Air Canada has announced a couple of surprise additions to their winter schedule including a non-stop between Vancouver and Bangkok that will operate between December 1, 2022 and the last return on April 17, 2023.
Further additions include Toronto to Mumbai via London which will also be available as a Fifth Freedom flight on the LHR-BOM segment as well as Vancouver to Auckland.
All in all, this is going to be a rather attractive winter schedule for Air Canada and those passengers looking to escape the Canadian winter season.
The decision to offer nonstop service to Bangkok from North America again is huge as there hasn’t been one for six years now when Thai Airways stopped serving Los Angeles. Back then the flight had to stop in Seoul in order to refuel but now with the newer model aircraft, the route can be offered non-stop.
“We are extremely pleased to be launching our first non-stop service to South-East Asia this winter, the only one between North America and Thailand. Thailand is a popular leisure destination for Canadians and this new service will give Aeroplan members exciting opportunities to both earn and redeem their points. For further convenience, our Bangkok flights will connect to our extensive domestic and trans-border network giving customers added seamlessness and choice when traveling,” said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management, at Air Canada.
The scheduled service between Vancouver and Bangkok will be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft featuring Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class. Seats are already available for sale through the GDS, website as well as Aeroplan and partner mileage programs.
These are the connections for the Bangkok flights:
- YVR-BKK AC65 Dep. 23:00 Arr. 05:55 +2 days (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) Season: Dec 1 – Apr 14
- BKK-YVR AC66 Dep. 08:30 Arr. 06:35 (Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun) Season: Dec. 4 – Apr 17
The fares are rather high, especially in Business Class:
Interestingly the fares have hardly any difference no matter if the journey starts in Vancouver or in Bangkok. The above example is ex Vancouver but when I search ex BKK then it’s just ~ $200 less.
So far I haven’t been able to find any availability on Star Alliance miles for this route. Maybe Aeroplan is keeping this under wraps for the time being.
Air Canada’s Toronto-Mumbai services are scheduled to operate with a stop in London Heathrow, offering connectivity to a wide range of transatlantic flights between North America and London, as well as additional options for travel between the UK and India as the flight is sold as a standalone fifth freedom flight as well.
Conclusion
Air Canada has racked up their upcoming winter schedule and there are some surprising new (and old) destinations on there including a nonstop between Vancouver and Bangkok which is going to be the first direct connection between North America and Thailand ever since THAI abandoned their routes six years ago.
I’m not sure if the prospect of a 16-hour flight in Air Canada Economy is going to be something to look forward to but Premium Economy or Business Class is definitely doable. That being said if I had the choice I’d always prefer to fly with a stop in Seoul or Tokyo but that’s just me. I don’t like these super long haul flights and actually like a stop in Korea or Japan.
