Air Canada has had a busy few weeks in Vancouver, announcing several new direct, non-stop international services departing from Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
The latest announcement comes today, as Air Canada will be launching a brand-new direct, non-stop route between YVR and the Philippines capital city of Manila.
This is a very significant move by Canada’s flag carrier, as it will be a year-round service, flying frequently with four roundtrip flights per week once operations are fully scaled up in May 2025.
“We are thrilled to add Manila to our global network with new, year-round, non-stop service from Vancouver, Air Canada’s Pacific gateway hub,” said Mark Galardo, executive vice president of revenue and network planning and the president of cargo at Air Canada, in a statement today.
“We continue to pursue our international network strategy of expanding to large, fast-growing markets that are presently unserved directly by Air Canada. The Philippines is an important market reflecting longstanding family ties between our two countries with growing business connections and tourism opportunities.”
The service reaching Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) will have an initial launch on April 2, 2025. Flights will initially depart YVR on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1:55 am and arrive at MNL at 6:20 am the next day, while the return trips will depart MNL on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 9:25 am and land at YVR at 6:25 am on the same day.
Then starting on May 1, 2025, the service will begin its permanent full schedule. Flights will depart YVR on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 1:55 am and arrive at 6:20 am the next day, while the return trips will leave MNL on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 9:25 am and land at 6:20 am.
Air Canada will operate the service with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring the Signature class with lie-flat seats, Premium Economy class, and Economy class. Each way has a duration of roughly 14 hours.
“We welcome today’s announcement by Air Canada that it is continuing to grow its Transpacific network from Vancouver with the addition of direct service into the Philippines,” said Tamara Vrooman, president and CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority. “This new Manila service builds on their extensive Asia network from YVR, bringing family, friends and business together and providing travellers with more choice and connections.”
Demand for the service is propelled in large part by the strong cultural and economic connections between the Philippines and Metro Vancouver, where there is a very large Filipino Canadian community.
It will also provide some competition for YVR’s existing Manila service operated by Philippine Airlines.
As well, this move strategically grows Air Canada’s Trans-Pacific hub of YVR. Over the past two years, Air Canada has also launched new frequent direct, non-stop services between YVR and Singapore and Bangkok.
In late October 2024, Air Canada announced it would restart its direct, non-stop services between YVR and the Mainland Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai later in December 2024 and in January 2025, respectively. Both services have been suspended since the pandemic.
Earlier this week, Air Canada also revealed it will launch three brand new direct, non-stop services reaching three cities in the United States — Nashville in Tennessee, Tampa in Florida, and Raleigh in North Carolina. All three routes will launch in Spring 2025.
YVR Airport new flights 2023-2025
- February 7, 2023: Toronto, Ontario (YYZ) — Porter Airlines, 3x daily
- May 17, 2023: Atlanta, Georgia (ATL) — WestJet, 4x weekly (seasonal)
- May 19, 2023: Nashville, Tennessee (BNA) — WestJet, 2x weekly (seasonal)
- June 1, 2023: Washington, DC (IAD) — Air Canada, 5x weekly (seasonal)
- June 15, 2023: Boston, Massachusetts (BOS) — JetBlue, daily (seasonal)
- October 28, 2023: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB) — Air Canada, 4x weekly
- March 13, 2024: Tokyo, Japan (Narita; NRT) — Zipair, 5x weekly
- April 3, 2024: Singapore (SIN) — Air Canada, 4x weekly
- April 11, 2024: Montreal, Quebec (YUL) — Porter Airlines, daily
- April 28, 2024: Detroit, Michigan (DTW) — WestJet, daily (seasonal)
- June 5, 2024: Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT) — American Airlines, daily (seasonal)
- January 18, 2025: Hong Kong (HKG) — Hong Kong Airlines, 2x weekly
- April 2, 2025: Manila, Philippines (MNL) — Air Canada, 4x weekly
- May 1, 2025: Nashville, Tennessee (BNA) — Air Canada, 4x weekly (seasonal)
- June 3, 2025: Tampa, Florida (TPA) — Air Canada, 2x weekly
- June 4, 2025: Raleigh, North Carolina (RDU) — Air Canada, 3x weekly (seasonal)
- May 11, 2025: Austin, Texas (AUS) — WestJet, 3x weekly (seasonal)