The Canada-China air travel market is waking up after severe disruption during the COVID pandemic.

The Canadian Transportation Agency has eliminated pandemic flight restrictions on mainland China, opening the way for both Chinese and Canadian airlines to boost capacity.

In the wake of the change, Air Canada has announced it will increase its Shanghai flights to daily in early December, 2024 and resume daily service from Canada to Beijing in January, 2025. Both routes will operate from the airline’s Vancouver (YVR) hub.

“We are resuming our non-stop services between Canada and Beijing and increasing our flights between Canada and Shanghai, reflecting the importance of these markets in Air Canada’s global network,” said Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s EVP – Revenue and Network Planning.

“With the investments we have made at our YVR hub linking Air Canada’s extensive North American network to our international flights, travelling between North America and Asia is convenient and compelling for leisure and business travellers alike. We look forward to welcoming our customers onboard our flights.”

A Viking ship in Shanghai. (Photo Credit: Viking)

Prior to the pandemic, as many as 110 weekly roundtrip flights connected Canada and mainland China. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Chinese airlines operated about two-thirds of them.

Pandemic-era flight caps severely limited the market. Prior to AC’s announcement, only 6,300 weekly two-way seats are available between the countries, a sharp decline from 52,000 seats during the same period in 2019.

Here is Air Canada’s new schedule for China flights:

Shanghai Schedule

PHOTO: Beijing, China Financial District skyline. (photo via Sean Pavone/Dreamstime)

Beijing Schedule

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