Air Canada plans to increase direct flights per week between Manila and Vancouver from three flights to four starting next month.

The new flights will be available every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Currently, the airline operates flights every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Air Canada’s managing director for international sales Rocky Lo said the expansion plan will cater to more Filipino students and tourists.

“We have confidence that this is a growing market and has more business opportunities,” he said Thursday in a media briefing at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City.

Lo shared that Filipino students in Canada have emerged as the third largest foreign group in that country.

Meanwhile, he said Filipino tourists in Canada reached 143,000 last year.

Lo added that the additional flights will help strengthen relationships with Filipino families in Canada, with more than 1 million individuals of Filipino descent living in the Western country.

PAL partnership eyed

Air Canada’s regional manager for Southeast Asia Hon Lam said the state carrier is exploring partnerships with Philippine Airlines to bring more people around the Philippines.

“We do have agreements with local airlines. We will be pursuing further opportunities. With our wide network, we can bring people between the two regions,” he said.

“We will continue to evaluate the demand and business opportunities,” Lam continued.

According to the Department of Tourism, 56,384 individuals from Canada visited the Philippines from January to February this year, marking a 17.35 percent growth compared to the same period in 2024.

This made Canada the fourth most significant supplier of visitors to the Philippines.

Initially, Air Canada’s direct flights between Manila and Vancouver took off in December last year, after launching the same service for Bangkok in Thailand and in Singapore.

Air Canada officials said they saw fully booked flights so far for the Manila-Vancouver route and vice versa, reflecting around 298 passengers in one plane.

In Asia-Pacific, the Philippines has become Air Canada’s 12th route from Vancouver. The others also include Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.