Photo courtesy of Air Canada

As it continues its expansion of Vancouver International Airport as in international connections hub, Air Canada is announcing that it will begin offering the only non-stop flights between Vancouver and Delhi, India, commencing on Oct. 20, 2016.

"Customer response to our Toronto-Delhi service has been extremely positive, and with this new seasonal Vancouver route, we are strategically increasing our presence in the important Asia-Pacific market in time for Diwali festival celebrations," said Benjamin Smith, president, passenger airlines at Air Canada.  "Our non-stop Dreamliner flights from our Vancouver hub will also offer the shortest elapsed flying time from Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles to Delhi. The operating economics of the Dreamliner together with the efforts of the Vancouver Airport Authority who have maintained airport operating costs at levels among the lowest in Canada, have enabled us to grow our Vancouver hub. Together with our extensive western Canada domestic and western US transborder network combined with the seamless connection experience through YVR's US in-transit pre-clearance facilities, position YVR to be the preferred gateway hub for trans-Pacific travel to and from North America."

The seasonal flights will depart operate three times per week from Oct. 20, 2016 to April 8, 2017, complementing the airline’s non-stop service between Toronto and Delhi which it launched last fall. The service will utilise Air Canada's state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with business class, premium economy and economy class seats configuration.

"We are thrilled that Air Canada is launching non-stop service between Delhi and Vancouver later this year," said Craig Richmond, president & CEO at YVR. "Our community has requested this route for many years and it will be a pleasure to celebrate its arrival during Diwali. I would like to thank our long-standing partner Air Canada for opening up this exciting new route and for supporting us in our vision to be a world-class, sustainable connecting hub between Asia and the Americas."

To promote the new route, Air Canada is offering special introductory fares starting from $999 per person.  Tickets are now available for purchase at www.aircanada.com and through travel agents.

"The cultural ties between India and British Columbia reach back 100 years, and with increasing trade and investment links, those ties are growing stronger every year," said Premier Christy Clark. "Air Canada's new Vancouver-Delhi route reflects the increasing importance of our relationship with India."

Flight AC72 will depart Vancouver (YVR) at 21:40 on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and arrive in Delhi at 1:20 (+2 days). Flight AC73 will depart Delhi (DEL) at 06:30 on Monday, Thursday, Saturday, arriving at 6:55 a.m. Between Oct 21 – Nov 6, and Mar 12 – Apr 8, the arrival and departure time in Delhi will be one hour earlier due to Daylight Savings Time.

Last year, Air Canada launched new international services between Vancouver-Osaka, Toronto-Delhi, Toronto-Amsterdam, Toronto-Dubai, Montreal-Venice and Montreal-Mexico City, and this summer the airline is launching new international services between Vancouver-Brisbane, Vancouver-Dublin, Toronto-Prague, Toronto-Budapest, Toronto-Warsaw, Toronto-Glasgow, Toronto-London Gatwick, Toronto-Seoul, Montreal-Casablanca and Montreal-Lyon.

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