Air Canada meets UAE travel trade

Counting successful years in the UAE, Air Canada recently hosted some of the valued travel trade partners for an evening of networking. Senior officials of the airline attended the event. Middle East is becoming one of the most important hubs for Air Canada over the years, hence the carrier has been increasing its frequency on the route to keep up with the fast-paced times.

TT Bureau

Rocky Lo, Managing Director – International Sales, Air Canada, addressing the gathering at the event, narrated the airline’s journey in the UAE and how the emirates has become an important hub for the airline. “Last year, we successfully launched our Dubai-Vancouver route. Building on that success, we are excited to reintroduce this service for the winter season, connecting Dubai to Western Canada with up to four flights per week on our state-of-the-art Boeing 777-9 aircraft. This is in addition to our year-round, non-stop Dubai-Toronto service. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support, directly or indirectly, in helping us operate these crucial routes during the winter season,” said Lo, apprising the travel trade about the key developments at Air Canada.

Sharing the fleet expansion plans, Lo said, “Regarding our fleet, I am delighted to share our ambitious five-year expansion strategy. We plan to acquire 90 new aircraft over the next five years. This significant growth will allow us to expand our operations, especially in high-demand regions, such as the Middle East and the UAE. As we await timely deliveries from Boeing and Airbus, these new additions will enable us to optimise our network and enhance operational efficiency.” He further explained their reach to other destinations outside the region as well. “This past week has been particularly exciting for Air Canada. We officially launched a new route connecting Mumbai—the financial capital of India—to Canada. This winter, we will operate up to 24 weekly flights between India and Canada, a 40 per cent increase in capacity. We are immensely grateful to our partners in this region who have supported this expansion,” he said.

The most exciting time of the evening was the announcement of the new routes for the year. “Looking ahead to next summer, we are thrilled to announce several new routes, including Montreal to Naples, Italy; Montreal to Porto, Portugal; Toronto to Prague, Czech Republic; Toronto to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Ottawa to London Heathrow, which many diplomatic and government organisations have been eagerly awaiting. Lastly, we recently unveiled plans to launch a non-stop service from Vancouver to Manila, Philippines. This new route will be our third Southeast Asian destination introduced in the past few years, underscoring our commitment to serving this fast-growing region,” he concluded.