Next stop: Austin and Halifax.
New, non-stop flights will take off from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to Halifax and Austin, Texas starting late spring.
The flights form part of Air Canada’s expansion of its North American network for the summer – announced on Tuesday – as the airline continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The newly launched U.S. service includes YVR to Austin, Toronto to Salt Lake City and Montreal to Atlanta and Detroit.
The flight from YVR to Austin-Bergstorm International Airport (AUS) will begin on June. 1, with service on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Meanwhile, three new routes will begin within Canada between Vancouver and Halifax, Montreal and Gander, Calgary and Fort St John.
The service from YVR to Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) will begin on May. 1, with flights on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“With our recovery accelerating and North American flying reaching 9 per cent of pre-pandemic levels this summer, we are offering more options across the continent,” said Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s senior vice president of network planning and revenue, in a statement.
In addition to the new North American routes, Air Canada also announced it will be resuming flights from YVR to several European cities.
“We are pleased to expand our international network across four continents as we respond to pent-up demand,” Galardo said in a statement, noting countries are reopening and border measures are being eased around the world for fully-vaccinated travellers.
Flights from YVR to Frankfurt, Dublin and Zurich will relaunch on May 1, June 1 and June 17, respectively.
Meanwhile, non-stop flights will begin resuming from Toronto Pearson Airport to Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Amsterdam on Mar. 3, Mar. 27, April. 27, May 2 and Mar. 2 respectively.
Flights will also be restarting from Montreal-Trudeau International Airport to Casablanca, Rome, Tokyo and Milan on May 4, Mar. 26, June 4 and May 21 respectively.
The federal government recently made travelling easier by eliminating the pre-arrival PCR test requirement for fully vaccinated travellers starting Feb. 28.
Instead, travellers can opt for a potentially cheaper and easier to access rapid test.
