Air Canada to offer daily Brisbane service

The expansion of the route, which was only announced last July with a launch date of June 2016, follows the signing of the Canada-Australia air service agreement last week. The agreement doubles the allowed seat capacity for air routes between the two countries from 3,000 to 6,000 per week. A further increase to 9,000 seats will come into effect in December 2016. "Customer response to our announcement of the only non-stop flights between Canada and Brisbane has been very positive, and we thank federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau for the revised bilateral agreement which enables us to increase our presence in this important Asia-Pacific market. As a result, Air Canada will boost its new Vancouver-Brisbane service to daily flights. This expanded service also underscores Vancouver International Airport's importance and attractiveness. The seamless connections made possible for visitors by its in-transit pre-clearance facilities, combined with our extensive domestic and U.S. network radiating from Vancouver, position Vancouver to be the preferred gateway hub for trans-Pacific travel to and from North America,”  said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. The route will be operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft with 20 International Business Class lie-flat seats, 21 Premium Economy seats and 210 Economy Class seats. In 2015, Air Canada has launched new international services to Venice and Mexico City from Montreal; to Amsterdam, Dubai and Delhi from Toronto; and to Osaka from Vancouver. Air Canada will next summer launch new international services from Montreal to Casablanca and Lyon; from Toronto to Prague, Budapest, Glasgow, London Gatwick, Warsaw and Seoul; as well as from Vancouver to Brisbane and Dublin.