AFTER a gap of almost a decade, Air Canada will resume direct flights between Toronto and Delhi from this winter season, its chief told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Toronto.
The airline's President and CEO, Calin Rovinescu, met the Prime Minister at his meeting with business leaders and informed him about the plans of Air Canada, one of the 27-member global airline grouping Star Alliance of which Air India is also a part.
Air Canada had halted flights on the Toronto-Delhi route in 2005 as the service had become a poor financial performer in the airline's global network.
Referring to Modi's announcement that India would grant visa-on-arrival facility to Canadian nations soon, Rovinescu told reporters “this will be very helpful” for the air travellers as well as for the airline to expand its business in the growing aviation market in India.
Earlier, Air Canada had announced that it will begin non-stop service from Toronto to Delhi from November 1, with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The new route, the first to be dedicated for Air Canada's Boeing 787-9 series aircraft, would “open new opportunities in the Indian subcontinent, currently the largest international market not served by Air Canada,” it had said.
Rovinescu had then said Air Canada's strategy to grow its Toronto Pearson hub and international presence was “taking a major step forward with the addition of Delhi to our extensive global network.”
“The operating economics of these new aircraft make this service feasible and it will be the first route dedicated to the larger, 787-9 version of this aircraft,” he said.
The new service would operate four times each week.
