Community Welcomes Air Canada Direct Service to Calgary at Nanaimo Airport

Community Welcomes Air Canada Direct Service to Calgary at Nanaimo Airport

Officials from the Nanaimo Airport Commission and Air Canada cut a ceremonial ribbon today at the airport to mark the arrival of additional non-stop daily service between Nanaimo and Calgary.

The ribbon-cutting marked the inaugural landing of the Air Canada Express flight, operated by Jazz Aviation, which provides central Vancouver Island residents and business even more connections to the world.  A 74-seat Bombardier Q400 arrived in the early afternoon and was greeted with an in-terminal celebration that included a community barbecue.

“Schedules that provide choice is the key to Nanaimo Airport’s continued growth to ensure safe, reliable transportation for Central Vancouver Island residents,” says Mike Hooper, President and CEO of the Nanaimo Airport. “The expansion of this additional service to Calgary is a major indicator of how strongly our region is supporting Air Canada’s gateway route from Nanaimo to Vancouver.”

With those flights at near capacity, this new route provides additional Air Canada seats and further boosts the airport’s position as the central Island’s gateway to the world.

“We are thrilled to link Nanaimo directly to Calgary today, giving customers from Central Vancouver Island convenient access to Alberta and beyond, with customers eligible to accumulate and redeem Aeroplan miles,” said Kevin C. Howlett, Air Canada’s Senior Vice President of Regional Markets. “Air Canada’s new daily, non-stop flights to Calgary complement our eight daily flights to Vancouver, offering more choices for customers connecting between Vancouver Island and the rest of Canada and globally.”

The airline gave away two tickets to anywhere it flies in North America to one of the lucky passengers onboard the inaugural flight.

The Nanaimo-Calgary flights arrive at the central island’s airport of choice daily at 1:43 p.m. and depart at 2:15 p.m. Passengers cross the Rockies in approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes.

This year approximately 300,000 passengers will fly in and out of Nanaimo Airport. Passenger numbers have climbed by more than 70 per cent since 2008, thanks to the completion of the airport’s runway expansion.