Air Canada’s latest schedule update sees them making a big U.S. push out of Vancouver and some if it seems to be in response to WestJet’s recent announcement of Vancouver to Austin, Calgary to Raleigh and more. The airline will be adding new routes to Raleigh, Tampa and Nashville out of YVR and increasing capacity on Vancouver to Austin, Denver and Miami.
The new routes: Vancouver to Raleigh, Tampa and Nashville
This new route will be operated three times weekly with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.
Here are the new flight schedules
| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Days of Operation | Effective |
| AC1068 | Vancouver (YVR) |
Raleigh (RDU) | 13:30 | 21:44 | Mon, Wed, Fri | June 4 – Sept. 29, 2025 |
| AC1069 | Raleigh (RDU) |
Vancouver (YVR) |
08:40 | 11:30 | Tue, Thur, Sat | June 5 – Sept. 30, 2025 |
| AC1064 | Vancouver (YVR) |
Tampa (TPA) | 13:30 | 22:12 | Tue, Sat | Year-round, begins June 3, 2025 |
| AC1065 | Tampa (TPA) | Vancouver (YVR) |
08:20 | 11:23 | Wed, Sun | Year-round, begins June 4, 2025 |
| AC1310 | Vancouver (YVR) |
Nashville (BNA) |
13:10 | 19:42 | Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun | May 1 – Oct. 30, 2025 |
| AC1311 | Nashville (BNA) |
Vancouver (YVR) |
08:15 | 11:10 | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | May 2 – Oct. |
The expanded and existing U.S. routes from YVR
Austin, Denver and Miami will all see increased capacity out of Vancouver for the summer 2025 season. Here is the complete list of transborder flights out of YVR for next summer:
| Route | Summer 25 frequencies |
| AUS (Austin) – YVR | 5x weekly (2 additional frequencies vs. 2024) |
| ANC (Anchorage) – YVR | 1x daily |
| BNA (Nashville) – YVR | 4x weekly (new route) |
| DEN (Denver) – YVR | 2x daily (21% additional capacity vs. 2024) |
| EWR (Newark) – YVR | 2x daily |
| HNL (Honolulu) – YVR | 1x daily |
| IAD (Washington) – YVR | 1x daily |
| IAH (Houston) – YVR | 1x daily |
| LAS (Las Vegas) – YVR | 2x daily |
| LAX (Los Angeles) – YVR | 5x daily |
| MIA (Miami) – YVR | 4x weekly (1 additional frequency vs. 2024) |
| ORD (Chicago) – YVR | 1x daily |
| PDX (Portland) – YVR | 4x daily |
| PHX (Phoenix) – YVR | 2x daily |
| RDU (Raleigh) – YVR | 3x weekly (new route) |
| SAN (San Diego) – YVR | 3x daily |
| SEA (Seattle) – YVR | 5x daily |
| SFO (San Francisco) – YVR | 4x daily |
| SMF (Sacramento) – YVR | 2x daily |
| SNA (Orange County) – YVR | 1x daily |
| TPA (Tampa) – YVR | 2x weekly (new route) |
Earning points & miles on these flights
Most people who fly on these new and existing routes choose to credit these flights to Air Canada Aeroplan but you can also opt to credit these flights to any other Star Alliance or airline partner that provides for earning on Air Canada. .
When it comes to paying for flights on Air Canada your best bet to earning the most points is to use the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card as it earn 3 points per dollar spent on Air Canada flights. Other options include the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card or the American Express Aeroplan Card which both earn 2 points per dollar on Air Canada flights.
Booking this flight with points
The new Vancouver to U.S. flights fall into Aeroplan’s 1,500 – 2,7500 distance band for award flights within North America. This band sees most one way Economy class rewards fall in between 12,500 – 17,500 points (approx. 80% of all awards should fall into this range) and Business 25,000 – 60,000 points (approx. 80% of all awards should fall into this range)
Award pricing for Air Canada is fully dynamic so those points ranges are simply a guideline and the actual points required may end up being lower or higher than what is published (as shown in the example below the chart). Don’t forget you can also received preferred award pricing on this route by having an Aeroplan co-brand credit card
Wrapping it up
Air Canada is making a big push for the transborder market out of YVR with three new routes and expanded capacity on others. Some these routes compete directly with WestJet’s direct and even connecting flights via YYC. Such is the case with Vancouver to Raleigh as AC will be looking at getting those who want direct non-stop flights versus WestJet’s one stop connection in YYC.
Images via Air Canada