SJC Travelers’ 3rd Most Requested Nonstop Destination; Two Daily Flights to Begin May 9, 2016
San José, Calif., 2015-11-24 — /Travel PR News/ — San José Mayor Sam Liccardo today announced new nonstop service on Air Canada between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Mineta San José International Airport (SJC), delivering nonstop service to Canada and beyond that the Silicon Valley community has asked for. Joining the news conference at San José City Hall was Air Canada’s Manager Western Region Sales Ginger Miller who also announced the service will begin May 9, 2016, and tickets can be purchased at www.aircanada.com.
SJC’s newest international carrier will offer two daily flights on the Vancouver-Silicon Valley route, operating the Bombardier CRJ-705 aircraft which seats up to 75 passengers. The aircraft will be configured with 65 coach and 10 business class seats.
“Air Canada is pleased to expand its service to San Jose from Vancouver. Canadians visit the U.S. more than any other country and Air Canada’s extensive transborder network makes it the foreign carrier with the most flights to the U.S. Air Canada also offers convenient onward connections through our expansive global network to destinations around the world on North America’s only Four-Star, international network carrier,” said Lisa Pierce, Senior Director, U.S. Sales and Market Development at Air Canada.
“Air Canada’s launch at Mineta San José International Airport provides a direct link between Silicon Valley and Vancouver,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “This announcement reflects the extraordinary growth in international flights we’ve seen in the past 10 months at our airport, which translates into jobs, economic growth and opportunities for our community, and is further evidence that San José is truly taking off. We are grateful to Air Canada for investing in and delivering a highlysought after destination for travelers throughout Silicon Valley.”
|
Flight Number |
City Pair | Departs | Arrives |
|
AC 8569 |
San José – Vancouver |
7:30 a.m. | 9:47 a.m. |
|
AC 8566 |
Vancouver – San José |
10:35 a.m. |
12:50 p.m. |
|
AC 8567 |
San José – Vancouver |
1:25 p.m. |
3:42 p.m. |
| AC 8568 |
Vancouver – San José |
5:15 p.m. |
7:30 p.m. |
| Flights operate daily. All times are local. Average flight time is 2 hours, 15 minutes. SJC terminal information TBA. Flights begin 5/9/16. Visit www.aircanada.com for bookings and information | |||
Strong demand exists for nonstop service between Silicon Valley and Canada. Vancouver is called the “Silicon Valley North” since more than 200 Silicon Valley companies have offices there, including Facebook, Electronic Arts, Hootsuite, Bench, Mobify, Microsoft and Sony Pictures. Additionally, between 300,000 and 350,000 Canadians work in Silicon Valley. Nonstop service beyond Vancouver to several cities in Asia offers the opportunity to enhance business and improve travel efficiency
A bustling west coast seaport in beautiful British Columbia, Vancouver is also a popular tourism destination surrounded by mountains and invites outdoor pursuits of all kinds. The city also has a thriving art, theatre and music scene.
“Vancouver is the No. 3 requested international destination by MIneta San José International Airport passengers, and we’re pleased to share with our Silicon Valley businesses and residents that this service is now available,” said Director of Aviation Kim Becker. “Air Canada is an important addition to our growing list of airline partners, and we anticipate that our community will warmly welcome them and support this new service.”
Faster and easier re-entry to the U.S. from Canada is made possible due to the U.S. Customs preclearance facility in Vancouver, enabling departing passengers to skip U.S. Customs upon arrival in San José.
Vancouver service marks the sixth new nonstop destination and seventh new flight from SJC announced in 2015. Delta Air Lines begins service to Las Vegas on Dec. 30, 2015. Lufthansa German Airlines will launch flights to Frankfurt on April 29, 2016. British Airways will begin service to LondonHeathrow on May 4, 2016. Hainan Airlines launched service to Beijing, China, in June. Southwest Airlines began a daily flight to Dallas (Love Field) in April, and doubled this service on Nov. 1. Alaska Airlines added nonstop service to Eugene, Oregon, on Nov. 5.
Other nonstop international service offered at SJC includes: ANA’s daily flight to Tokyo-Narita on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner; daily flights to Guadalajara on Alaska Airlines and Volaris; and Alaska’s five weekly flights to Cabo San Lucas.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada’s flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2014 served more than 38 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 52 in the United States and 86 in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
About Mineta San José International Airport
Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) is Silicon Valley’s airport, a self-supporting enterprise owned and operated by the City of San José. SJC served 9.6 million passengers in Fiscal Year 2015, a 5.4 percent increase year-over-year. SJC offers approximately 150 peak daily flights on 13 domestic and international carriers to 35 nonstop destinations.
SJC’s five-star customer service experience sets it apart from other Bay Area and US airports. Airlines and passengers respond positively to SJC’s customer amenities, including modern terminal buildings, free and fast WiFi, comfortable seating with built-in power outlets, a luxurious, award-winning lounge open to all travelers, a duty free store offering the ultimate experience in luxury shopping, a rental car center conveniently located across from the terminals and Global Entry kiosks to expedite arriving international passengers. Silicon Valley’s airport is located in San José, California’s third largest city and the nation’s tenth largest city. SJC facts can be found here. For more airport information, visit www.flysanjose.com.
Contacts:
Rosemary Barnes – SJC
408-392-1199 / rbarnes@sjc.org
Peter Fitzpatrick – Air Canada
416-263-5576 /
Peter.Fitzpatrick@aircanada.ca
SOURCE: SJC