Qantas unlocks more flights to Canada
Qantas has received the green light for more flights to Canada, both on its own and through low-cost Jetstar.
By Staff Writers, April 28 2026
An open-skies agreement between Australia and Canada has become the trigger for Qantas to be granted “unlimited passenger capacity” between the two countries, stepping well beyond the previous cap of a daily Sydney–Vancouver Boeing 787.
Australia’s International Air Services Commission notes that this extra capacity can be used not only by Qantas but “any wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group” – which could even pave the way for Jetstar to launch flights on its upgraded Boeing 787s.
“The Australia–Canada air services arrangements provide for unlimited capacity for designated Australian airlines to operate passenger services on the route,” effective immediately.
Qantas can also codeshare any new flights with partners American Airlines and WestJet, potentially drawing in additional passengers on the Canada–Australia leg.
“We’re expanding our international aviation network to increase competition and deliver a better experience for Australian travellers,” Transport Minister Catherine King said when the open-skies agreement was inked in 2024.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Qantas is about to add new destinations such as Toronto and Montreal onto the departures board.
For that it would need more new long-range jets in the form of the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, as well as a business case which stacks up.
Air Canada currently flies from Sydney and Brisbane to Vancouver, and both Qantas and Air Canada tempt premium travellers with a fully lie-flat bed in business class, where the 1-2-1 seating layout also offers direct access to the aisle.
Vancouver has proven a solid drawcard for Qantas, which launched three flights per week on a seasonal schedule in 2015, before stepping up to a year-round service in 2021, with daily flights in place across the peak January 2026 period.
In addition to Australians heading for the cosmopolitan harbour city and gateway to the Canadian Rockies, the airline expects plenty of Canucks to be lured down under.
“Just as Australians head to Canada for its spectacular ski conditions, it’s the perfect opportunity for Canadians to swap the snow for sunshine and explore Australia’s summer,” Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace noted earlier this year.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 212
And don't forget that passing through Vancouver to US destinations allows you to pre-clear US immigration in Vancouver, avoiding delays at the US end of the trip. This can be quite a time saver.
25 Nov 2025
Total posts 35
Agreed 100%; CBSA are also far more pleasant and polite to deal with than their (far more aggressive and hostile) US counterparts after a 16 hour flight...the latter demanding "who are you, where are you staying, why are you here, where's your onward plane ticket and when are you leaving...welcome to the USA"
07 Apr 2021
Total posts 51
Quick hop to the PNW as well so you can have some good beers, bad coffee that is meant to be good, and a quick riot. Makes for a good trip.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
01 May 2019
Total posts 40
hi David, any news on throwing a bone - i.e. direct flights to Canada from Melbourne?
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2584
No word on that front, alas – if Air Canada had shared info on Melbourne-Vancouver we'd definitely have included this in the article, so let's cross fingers for that route to return in early-mid 2022.
22 Jan 2018
Total posts 104
Vancouver isn’t the gateway to the Rockies, Calgary is.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 1080
Calgary is the most boring place I've ever been. Vancouver is up there with the scariest — you've got homeless people doing their business right beside you on the footpath and smoking crack cocaine off the top of metal bins. Other than that, Alaska, the Rockies are amazing.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Aug 2015
Total posts 34
Hopefully this will provide some competition on air fare prices, QF premium economy sale fare for late janurary 2022 is still over 4500.00 return with Business more expensive than syd lax was pre pandemic at 7.5K each way
15 Sep 2021
Total posts 6
Great start, but if they are serious about competing with AC they need to build this to daily.
05 Mar 2015
Total posts 441
Well Air Canada isn't restart as daily either but yes, in the longer term, daily should be the goal and it makes a big difference, although there will be a lot of Qantas flyers who will always go with QF due to innate loyalty or the benefits of points & status, they will plan their itinerary around the QF schedule and maybe Qantas reckons there are enough of those people to make the 3x/week schedule solidly profitable but not a 7x/week schedule. I remember when Qantas used to fly the 747 to San Francisco, it was only maybe 4x/weekly for a long while but the plane was always packed because people would adjust their schedules to fit flying QF rather than United's daily service. Never underestimate the 'loyalty' of passengers to a home airline.
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1435
It won’t be daily until the A380 comes back. It will share with SFO most probably.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 Jun 2014
Total posts 209
Hopefully that can come as more B789's are delivered.
25 Nov 2025
Total posts 35
"competing with AC" (laughs in Jetstar)...who's motto is "we're not happy, unless you're not happy"
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Jan 2018
Total posts 860
I have a colleague now living in YVR who flies regularly back to AUS (4-5 times per year). He's flown regularly on both AC and QF, now no longer on AC. This will be great news for frequent travellers between AUS and YVR.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Nov 2016
Total posts 72
Next stop: unlimited passenger capacity between the UAE and Australia.
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