Air Canada mulls direct flights to India

published by asingh on Tue, 06/10/2014 - 21:55

Air Canada is looking to expand its Asian horizons with direct flights to India among other opportunities, according to Air Canada's CEO Calvin Rovinescu.

The long-term growth potential for Air Canada and other international carriers stretches beyond the major hubs of Asia, he said

"We're not talking about the obvious Asian cities that have already been developed," said Rovinescu. "There are many cities in China where there are millions of people, and the middle class there is starting to fly for the first time, starting to afford air travel."

He added that possible new non-stop destinations for Air Canada could include New Delhi, Mumbai, and Guangzhou, noting that from the airline industry's perspective, Asia will one day account for the bulk of growth in the aviation sector. "We fully expect Asia to be the main driver of air travel over the next decade. We've only been scratching the surface," said Rovinescu.

In the Vancouver market, Asian carriers have been battling Air Canada to capture the visiting friends and relatives market, while in Toronto, Air Canada has had to deal with the threat of Asian carriers luring business passengers.

Air Canada just accepted delivery of its first of 37 Boeing 787 Dreamliners last week. It is expected that the Canadian carrier will announce new routes between Canada and Asia as the airline examines the optimal use of its upcoming 787 deliveries.

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines is planning to double its flights to Canada.

This comes as the Philippines and Canada inked a new air services agreement, increasing the frequency entitlement for each country to 14 flights a week.

This would increase PAL's total flight frequencies per week to Canada to 14.

PAL is the only Philippine carrier that flies to Canada. At present, it flies seven times weekly to Vancouver and three times weekly to Toronto via Vancouver.