Air Canada noted at its 2024 Investor Day held in mid-December 2024 that it sees Nagoya Chubu and Sapporo New Chitose some of the destinations it could launch service to in the coming years as part of its international network expansion. Separately, on January 8, 2025, Kumamotonichinichi Shimbun reported Edmonton Airport’s operator would like to see flights between the airport and Kumamoto launched.
While Air Canada’s plans are still early stage with no specific timeline or certainty, if launched, the two destinations would most likely be served out of the airline’s West Coast hub Vancouver. Other destinations in Asia-Pacific including Taipei, Ho Chi Minh, and Jakarta were presented as “potential international growth opportunities” as well.
According to the Kumamotonichinichi Shimbun report, discussions related to the Edmonton – Kumamoto route see the service start on a charter basis to assess demand and profitability, potentially followed by a launch of scheduled flights around 2027 when TSMC’s second semiconductor factory in the prefecture is scheduled to become operational. No specific airline has been named as the potential operator of the route at this point.
Currently, only Tokyo (both Haneda and Narita) and Osaka Kansai have non-stop flights to Canada and mainland US. With year-round ANA flights to Haneda; Air Canada, JAL, and ZIPAIR flights to Narita; and seasonal Air Canada flights to Kansai, Vancouver is the best connected Canadian city with Japan. Air Canada also offers year-round Toronto – Narita and Haneda routes, and seasonal Toronto – Osaka route. Lastly, WestJet flies between Calgary and Narita.
The launch of any of the three potential routes would significantly improve connectivity between Japan and Canada.
