Montreal (TAN): Air Canada will fly nonstop between the Canadian city of Vancouver and Auckland in New Zealand from December 12 this year until the end of March 2020, once the required government approvals are in place.
The Canadian carrier will deploy its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft to operate direct seasonal flights to Auckland four times a week.
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada Lucie Guillemette said the new service “will be of particular interest to New Zealanders travelling for a Canadian winter vacation, and to North Americans travelling to enjoy New Zealand’s vibrant multicultural urban and natural attractions during their summer season”.
“We have timed our Auckland flights to conveniently connect at our YVR trans-Pacific hub to and from a multitude of non-stop destinations throughout North America including New York-Newark. Our Dreamliners featuring our Signature Service together with the seamless connections through in-transit preclearance facilities and competitive elapsed travel times, position Air Canada and YVR as a preferred trans-Pacific option for travel,” she added.
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Vice President, Global Sales and Alliances at Air Canada John MacLeod said Air Canada and Air New Zealand “having been codeshare and Star Alliance partners for more than 20 years”, already shared a close partnership.
“We look forward to deepening our relationship and optimizing our far-reaching trans-Pacific network co-operation, offering our customers a choice of more flights, connections and travel opportunities,” he said.
Air Canada has finalised a Memorandum of Understanding with Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand to expand its present alliance arrangement, aiming to provide better options to customers and a larger trans-Pacific network.
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New Zealand Minister of Tourism, Kelvin Davis said the new service will strengthen the link between the two countries and their tourism opportunities. He added that a huge number of Canadians were visiting New Zealand to experience Kiwi culture and scenery.
“71,000 Canadians visited New Zealand in 2018, staying on average for 19 days and making an important contribution to the New Zealand economy,” he said.
Adrian Littlewood, Chief Executive at Auckland Airport, welcomed the move.
He said that the “flight will provide increased capacity and connectivity to New Zealand for Canadians, an important visitor source market, as well as a convenient way for New Zealanders to access Air Canada’s extensive network that spans all of Canada and a significant number of cities in the United States”.
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To celebrate the new beginning, Air Canada is offering introductory fares starting at CAD 1,387 for round trips.
According to the schedule, flight AC51 will take off from Vancouver on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 2345 hours and arrive Auckland two days later at 1105 hours, local time.
The return flight AC52 will depart Auckland on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 1440 hours, reaching Vancouver at 0640 hours, local time.
