VANCOUVER — Air Canada will add new nonstop flights to Brisbane from Vancouver next year.

Flights to Brisbane will initially operate three times weekly using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners beginning June 17, 2016, with the intention to increase to daily service, subject to obtaining the necessary government approvals.

“Air Canada continues to strategically expand its international network with the addition of our second Australian destination – Brisbane, capital of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. The new route increases our presence in the Asia-Pacific market at a time when trade and travel in the region and between North America is growing, with a further boost expected from the Trans-Pacific Partnership now under negotiation. Already, Air Canada commits $2 billion worth of aircraft to the Pacific market each day and Brisbane is the third new Pacific route we have announced in the past year, after Toronto-Tokyo Haneda and Vancouver-Osaka,” said Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada President and CEO, at the 2015 Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Vancouver.

“We will be offering the only nonstop, year-round flights from Canada to Brisbane, a financial hub as well as a tourism gateway to Australia’s Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef, using our Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The operating economics of the Dreamliner together with the efforts of the Vancouver Airport Authority who have maintained airport operating costs at levels among the lowest in Canada, have enabled us to grow our Vancouver hub,” said Rovinescu.

Air Canada looks forward to working with the Queensland Government, tourism partners from both countries and Brisbane Airport to promote the new route.

Queensland Government Minister for Tourism and Major Events Kate Jones welcomed the new flights, stating, “the Air Canada service represents the first direct flight between Queensland and Canada, and is expected to inject up to $24 million in visitor expenditure for Queensland’s economy per year and attract an extra 12,000 international visitors to Queensland each year. The service is supported under the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF), and will help entice more North American travellers to visit Queensland. The new direct route better connects the state with the growing North American visitor market, which recorded a 9% growth in visitation in the year ending December 2014. Growing aviation services to Queensland helps support the state’s tourism economy and creates jobs.”

Tickets for Air Canada’s new Brisbane flights will be available for purchase starting July 16, 2015. Flights begin June 17, 2016, operating three times weekly with the carrier’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 20 International Business Class lie-flat seat suites, 21 Premium Economy and 210 Economy Class seats featuring upgraded inflight entertainment at every seat throughout the aircraft.

Flights are timed to optimize connectivity to and from Air Canada’s extensive North American network through the airline’s Vancouver hub, while also offering in Brisbane, excellent connectivity across Australia.