Canada’s largest airline announces a new nonstop flight from RDU. What to know.
Triangle travelers will have a second nonstop flight to western Canada to choose from next summer.
Air Canada announced Monday that it will fly three days a week between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Vancouver, British Columbia. The flights will be seasonal, June 5 through Sept. 30.
The announcement comes two weeks after Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet, announced nonstop service from RDU to Calgary, Alberta. The Calgary flights will also be seasonal, running June 9 through Oct. 13.
Vancouver is one of the top international destinations for Triangle travelers not served by a nonstop flight from RDU, according to the airport. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Air Canada’s western hub, notes Mark Galardo, the carrier’s executive vice president for revenue and network planning.
“Our considerable network from Vancouver means customers in the Research Triangle region have fast, convenient access to visit everything beautiful BC has to offer or connect easily and seamlessly to other destinations in western Canada, or to Japan, Korea and other international destinations in Asia from our YVR trans-Pacific hub,” Galardo said in a written statement.
The Vancouver flights will take place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on Boeing 737 Max planes. The flying time is about 5 hours and 20 minutes.
Altogether next summer, Triangle travelers will be able to fly nonstop to four Canadian cities, including existing Air Canada service to Montreal and Toronto. The four Canadian airports offer preclearance, which means travelers go through U.S. customs, immigration and agricultural screenings before boarding the plane.
The addition of Vancouver means travelers can now book nonstop flights to 12 international destinations from RDU, a record. In addition to the four Canadian cities, travelers can also fly nonstop to four cities in Europe, two in Mexico, one in Panama and, starting April 11, to Bermuda.
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 9:36 AM.
