Air Canada Adds Vancouver To Auckland Route (Awards Now Available)

Will it feel strange flying out say on a Thursday and landing on a Saturday?

@ James C

I flew LAX-AKL on Qantas in 2010, departed LAX on a Thursday evening, landed Auckland on Saturday morning. So I joke that my 2010 was 364 days long - I flew back via Asia so didn't regain the day.

Interesting that AC is joining the YVR-AKL route. I used to see the big and very pretty Air New Zealand 777 parked at YVR all the time, so its good to see some competition on this route.

@lucky : what happened to that so called "rumor" yesterday on etihad ? vanished into the ether ?

@James, how about leaving Auckland and arriving in Vancouver "before you left", lol?
On another note, I always thought Air Canada had this route already for a long time? Good news although Air New Zealand probably still has the edge (especially if you're remaining in BC).

@ henry LAX -- I'm not the one who claimed there would be an announcement within 24-48 hours. I never thought that. According to my sources, we're talking weeks, not hours/days.

Would be an interesting destination for the family, but the schedule isn’t very kid friendly on the way there.

Air Canada has also been operating these 787-800s on Toronto west coast routes (YVR, SFO, LAX) all winter. Great way to fly from Toronto especially if you can snag a UA Business Saver award as I just did.
My only complaint about the seat was a lack of storage:-(

Why would anyone (in either Y or J) fly AC over NZ on this route???

Any new flights out of Montreal are very welcome, indeed. That Sao Paulo flight is particularly nice, as Brazil has outlawed surcharges, so this would be a great redemption option for Aeroplan (or whatever program we end up with in 2020). It's also just generally nice to have more options to South America, and Brazil, in particular, which has been a bit of a dead zone for Star Alliance.

Any word on a Signature Suite at YVR like they have in YYZ?

@Phil M... ummmm... Brazil has outlawed surcharges if originating from Brazil.

If you originate in Canada, Air Canada will still hit you up for YQ.

Canadian/CP air served New Zealand for many years till it collapsed.
Flew on Canadian Dc10 in 90s from Auckland to Nadi on a Qantas issued ticket with Air New Zealand code share flight number!
New Zealand is a very popular destination with Canadians

Timing of those new flights are very connection-friendly to and from Australia. Although direct is better, it does add another do-able redemption option.

The only people excited about an AC option are those who do not frequently fly with AC. TPAC route J class customers face the prospect of; 1. The ongoing broken seat saga, dubbed "Deflategate", where one never knows if one will have one of many broken seats. It is rather telling that many customers are now taking mini camping mattresses into the cabin; 2. The exceptionally poor design of the seats and tray tables that make it most uncomfortable for side sleepers; 3. The ongoing dismal
poor OTP. Have a look at some of the asian routes, especially YVR-TPE, to get an idea of how bad it is. The delays make the use of the term "connection friendly" laughable.; 4. The F&B quality is mediocre at best. 5. The cramped lavs. I just had an EVA flight and what a difference, plus the FAs kept the lav clean. AC is just not worth the inflated airfare. Air NZ, CX, JL, NH, TG all have options to AUK and all offer a better experience than AC.

Finally some non NZ J availability on this sector. NZ J was competitive in 2014 but isn’t anymore.

@Bob Yeah, you're right. I wasn't aware of that distinction. $530 CAD in carrier surcharges for business class on the YUL - GRU flight, and $632.90 total taxes & fees. Not so great after all...

@jim I doubt YVR will get a Sig Suite anytime soon--the recently (year or so ago) renovated int'l lounge is admittedly pretty nice to lounge in but the same old meager slop to eat and a full on bartender serving drinks but no champagne and, wait for it, no sparkling, not even Prosecco (he offered to make me a spritzer of all things, I could of been on a CP DC 10 in the 1980s).
@aniljak, oh wait, I was, and those CP flights were great, London to Sydney you could take extensive stops in Canada, Hawaii, Fiji, and incredible RTW fares

Hey Ben- Avianca prices at 80,000 miles, not 67,500.

Booked a couple of one way business class award tickets AKL-YOW (via YVR and YUL) when they became available for early March, Price: Taxes and fees only $44 per ticket (seems surcharges and other costs aren't an issue on the outbound AKL flights.) It has turned out to be the best award ticket value I've managed in many years working the Aeroplan system. For this price, service and amenities don't need to be stellar to justify gloating about great award value.