Air China planning to launch Beijing-Montreal flights Sept 20

Air China recently announced it is planning to launch flights to Montreal from Beijing starting from September 20, 2015. The new flights between the airline’s main hub at Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) and Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) will be operated thrice weekly.

The airline in a statement said that Montreal will now become its second destination after Vancouver in Canada. The airline is currently serving Vancouver with twice daily services utilizing its Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts.

Air China is however not planning to launch flights to Toronto, a major Canadian city. Another leading Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines has already applied and seeking approval for opening up the new Beijing-Toronto route and is awaiting approval.

Even if Air China applies for flights to Toronto in future, it is highly unlikely to get any approval by the aviation regulator in the country because only one Chinese carrier is permitted to operate a particular long-haul route at a time.

Media reports said that Hainan Airlines had earlier planned to launch flights to Montreal in 2015 and also applied much before Air China, but the approval for Beijing-Montreal-Havana service was finally clinched by Air China.

The reports said that Air China was making extensive efforts to explore new markets and focusing on the growth in the U.S. market in recent years. China’s national carrier has decided to expand services to Australia, New Zealand and Africa. The airline considers Johannesburg and Addis Ababa as two potential destinations in Africa and will launch its services from these two African destinations in future.