Air Canada steps up Manila-Vancouver flights
Air Canada’s inaugural Vancouver-Manila flight arrived in Manila on April 3. (CNW Group/Air Canada)
MANILA, Philippines — After launching its inaugural flight, Air Canada will step up its Manila-Vancouver service to four times weekly next month, given the strong travel demand between the two countries.
The biggest Canadian airline is banking on the sizable Filipino population residing in the North American country.
“The Philippines is a fast-growing market that was previously observed directly by Air Canada and there are 1 million people in Canada with Filipino descent … so we know that this route will help a lot of those Canadians,” said Rocky Lo, Air Canada managing director for international sales, in a press briefing in Pasay City.
On April 3, the maiden flight landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 6:04 a.m. This route is currently offered thrice weekly.
Lo said the inaugural flight was fully booked with nearly 300 passengers.
This cuts the travel time from as much as 21 hours to only 13.5 hours, he said.
From Vancouver, the flight will also link passengers from Manila to other 25 Canadian destinations.
“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 executive vice president for revenue and network planning.
Third destination in Southeast Asia
Manila is the third destination of the Canadian flag carrier in Southeast Asia. It previously launched flights in Singapore and Thailand.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, Air Canada also flies to Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
Apart from Air Canada, foreign airlines have been ramping up their flight network in the Philippines in response to the growing appetite for overseas travel.
Last year, United Airlines launched its San Francisco-Narita-Cebu flights while Qantas Airways started servicing the Brisbane-Manila route. Air France also began operating the highly anticipated Manila-Paris flights last year.
