With the addition of direct flights from Vancouver to Bangkok, Air Canada has further expanded their west coast offers. Direct Vancouver-Osaka service is being re-launched.
Needless to say, these new flights can be booked via Airplane Point, and Spoiler Alert: Availability is much better than Bangkok flights!
Air Canada’s new Vancouver-Osaka route
The beginning June 2, 2023, Air Canada will again operate direct flights from Vancouver to Osaka.
Based on the initial schedule list, this flight will operate four times a week, with the following scheduled schedules.
- The AC23 will depart Vancouver (YVR) to Osaka (KIX) at 1:10 pm and arrive a day later at 4:05 pm
- AC24 Osaka (KIX) to Vancouver (YVR), depart at 5:40 pm and arrive at 11:05 pm
Vancouver-Osaka: Another Amazing Airplane Suite Spot!
The reopening of the Vancouver-Osaka route means that there is another option to take advantage of one of the airplane’s best sweet spots: flying between the west coast and Japan.
From Vancouver, Osaka falls within the first distance band below 5,000 miles on Aeroplan’s North America-Pacific Awards chart:
Thus, a direct flight at the lowest dynamic level would cost exactly 55,000 airplane points In business class.
In fact, next summer’s Vancouver-Osaka flights are already loaded and bookable, so we were able to get an idea of Air Canada’s dynamic pricing at launch. And in this case, the news is almost overwhelmingly positive.
In business class, the Vancouver-Osaka flight seems to leave four seats at the bottom of the dynamic pricing band.
Some bookings are priced even at extremely affordable prices 54,400 points One way – Less More than a fixed-level price of 55,000 points on partners!
If you have Aeroplan Elite status and / or an Aeroplan co-branded credit card, you will be able to unlock more discounts by logging in.
Don’t forget, if you book business (flexible) for an additional 10,000 points, you will have access to your Air Canada signature suite Vancouver before your flight.
(Surprisingly, there are more than four seats available at this price on some dates, which I recommend if you are looking for a family trip to Japan in the summer, grab it now.)
Although in economy class, prices are a bit more expensive than in business class at launch, the standard rental section is priced at 72,500 points one-way and 92,500 points in latitude.
There is a decent amount of eUpgrade space spread across the board, but we can’t recommend the “latitude attitude” strategy when booking directly in business class is more affordable.
Another useful option for going to Japan
The Vancouver-Osaka route will be operated by a Boeing 787-8, featuring 20 signature class “pods” across five rows in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration.
Comparing Air Canada to other transpacific airlines that fly to Osaka, the ANA will be the only major competitor to the Star Alliance, which operates a single route to Chicago. Meanwhile, Japan Airlines offers an alternative west coast route between Osaka and Los Angeles.
In terms of flight experience, I would prefer both ANA and Japan Airlines to Heartbeat over Air Canada, as well as thanks to the strong food and service you will find on domestic airlines in Japan.
However, at the moment the prize space does not seem to be very high in these products like Air Canada’s direct Osaka route and in the end the advantage of a non-stop flight in the Kansai region cannot be lost.
If you’re a little interested in traveling to Japan next summer (of course the country is awaiting reopening of its borders for tourists), I’ll jump to this award seat in a heartbeat.
Conclusion
Air Canada will load direct flights from Vancouver to Osaka next June, with plans to reopen the route for the 2023 summer tourist season.
The direct flight from Vancouver to Osaka will run four times a week, departing in the afternoon on both sides.
With adequate rewards at the bottom end of the dynamic scale and a reliable signature class onboard product, Air Canada’s direct Osaka flight promises to be a very popular route and I would recommend locking seats for next summer as soon as possible.
