Effective June 2, 2005 Air Canada is to introduce a non-stop service between Toronto and Beijing, further building its main Toronto hub with more non-stop flights to Asia and creating the first-ever direct link between eastern Canada and mainland China. Air Canada will operate four non-stop flights per week from Toronto to the Chinese capital, complementing its daily non-stop flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Vancouver, and twice daily Hong Kong flights including new non-stop service from Toronto.
In addition, in response to increased demand on its Vancouver-Shanghai route, Air Canada will replace its 189-seat Boeing 767-300ER service with larger 282-seat A340-300 aircraft during the peak demand season beginning June 1, 2005. With these new services, Air Canada is boosting its seating capacity between Canada and China by 16 per cent and providing freight forwarders with 45 per cent more cargo tonnage from one year ago.

“China is the fastest growing aviation market in the world, and Air Canada’s global network is well positioned to meet the needs of international travellers and freight forwarders. With the introduction of the first non-stop service to Beijing from our main Toronto hub, Air Canada is bringing the Americas that much closer to mainland China,” said Montie Brewer, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Growing our non-stop services to China from both eastern and western North America provides customers more flexibility and choice. Combined with our major expansion of services throughout Latin America, also via our Toronto hub, Air Canada offers international travellers between Asia and South America the added convenience of avoiding U.S. transit visa requirements.”

With an elapsed time of 13 hours 20 minutes westbound and 13 hours eastbound, Air Canada’s new Toronto-Beijing service will save travellers more than three and a half hours in each direction compared to the Vancouver routing. Air Canada will operate the new route using 282-seat A340-300 aircraft. With a 10:00 departure from Toronto on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday arriving in Beijing at 11:20 the next day, flight AC031 is timed to offer convenient morning connections from points throughout Air Canada’s extensive global network, particularly in eastern Canada, the United States and Latin America. The eastbound flight, AC032, leaves Beijing at 13:20 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and arrives in Toronto at 14:20 the same day, providing maximum connecting options throughout the Americas.

WithÊ the addition of Toronto-Beijing non-stop service, Air Canada will offer customers up to 13 non-stop flights per day in each direction between Canada and eight destinations in Asia. From its main hub in Toronto, the carrier operates non-stop flights to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Delhi, the only non-stop link between North America and India. From its Pacific Asian gateway in Vancouver, Air Canada serves Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Seoul with daily non-stop flights.
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