Air Canada Jumps Into Vancouver-Singapore Gap Created By Singapore Airlines

Changi International Airport will soon welcome an old visitor as Air Canada today announced the strategic expansion of its international network with a brand new route connecting Vancouver and Singapore. While the brand new route boosts traffic for the airline’s trans-Pacific hub, it also fills the capability gap left behind by Singapore Airlines because it step by step exits from the Canadian market.

Air Canada returns to Singapore

Anticipated to begin on April third of next 12 months, with the return flight from Singapore to Vancouver starting the next day. The brand new route will likely be operated on a four-times-weekly frequency, and the schedule has been planned for passengers to conveniently hook up with and from North America via Air Canada’s hub at Vancouver International Airport.

Passengers will experience an analogous convenience when connecting via Changi Airport to and from destinations across Southeast Asia, South India, and Western Australia with Star Alliance and codeshare partner Singapore Airlines. And the flight schedule for this non-stop latest route is as follows:

Air Canada will deploy its flagship Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet for the nearly 16-hour flight journey. Configured for 298 passengers in a three-class configuration – including Signature Class with lie-flat seats, premium economy, and economy class, the flag carrier will offer an estimated 1,192 seats from Vancouver to Singapore weekly.

Photo: Air Canada

For passengers who cannot wait for this latest route, the excellent news is that seats are already available for purchase. And celebrating the brand new route’s announcement was Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President of Revenue and Network Planning at Air Canada, as he highlighted:

“Air Canada continues to adapt its international network strategy in response to evolving global trends and is broadening its presence within the Indo-Pacific region to capitalize on growing business links. Our newest flight will likely be equally appreciated by international business travelers and people in search of an exciting holiday destination or just visiting family members. We stay up for welcoming you onboard next spring.”

Air Canada replaces Singapore Airlines

Before Air Canada’s comeback to Singapore next 12 months, Singapore Airlines is currently the one carrier offering non-stop flight services between Singapore and Vancouver when it launched the service in December 2021. With a three-times-weekly frequency, the airline deploys its flagship Airbus A350-900 for this route and offers roughly 759 seats to Vancouver weekly.

And at present, this can be the one non-stop flight service connecting Singapore to Canada. But unfortunately, Singapore Airlines will likely be completely exiting the Canadian market this October, abandoning a big capability trans-Pacific gap and inevitably disrupting the general marketplace for passengers. Given the high demand for non-stop access from each countries, Air Canada took the chance to fill within the gap.

Photo: Dirk Daniel Mann | Shutterstock

Although the gap will likely be left unoccupied from October till next April, it’s still just temporary before Air Canada inaugurates the primary flight and replaces Singapore Airlines in becoming the only real carrier providing air transport services between the 2 significant markets – as emphasized by Lim Ching Kiat, Executive Vice President for Air Hub and Cargo Development at Changi Airport Group, as he commented:

“We’re thrilled to welcome Air Canada and are enthusiastic about our renewed partnership because it makes its much-anticipated return to Singapore Changi Airport after over three many years. The link to Canada is strategically significant for Changi as point-to-point travel between the 2 countries and the resumption of the Vancouver-Singapore service strengthens the connectivity between Canada and Asia and can facilitate business and leisure travel growth.”

Bottom line

While it may appear ambitious for Air Canada to return by offering more flights and seats than Singapore Airlines, it is also pretty justified given how highly in demand this particular route has at all times been and can seemingly proceed to be. Overall, next April can not seem to arrive soon enough because the return of the Canadian flag carrier will undoubtedly be well anticipated and thoroughly celebrated.

What do you think that of Air Canada’s return to Singapore? Tell us within the comments below.