The Maple Leaf connects Toronto with Dubai

With the departure of AC056 on November 3, Air Canada inaugurated a new service between its Canadian hub Toronto and Dubai, the newest addition to its growing international network. This is the first time the Canadian carrier will connect directly with Dubai.

The new route will be operated using Air Canada’s most modern aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner featuring its new cabin interior design with three classes of service, including its next generation, lie flat suites in International Business Class.

FAST-GROWING NETWORK

Take a look at the larger picture and Dubai seems but a peg on the map for one of the fast-growing airlines in the world. Since December 2014, Air Canada and Air Canada rouge have announced new international service to Dubai, Delhi, Brisbane, Lyon, London-Gatwick, Casablanca, Prague, Budapest, Glasgow and Warsaw.

Duncan Bureau, vice-president, global sales, Air Canada, tells TTN, 'It’s an exciting time to be in Air Canada. If you had purchased Air Canada stock five years ago, that stock would have grown by 1,600 per cent today.'

Air Canada currently operates into about 190 markets and by 2020 that will be 250 markets, in line with the airline’s 2020 strategy. The airline carries 38 million passengers a year and by 2020 that will be 50 million, projects Bureau. 'Today we are a 14-billion-dollar carrier and I have been given the mandate by the board to bring this up to 20 billion by 2020.'

TORONTO-DUBAI SERVICE

'There’s a very strong market between Toronto and Dubai. What’s even more exciting is that we have preclearance for the US. We are the largest international carrier operating into the US – we reach 52 cities. We have tremendous connectivity, not just to the US but to the Caribbean, Cuba and South America,' says Bureau.

This traffic is also expected to fill the new Dreamliner on its way back from Toronto to Dubai. In addition, Bureau adds, there are 40,000 Canadian expatriates living in the UAE alone – they travel home in the summer and winter, and, of course, Christmas. 'There is a lot of growing investment in the oil and gas sector from Canada into Dubai, so that’s another market we look forward to service.'

The three cabin configuration aboard the flight includes International Business Class, a Premium Economy cabin, and Economy Class. Upgraded in-flight entertainment is available at every seat throughout the aircraft. Flights provide for Aeroplan accumulation and redemption and, for eligible customers, priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounge access in Toronto, priority boarding and other benefits.

Prior to the new launch, Air Canada served the region primarily through an extensive joint venture with its JV and Star Alliance partner Lufthansa over Frankfurt and Munich.

REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY

Emirates currently operates thrice-weekly flights to Toronto on its A380 aircraft, with its Economy, Business and First Class configurations. How hard will Air Canada have to try to compete?

'We are not a low-priced operator, we are a four-star airline,' says Bureau. 'I’m not here to race to the bottom in terms of price. We will be priced appropriately for the product that we have and quite frankly, I will place our product against any product in the world.'

Meanwhile, US carrier Delta Air Lines, which cut frequency of its Atlanta-Dubai route in October, announced that it would completely cease the service from February 11 next year. Delta, the sole operator on the route, cited overcapacity and competition from subsidised Arabian Gulf carriers as the reason for this decision.

Analysts, however, believe the reason for the pull-out is Delta’s limited network and the fact that it does not take passengers beyond the Dubai hub.

When asked about expansion in the region, Bureau says, 'We’ve already used up the bilateral slots that are available for Dubai but certainly there are other markets in the region that we would like to expand into.

'There’s a lot of movement between the Middle East and North America and we want to be part  of that.' 

By Rashi Sen