The direct routes Bucharest - Montreal and Bucharest - Toronto were inaugurated, flights operated by Air Canada Rouge (Photo / Video)
June 2018 is proving to be a very important one for aviation in Romania. In addition to the many domestic and regional routes, 2 long-courier routes were launched: Bucharest - Montreal and Bucharest - Toronto. The flights are operated by Air Canada Rouge, a subsidiary of Air Canada.
On June 8, 2018, more than 10 years after the last long-haul flight operated to Romania, the Boeing 767-600ER Air Canada Rouge aircraft landed in Bucharest. Thus, the Montreal - Bucharest route was inaugurated, the first direct connection from Romania to North America. The second direct connection, on the Toronto - Bucharest route, was inaugurated on June 10.
Bucharest - Montreal with Air Canada Rouge
Returning to the Montreal - Bucharest route, the inaugural flight AC1928 was operated with the Boeing 767-300ER (C-GHPN) aircraft. After about 8.5 hours, it landed at the International Airport "Henri Coanda" - Bucharest around 09:45. The load was very good, with Canadian officials saying there were only 2-3 vacancies left. Boeing 767-300ER Air Canada Rouge aircraft are configured in 2 classes and can carry up to 282 passengers: 24 x Premium Economy and 258 x Economy.
After landing, the plane received the traditional salute of water cannons. Being an inaugural flight, the aircraft was parked in front of the presidential lounge at Otopeni Airport - Bucharest. She was greeted by media representatives and Canadian and Romanian officials
We were able to approach the plane, photograph it and admire it. It's not a state-of-the-art aircraft, the Boeing 767-300ER (C-GHPN) aircraft having 15 years of flight. But it was a historic moment for Romania.
There will be 2 weekly flights on the route Montreal - Bucharest - Montreal, departing from Bucharest on Tuesdays and Fridays. These flights open up new opportunities to travel faster to North America, and from the Montreal hub to other destinations served by Air Canada / Air Canada Rouge and regional partners.
Bucharest - Toronto with Air Canada Rouge
On June 10, the Toronto-Bucharest route was inaugurated, which is also operated by Boeing 767-300ER Air Canada Rouge aircraft. The inaugural flight AC1964 was operated by the 767-year-old Boeing 300-28ER (C-FXCA). It took off with a slight delay, and in Bucharest it landed at 10:25. The return is scheduled for 13:45.
According to Canadian officials, Romania is the largest East-European market without transatlantic flights. At least it was without transatlantic flights until 8 June :). Now we can boast with 2 very important connections to Montreal and Toronto.
From our information, a lot of airline tickets were sold on these routes, a large part being for flights with connections through major Canadian hubs. Sign that there is demand, and the planes will be full. As I announced to you some time ago, the 2 routes are seasonal, being operated until October 5 and October 7, respectively. If all goes well, we will be able to review Air Canada Rouge aircraft in the summer season 2019. Then we'll see…
Regarding the fares, they started at 899 $ (round trip), but obviously they increased with the loading of the aircraft. Air Canada Rouge is classified as a long-haul low-cost operator, part of the Air Canada Group. There are 2 main tariff classes: Economy (Standard, Flex and Latitude) and Premium Economy (Lowest and Flexible). Each class comes with its own package of facilities.
Thank you, Cristian (miles.ro) for photos!