Air Canada announced that effective June 2, 2005 it will introduce non-stop service between Toronto and Beijing, further building its main Toronto hub with more non-stop flights to Asia and creating the first-ever direct link between eastern Canada and the Chinese mainland.

Air Canada will operate four non-stop flights per week from Toronto to the Chinese capital of Beijing, complementing its daily non-stop flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Vancouver, and twice daily Hong Kong flights including a new non-stop service from Toronto.

In addition, in response to increased demand on its Vancouver-Shanghai route, Air Canada will replace its 189-seat Boeing 767-300ER service with larger 282-seat A340-300 aircraft during the peak demand season beginning June 1, 2005. With these new services, Air Canada is boosting seating capacity between Canada and China by 16 percent and providing freight forwarders with 45 percent more cargo tonnage from one year ago.

"China is the fastest growing aviation market in the world, and Air Canada's global network is well positioned to meet the needs of international travelers and freight senders," said Duncan Dee, senior vice president of Air Canada. "With the introduction of the first non-stop service to Beijing from our main Toronto hub, Air Canada is bringing the Americas that much closer to the Chinese mainland."

(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2005)