Air Canada inaugurates new Vancouver-Manila route

Air Canada on Tuesday (April 1) marked the inauguration of its newest international flights linking Vancouver and Manila, boosting the airline's presence in Southeast Asia and supporting Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy. 

The launch also positions Air Canada as the North American airline serving the most destinations non-stop in Southeast Asia.

Celebrations at the airline's YVR Pacific hub were held yesterday and again prior to the departure of AC017 at 01:55 on April 2. The flight arrives in Manila at 06:20 local time on April 3.

"We are proud to be the only Canadian carrier flying to the Philippines, building on the longstanding ties between our countries to make visiting family and friends, conducting business, or heading on vacation more convenient than ever. With more than one million Filipinos living in Canada representing an important market, direct air services are a catalyst to facilitating tourism, trade and connectivity, and represent the fastest way of travelling to Manila. Whether you start or end your journey at our Vancouver Pacific hub, or one of our conveniently connected network destinations, we are thrilled to welcome you onboard our newest Asia-Pacific flight," said Mark Galardo, Air Canada's executive vice president, revenue and network planning, and president, Cargo, in a press release. 

Air Canada's Manila schedule

Air Canada's Manila flights represent the airline's 12th route in its transpacific network from Vancouver, which includes destinations in Japan, South Korea, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, SAE, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. 

For summer 2025, Air Canada will offer over 180 weekly flights between Canada and the Pacific. 

This marks a continuation of Air Canada's expansion into fast-growing markets into Southeast Asia, building off recent additions to Singapore and Bangkok, to more than double summer season seat capacity over the Pacific since 2022.

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