Bonjour, Beijing!
Today will mark an industry first as Air China links Montreal and China’s capital, Beijing, with non-stop service for the very first time.
Scheduled service is offered three times weekly, round-trip from Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport to Beijing’s Capital International Airport on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, at a total flying time of 13-hours and 40-minutes.
Deploying the state-of-the-art Boeing B777-300ER, Air China will offer a total of 311 seats with 8 First Class (Mercury) lie-flat seats, 42 Business Class (Diamond) lie-flat seats and a main cabin comprised of 261 Economy Class (Spectrum) seats, in a 3-3-3 configuration.
On-board highlights include carefully selected French wines from Air China’s ‘Cellar in the Sky’ in the First Class cabin, fully-loaded, personal seat-back audio/video on-demand entertainment systems at every seat and both Chinese and Western dishes served in every class of service.
The new route will provide some relief to the busy Toronto Pearson hub and the Air Canada code-share opens up yet another viable option for both Chinese and Canadians looking to avoid travelling between Canada and China through the U.S., Europe or the Middle East.
The new route would seem like a no-brainer and should prove attractive to both Canadian and Chinese business travellers, international students and anyone else that may need a visa to transit through another country or would simply rather avoid the hassle of a connecting flight.
The inaugural flight from Montreal to Beijing was initially on sale for $449CAD, per direction, with strong early sales. Aeroplan, Phoenix Miles and Star Alliance frequent flyers can earn points on the route and redeem them on future Air China, Air Canada and other Star Alliance partner airline flights.
Looking to book a seat? Book montreal to Beijing flights online or stop by a Flight Centre store in your neighborhood.