Auckland Airport welcomes new seasonal Air Canada service

28 February 2019

Auckland Airport welcomes the announcement of Air Canada’s new seasonal direct flight between Vancouver and Auckland, marking an additional service on the route for the airport.

The new seasonal direct service will operate four times per week on-board Air Canada’s state-of-the-art flagship Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Flights will commence from 12 December 2019 until the end of March 2020.

Adrian Littlewood, Auckland Airport’s chief executive, says, “We are delighted that Air Canada, a leading global airline, has chosen to launch seasonal non-stop services between Vancouver and Auckland.

“This new service 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. It will add 30,000 seats on the route and inject around $38 million into the New Zealand economy.

“The number of Canadians choosing to holiday in New Zealand is increasing, with 70,000 visitors in 2018, up 6.7 per cent from the previous year. Similarly, New Zealand visitor numbers grew significantly with 34,000 visitors to Canada in 2018, up 12 per cent. The new non-stop service will offer Canadian visitors a seamless Air Canada journey across Canada via Vancouver to Auckland. When they arrive here, the majority of Canadians travel beyond New Zealand’s main tourist centres to the regions which spreads the positive economic impact across the country.

“Correspondingly, the new service will provide New Zealand travellers with another option to access Canada and the United States (US). Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a world class hub and travellers when they arrive there will have an added advantage of pre-clearing US customs and immigration formalities in Canada before boarding connecting flights to the US,” says Mr Littlewood.

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