This week, Air Canada announced that it’s significantly boosting its service to India for the Winter 2024/2025 schedule.

As part of the service increase, Air Canada will launch a new non-stop flight from Toronto to Mumbai, and it will also offer more flights to Delhi from Western Canada via London.

Air Canada Launches Toronto–Mumbai Route

Air Canada plans to launch a new non-stop route from Toronto (YYZ) to Mumbai (BOM) for the Winter 2024/2025 schedule. Once the route launches, it will be the only non-stop route to Mumbai offered from Canada.

Canada’s largest airline plans to launch the route on October 27, 2024, operating it four-times weekly thereafter. As it stands, the service is set to run through to late March 2025.

The flight times for the new route are as follows:

• AC46 Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to Mumbai (BOM), departing 9pm and arriving 9:45pm the following day
• AC47 Mumbai (BOM) to Toronto Pearson (YYZ), departing 11:45pm and arriving 7:45am the following day

The flight from Toronto to Mumbai is clocked at 15 hours 15 minutes, and it’s set to depart on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Meanwhile, the return route from Mumbai is set to run 17 hours 30 minutes, and it’s set to operate on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Air Canada will fly a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on the route, with a three-cabin configuration featuring Air Canada Signature Class, premium economy, and economy cabins.

The flights can be booked on Air Canada channels, including with Aeroplan points. The flights are being sold subject to final government approval.

Air Canada Adds Service from Calgary to Delhi via London 

Air Canada is also increasing its connectivity from Western Canada to India by introducing new seasonal daily service from Calgary (YYC) to Delhi (DEL) via London Heathrow (LHR). 

This route is also set to begin on October 27, 2024, and the timing of the London–Delhi flight has been optimized to allow for connections from the daily Vancouver–London service, too.

The flight times for the new route are as follows:

• AC850 Calgary (YYC) to London Heathrow (LHR), departing 5:30pm and arriving 9:20 am the following day
• AC850 London Heathrow (LHR) to Delhi (DEL), departing 12pm and arriving 2:25 am the following day
• AC851 Delhi (DEL) to London Heathrow (LHR), departing 6:45am and arriving 11:20am
• AC851 London Heathrow (LHR) to Calgary (YYC), departing 1:25pm and arriving 3:30pm

The total travel time from Calgary to Delhi via London is clocked at 20 hours 25 minutes, while the return route from Delhi to Calgary via London is set to run a total of 21 hours 15 minutes.

The Calgary–London route operates daily year-round, while the flight from London to Delhi operates daily from October 27, 2024 through to late March 2025.

Air Canada will fly a Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the route, with a three-cabin configuration featuring Air Canada Signature Class, premium economy, and economy cabins.

The flights can be booked on Air Canada channels, including with Aeroplan points. The flights are being sold subject to final government approval.

Air Canada Vies for Indian Traffic

In addition to the above routes, Air Canada will also jump to daily flights from Montreal (YUL) to Delhi (DEL).

In sum, the carrier will operate 25 weekly flights this winter, with 7,400 seats available each week, which represents a 40% capacity increase.

Aside from Air Canada, Air India is the only other carrier to offer non-stop flights between Canada and India.

According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Air India operates daily non-stop service between Delhi (DEL) and Vancouver (YVR), as well as up to two flights daily between Delhi (DEL) and Toronto (YYZ).

Cirium data also show that Air Canada previously operated a non-stop Vancouver–Delhi service, with the last flight having operated in March 2022.

One thing to keep an eye on is Air India’s ongoing transformation, as the carrier is taking delivery of new aircraft with an updated hard and soft product. 

While Air India has yet to announce any North American routes that will feature its new aircraft, it has started expanding the operation of the Airbus A350-900 to Dubai, and will likely continue to deploy its new fleet on more international routes later this year.

Should the carrier offer its newest product on routes to Canada (especially Vancouver), passengers would have the benefit of a non-stop route which would cut down the total travel time while offering a competitive new product. 

Air India’s non-stop flight to Vancouver measures 14 hours 10 minutes, and the flight to Delhi clocks in at 14 hours 30 minutes, which would save around six hours in either direction compared to flying with Air Canada via London.

Conclusion

Air Canada has announced a strategic expansion of service to India for the Winter 2024/2025 schedule. 

Beginning in late October 2024, it will introduce a new non-stop flight from Toronto to Mumbai, and it will also introduce direct service from Calgary to Delhi with a stop in London. These come in addition to the existing non-stop service to Delhi from Toronto and Montreal.

Flights can now be booked throughout the schedule across Air Canada’s sales channels.