CALGARY – A decade-long effort to land direct flights connecting Calgary to Asia is over, as Air Canada will start flying between YYC and Tokyo non-stop on March 27, 2010.
In what’s being called extremely good news for Calgary, particularly from a business and tourism perspective, Air Canada will offer the flights three times a week, the maximum currently allowed under the bilateral air agreement between Canada and Japan.
Air Canada, the nation’s top carrier, intends to provide daily service from Calgary to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport as soon as the respective governments can reach an agreement on more capacity.
"The introduction of the only non-stop service between Calgary and Tokyo is great news for customers travelling between Alberta and Asia on business or leisure as well as for freight forwarders," said Ben Smith, Air Canada’s executive vice
president and chief commercial officer, in a written statement. "Air Canada’s new non-stop Narita service will provide Albertans direct access to a major Asian gateway that offers one convenient connection point with our Star Alliance partners to key destinations throughout Asia."
The flights go on sale online today.
In September, Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu told the Herald that the carrier could offer direct flights to Asia from Calgary as soon as 2010, provided it had the support of the business community.
The Calgary Airport Authority has worked diligently to secure a direct connection from YYC to Asia, long considered the missing link in the Calgary network – until today.
The flights will depart Calgary on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 12:20 p.m. and arriving in Narita at 2:00 p.m. the following day. The return flights will depart Narita on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 4:00 p.m., arriving Calgary on the same same day at 10:45 a.m.
The route will be operated using the 211-seat Boeing 767-300s.
Calgary is the third Canadian city to receive direct flights to Tokyo. Flights are currently available from Vancouver and Toronto.
More to come…
Gteel@theherald.canwest.com
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