Air Canada Increases Flights to China Amid Greater Pullback From the Country

Updated: October 30, 2024, 11:50am CDT

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Air Canada Boosts Service to Beijing and Shanghai
Air Canada Boosts China While Other Carriers Exit the Market
Final Thoughts

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Bucking recent trends, Air Canada has announced an increase in service to China from its Vancouver (YVR) hub.

Let’s take a look at the details of the carrier’s latest network expansion.

Air Canada Boosts Service to Beijing and Shanghai

Air Canada currently flies between Vancouver and Shanghai (PVG) 4 times weekly, but as of December 7, 2024, it will operate this route daily. In addition, the Canadian flag carrier will resume service to Beijing (PEK), with daily flights from Vancouver as of January 15, 2025.

“We are resuming our non-stop services between Canada and Beijing and increasing our flights between Canada and Shanghai, reflecting the importance of these markets in Air Canada’s global network,” said Mark Galardo, executive vice president for revenue and network planning at Air Canada.

Shanghai Skyline Night — Air Canada will soon offer daily flights to Shanghai (PVG) from Vancouver (YVR). Image Credit: Nick Ellis

The Shanghai flights will operate on a daily basis according to the following schedule, beginning December 7, 2024 (currently, flights operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday):

Depart Vancouver (YVR) at 11:15 a.m. and arrive in Shanghai (PVG) at 4 p.m. (+1)
Depart Shanghai (PVG) at 5:50 p.m. and arrive in Vancouver (YVR) at 12:10 p.m.

Beginning January 15, 2025, Air Canada will operate daily flights to Beijing according to the following schedule:

Depart Vancouver (YVR) at 11:40 a.m. and arrive in Beijing (PEK) at 5 p.m. (+1)
Depart Beijing (PEK) at 6:55 p.m. and arrive in Vancouver (YVR) at 2:05 p.m.

Flights are on sale now through aircanada.com and other channels.

Hot Tip:

Learn about all the best ways to fly to China using points and miles in our full guide!

Air Canada Boosts China While Other Carriers Exit the Market

While Air Canada adds flights to China, other carriers, largely based in Europe, are reducing service — or pulling out of the country completely.

Scandinavian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have axed routes to China altogether, while other large European carriers, including British Airways, Lufthansa, and LOT Polish Airlines, have reduced services between their home hubs and Chinese destinations.

After the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, the EU and the U.K. closed their airspace to Russian aircraft. Shortly after that, Russia closed its airspace to EU- and U.K.-based airlines, among others, causing flight times between many European destinations and China to increase dramatically.

In addition to these logistical challenges, political tensions between China and the West have risen considerably, contributing to reduced demand for China flights.

Final Thoughts

In a time when many airlines are scaling back — or eliminating — commercial service to China, Air Canada has taken the opposite approach by adding service from its Vancouver hub to both Beijing and Shanghai.

For anyone who wants (or needs) to travel to China from North America, the addition of service is good news.