Star Alliance member Air Canada is to use its new Boeing 787-9s to drive international network expansion from its hub at Toronto’s Lester B Pearson International Airport with new routes to Delhi, India and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed for launch in November next year.

The Toronto – Delhi route will be the first to be dedicated to the 787-9, the larger version of the 787-8 that is already in service with the Canadian flag carrier, and will open new opportunities in the Indian subcontinent, currently the largest international market not served by Air Canada.

“Air Canada’s strategy to grow its Toronto Pearson hub and international presence is taking a major step forward with the addition of Delhi to our extensive global network. We will be offering the only non-stop flight from Canada to India using our newest Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which are revolutionising long-haul air travel,” said Calin Rovinescu, president and chief executive officer, Air Canada.

This is an example of a route made possible thanks to the excellent operating economics that modern generation airliners now offer and certainly would not have been able to be served on a sustainable manner using older aircraft types.

During a board meeting for the Star Alliance in India last week, hosted by this year’s new entrant Air India, Rovinescu, who is also currently chairman of the Star Alliance chief executive board, revealed that the new route to Delhi has been driven forward thanks to Air India’s entry into the global grouping and the opportunity to offer onward connections to more than 40 destinations from Delhi.

“This service will appeal both to customers visiting and doing business in Delhi, the capital region of India and the fourth most populous urban area in the world, and to those customers making onward connections within India and throughout Southeast Asia on our Star Alliance partner, Air India, or other interline partners,” added Rovinescu.

The route will be operated on a four times daily basis from November 1, 2015 and will be schedules to maximise connections both within Air Canada’s North American network and in India on Air India or other interline partners to such cities as Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and to other destinations throughout Southeast Asia. It will initially be served three times weekly by 787-9 with a single rotation being flown by the smaller 787-8.

The type will also be used to launch a three times weekly link between Toronto and Dubai from November 3, 2015 as Air Canada extends its international network farther into the Middle East at a time of increased travel between North America and the region. Like the Delhi route it will be operated by a mix of 7878s and -9s, with the larger variant scheduled on two weekly rotations and the smaller -8 on the remaining flight.

"The introduction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Air Canada's fleet this year has been a catalyst for our international expansion plans, which will receive an additional impetus in 2015 when the larger Dreamliner 787-9 series aircraft begins to enter the fleet,” said Rovinescu.

“The three-times-weekly Dubai service will be Air Canada's first non-stop flight to the UAE at a time when air travel between North America and the region is growing, including more international connecting traffic over our Toronto global hub,” he added.

The new route will increase Air Canada's presence in the Middle East by providing its first non-stop access to Dubai, complementing its other services in the region. It currently serves the region primarily through an extensive joint venture with Star Alliance partner Lufthansa via Frankfurt and Munich, but also has a codeshare with Etihad Airways on three flights a week between Toronto and Abu Dhabi, in the UAE.

This will be the seventh new international destination to be added to the carrier’s network in the past year. Since last December, Air Canada has announced new international service to Delhi, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, Osaka, Tokyo-Haneda and Panama City. Including Dubai, Air Canada now serves or has announced service to a total of 66 international destinations on five continents from its Toronto global hub.

In our chart, below, we highlight Air Canada’s annual international seat capacity from Toronto’s Lester B Pearson International Airport over the past ten years. After relative stability between 2006 and 2008 and a decline in 2009, this market has subsequently recorded year-on-year growth in each of the the last five years, rising 5.4 per cent in 2014.

Data provided by