YVR has made another international connection.
On Monday it was announced daily, non-stop service from Vancouver to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) will begin March 30, 2014 aboard All Nippon Airways (ANA).
The new route marks ANA's first flight to Canada and will use Boeing 767-300 aircraft, with capacity for 214 passengers.
Flights will arrive at YVR at 2:55 p.m. and depart at 4:55 p.m. "This new service will offer B.C. businesses more options to reach customers in central Tokyo, but also throughout Japan and Asia thanks to ANA's strong domestic and international networks," said Craig Richmond, president and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. "ANA's decision to fly to YVR further strengthens our position as North America's gateway of choice to the Asia-Pacific region."
The new service is made possible by recent liberalization of Canada's air-service agreement with Japan and will increase YVR's overall capacity to Tokyo by 30 per cent, complementing existing daily service to Narita International Airport (NRT), which is located approximately 60 km from Tokyo's downtown core.
Originally the main international airport for Tokyo until NRT opened in 1978, HND - the second busiest airport in Asia and the fourth busiest in the world - is located just 15 km from Tokyo's core.
"We are very pleased to announce the launch of long-haul international services from Tokyo to Vancouver," said Osamu Shinobe, president and CEO, ANA. "Vancouver will be the first destination in Canada for ANA, and we are confident that passenger demand will be high, not only in Japan but in other Asian cities."
The new air link is expected to generate 356 jobs both at YVR and in B.C.'s hotels, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions, adding to the 1,494 local jobs already created by existing flights to Japan.
In total, YVR's three daily flights to Japan will generate an estimated $64.8 million in wages, $36.1 million in taxes and $99.3 million in added Gross Domestic Product for the province.
Japan and British Columbia have a long and significant history of cultural and economic links. As the world's thirdlargest economy, Japan offers B.C. businesses many opportunities to increase exports by taking advantage of its high demand for energy resources, raw materials, seafood and international education.
In 2012, $101 million worth of B.C. exports left YVR for Japan, making it the third largest market, by value from the airport.
