Air Canada Resumes Flights Between Toronto and Mumbai
The daily service, which stops off at London Heathrow, is the third route that the airline operates between Canada and India
Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai, India / Photo: saiko3p/Shutterstock
Air Canada has resumed its winter service between Toronto (YYZ) and Mumbai (BOM), with a stop-over in London Heathrow (LHR). The flights have been loaded to the airline’s schedule daily until March 24, 2023.
The new service will “give travelers more options and boost Canada-India bilateral ties,” as noted by Diedrah Kelly, Consul General of Canada in Mumbai.
Air Canada previously suggested it would run the service without a stop-over. However, those plans have been shelved as current Russian airspace constraints would make the flight unfeasible.
As part of this one-stop route, Air Canada will exploit its fifth freedom traffic rights between London and Mumbai, Heathrow’s third-largest international passenger market, with 529,000 passengers flying round-trip yearly.
Air Canada now joins a crowded market, operated by five flights from three airlines—British Airways, Air India, and Virgin Atlantic. Additionally, British Airways will increase its daily flights to Mumbai from two to three in mid-December, taking the total number of daily flights from Heathrow to Mumbai to seven.
Qutub Minar tower in Delhi, India / Photo: Pikoso.kz/Shutterstock
The Toronto-Mumbai route will be Air Canada’s third service between Canada and India, joining 13 weekly flights between Delhi and Toronto (the largest city pair between North America and India) or Montreal. Air Canada has 213,000 round-trip seats for sale between Canada and India this winter.
The Canadian flag carrier will operate the long-haul service with its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, equipped with 298 seats in three classes, of which 30 are full-flat seats in Signature Class and 21 in Premium Economy.
The daily service from Toronto to London is scheduled to leave Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at 8:30 PM, landing at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) at 8:30 AM. It then leaves London at 11:10 AM, arriving at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) at 1:25 AM. The return journey leaves Mumbai at 4:45 AM and lands at Heathrow at 9:20 AM. The trip’s final leg is scheduled to depart London at 12:00 PM, touching down in Toronto at 2:55 PM.
Overall, the travel time is 18 hours, 25 minutes from Toronto to Mumbai, and 20 hours and 40 minutes on the way back—including two hours and 40 minutes of ground time in London.
“Our customers from India will benefit from greater travel choice, with access to our Toronto hub via London Heathrow, enabling convenient one-stop connections to destinations across Canada, including Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. Air Canada’s Mumbai flights also connect conveniently at London,” said Arun Pandeya, Air Canada General Manager India.
