Air China to Start Beijing-Montreal Non-Stop Service on September 29

Air China (CA) said Wednesday it will launch Beijing-Montreal non-stop service on September 29, which is the world's first transpacific non-stop service linking Asia and Montreal, the second largest city of Canada, and the nation's industrial, commercial and financial center.

The to-be-launched Beijing-Montreal service is an important move to solidify its presence on the China-Canada market, in order to meet the increasing demand for air travel between the two countries, said the airline.

The national flag carrier offers 10 flights per week between the two countries and puts its code on the flights of its Star Alliance partner Air Canada (AC) between Vancouver and Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

The airline said the Beijing-Montreal service will be operated three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Montreal-bound flight CA879 is scheduled to take off from Beijing at 1:00 p.m. and arrive in Montreal at 1:50 p.m., with the return flight CA880 departing from Montreal at 4:20 p.m. and arriving in Beijing at 6:00 p.m. the next day.

The airline will deploy Boeing 777-300ER on the route, an aircraft type favored by business travelers worldwide.

In 2015, the Beijing-based carrier has been stepping up its international expansion from its Beijing hub and expanding its footprint in North America. After deploying the Boeing 747-8 on Beijing-New York route at the beginning of the year, the airline increased the frequency of its Beijing-Los Angeles route to three flights a day in May. The forthcoming Beijing-Montreal service will be supplemental to the airline's existing Beijing-Vancouver service.

Currently, Air China operates over 140 flights per week to 7 North American destinations, including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Vancouver and Hawaii.