Following yesterday’s announcement of increased services to the US and a codeshare with WestJet, Qantas has announced it will operate six direct return services between Sydney and Vancouver from 3 to 22 January 2015.

The decision is based on the need to cater for higher demand during the peak of the North American winter holiday season, and will be welcome news for Australian travellers and ski enthusiasts, providing easier access to Canada’s ski resorts and holiday destinations, as well as boosting tourism for Australia.

With a morning arrival into Vancouver allowing for same-day travel to ski resorts across Canada, and a late night departure on the return, the new service will appeal to travellers looking to maximise their vacation time on shorter getaways.

“By flying non-stop to Vancouver, our customers can enjoy more time on the mountain, or wherever in Canada their holiday plans may take them and we’re also making it more convenient for Canadian travellers to experience the best of summer here in Australia,” Qantas International chief executive officer Simon Hickey said.

“North America is a key market for Qantas and these direct services reinforce our commitment both to this market and to taking advantage of seasonal peaks, including to destinations that aren’t necessarily on our network all-year round.”

Mr Hickey said the services also deliver on Qantas’ focus of having the right aircraft on the right route, at the right time of year.

“We’ve already announced changes to our trans-Tasman schedule to better reflect the seasonality of that corridor, including a seasonal Perth to Auckland service that runs for about five months of the year and over our summer, we’ll operate additional services to Tokyo and Honolulu as well as the ones announced today to Vancouver.”

Since July, Qantas has scheduled a total of 108 extra flights across the international network to serve market demand.

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