Air Canada's Vancouver to Delhi flights upgraded to year-round service

The morning view of Taj Mahal monument reflecting in water of the pool in Agra near Delhi, India. (Shutterstock)

A relatively new service between Vancouver and Delhi in India will evolve into a year-round service starting late this spring.

On Monday, Air Canada announced that its seasonal non-stop service between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) will fly throughout the year as a four times weekly service beginning June 8, 2018.

“Customer response to our nonstop Vancouver–Delhi seasonal flights initially launched in 2016 has been extremely positive, and we are very pleased to extend the only flights between Western Canada and India to year-round beginning in June,” Benjamin Smith, President of Passenger Airlines at Air Canada, said in a statement.

Starting on June 8, flights will depart YVR on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 1:30 am and arrive at 4 am the next day. Return flights will leave DEL on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:10 am and arrive at 7:10 am the same day.

Flights to Delhi from Air Canada’s trans-Pacific hub at YVR are the shortest for passengers flying from Vancouver or connecting from other major cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. In fact, total elapsed flying times are three to five hours shorter from YVR compared to routes connecting in Europe or Asia.

The service is made possible by the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and is timed with Air India’s flights from DEL to other destinations in the Indian subcontinent and Air Canada’s flights from YVR to other western North American destinations.

During the same week as the start of the Delhi flight service upgrade, Air Canada will also be launching new, non-stop services from YVR to Paris and Zurich.

New and improved major YVR routes 2017-18

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 14, 2017: Delhi, India – Air Canada’s service to be upgraded to up to five times weekly
October 26, 2017: Cancun, Mexico – Interjet to begin year-round, non-stop flight service running four times weekly
October 26, 2017: Mexico City, Mexico – Interjet to begin year-round, non-stop flight service running four times weekly
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
January 29, 2018: Edmonton, Alberta – WestJet to increase flights from 50 to 59 times weekly
January 29, 2018: Calgary, Alberta – WestJet to increase flights from 88 to 112 times weekly
January 29, 2018: Kelowna, BC – WestJet to increase flights from 40 to 49 times weekly
January 29, 2018: Ottawa, Ontario – WestJet to increase flights from seven to 14 times weekly
January 29, 2018: Regina, Saskatchewan – WestJet to increase flights from six to seven times weekly
January 29, 2018: Fort St. John, BC – WestJet to increase flights from six to 12 times weekly
January 29, 2018: Victoria, BC – WestJet to increase flights from 33 to 35 times weekly
January 29, 2018: Cancun, Mexico – WestJet to increase flights from two to three times weekly
January 29, 2018: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – WestJet to increase flights from one to two times weekly
March 18, 2018: Mexico City, Mexico – WestJet launches three times weekly year-round service
April 29, 2018: Mexico City, Mexico – WestJet service to be upgraded into daily year-round service
May 4, 2018: Chicago O’Hare International Airport – American Airlines to begin year-round, daily service
May 17, 2018: Sacramento International Airport – Air Canada to begin year-round, daily service
May 25, 2018: Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and Tianjin Binhai International Airport – Hainan Airlines to begin year-round, twice-weekly service to Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport with one stop at Tianjin Binhai International Airport
June 1, 2018: Melbourne, Australia – Air Canada service to be upgraded into three times weekly year-round
June 7, 2018: 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
June 8, 2018: Delhi, India – Air Canada upgrades seasonal service to four times weekly year-round