Photo courtesy Air China

In an industry first, Air China has announced that will begin offering service to Havana, Cuba as of Dec. 27. This new flight is a southward extension that is being added to Beijing – Montréal flights that commenced earlier this year.

The new service will be the first of its kind between China and Cuba, making it much easier to connect to China and the rest of Asia as well as Cuba and the Caribbean. In recent years, China and Cuba have been strengthening their economic ties and Air China expects the new flight to further add to the tourism boom occurring in Cuba.

In addition to stimulating Cuba visitation, the new flights will also drive increased awareness of Montreal with Asian travellers. This could mean “huge economic potential for the city,” according to the Tourism Montreal blog. Chinese travelers are expected to spend a record $264 billion by 2019, according to a study by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The Sept. launch of the Beijing-Montreal service also opened the door for a new partnership between Aéroports de Montréal and Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd. (BCIA), which are establishing a “sister airport” agreement.

With the new service, Air China is further expanding its footprint in Central and South America. It now flies to ten destinations in the Americas and the Caribbean, including New York (JFK, Newark), Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Vancouver, Montreal, Hawaii, Sao Paulo and Havana. In total, Air China offers more than 140 flights per week between Asia and the Americas.

Flights CA879 and CA880 operate three times a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 14:00 and arrives in Montreal at 13:40 and Havana at 20:15. The return flight departs Havana at 09:00, arrives in Montréal at 12:30 and in Beijing at 17:30 the following day. The flights are being operated on a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which is equipped with full-flat seats and a central bar in First and Business Class.

Havana on Sale

To celebrate the new service, Air China is offering promotional rates starting from C$367.81 between Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Jose Marti International Airport. The round trip airfares are available for travel through March 26, 2016 and restrictions apply.

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