service between YVR and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport will operate up to five flights per week on Air Canada Rouge with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. This will complement three existing daily non-stop services to Japan: Tokyo’s Narita Airport on Air Canada or Japanese Airlines and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on All Nippon Airways.
Subject to the government approval process, the flights to Osaka will begin in May in time for peak summer travel period.
This also coincides with Qantas Airlines’ decision to add six direct return Boeing 747-400 flights between Sydney and Vancouver in January 2015 to accommodate demand during the peak winter ski season. From January 3 to 22, it departs Sydney on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and Vancouver on Sundays and Thursdays.
Earlier in September, it was announced that Qantas entered a codeshare agreement with WestJet. Beginning on October 15, Qantas will link with WestJet flights from Honolulu to Vancouver and from Los Angeles to Edmonton and Calgary. However, the agreement is not reciprocal.
Air Canada is currently the only airline to serve a direct route between Sydney and Vancouver.
While this has been a record year in the making for YVR, there were also some losses, mainly with Virgin Atlantic’s plans to pull its summer seasonal flights between Vancouver and London in order to focus on the U.S. market. The route was launched in 2012 with a visit from Sir Richard Branson.
Feature Image: Air Canada via Shutterstock