Air China adds nonstop Beijing-Montreal service

Air China launched Beijing-Montreal nonstop service on Tuesday, Asia's direct service to Montreal.

The airline announced the new flights at a ceremony held in the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on Monday

Air China's vice-president Zhao Xiaohang said that there had never been any nonstop service between Beijing and Montreal. The new service was an important move to increase capacity between China and Canada and help meet the ever increasing demand for air travel between the two markets, he added.

The service will not only solidify the economic and cultural exchanges between China and Canada, but also make travel much easier for, and offer more travel options to, passengers using Beijing or Montreal as hubs to transfer to other flights.

Canadian ambassador in China Guy Saint-Jacques, Economic, Innovation and Export Minister of Quebec Province Jacques Daoust and Montreal Airport CEO James Cherry attended the ceremony and congratulated Air China on the new service.

Montreal is Canada's second largest city and an industrial, commercial and financial center. With old world architecture throughout the bilingual city, Montreal exudes a European charm.

Currently, Air China offers 20 round-trip flights per week between China and Canada. Through a partnership with Air Canada, Air China shares its schedule with the Canadian carrier on selected domestic flights from Vancouver to six other Canadian cities including Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg.

In 2015, Air China has been cementing its global route network with its hub in Beijing and expanding its footprint in the Americas. Currently, Air China serves eight destinations in North America, including New York (JFK Airport, Newark Airport), Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Vancouver, Montreal and Hawaii, offering more than 140 flights per week operated with Boeing 777-300ERs and Boeing 747-8s.

The new Montreal-Beijing direct flights will be operated three times a week, with outbound flights departing Beijing at 13:00 Beijing time and arriving in Montreal at 13:50 local time. Inbound flights depart Montreal at 16:20 local time and arrives in Beijing at 18:00 Beijing time.

wangru@chinadaily.com.cn