OREANDA-NEWS. Vancouver Airport Authority today welcomed All Nippon Airways (ANA) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The new daily non-stop service to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) marks ANA’s first flight to Canada and is an example of how liberalized air-service agreements create jobs at YVR and in the province.

“More than 350 jobs have been created here at YVR and throughout British Columbia, as a direct result of ANA’s new daily service to Tokyo Haneda Airport,” said Craig Richmond. “YVR already offers the most capacity to Japan of any other Canadian airport and ANA’s decision to fly here further strengthens our position as North America’s gateway of choice to the Asia-Pacific region.”

The new daily service to HND is made possible by recent liberalization to Canada’s air-service agreement with Japan. It increases YVR’s overall capacity to Tokyo by 30 per cent, complementing existing daily service to Narita International Airport (NRT), which is located approximately 60 km from Tokyo’s downtown core. Originally the main international airport for Tokyo until NRT opened in 1978, HND is located just 15 km from Tokyo’s core. It is the second busiest airport in Asia and the fourth busiest in the world.

“We are excited to be part of the YVR family,” said Yuji Hirako, Senior Vice President of ANA, The Americas. “Haneda is conveniently located in the heart of the metropolitan Tokyo. ANA offers better connectivity at Haneda not only to the customers who travel between Canada and Tokyo, but also those who travel to other regional cities within Japan.”

Japan and British Columbia have a long and significant history of cultural and economic links. As the world’s third-largest economy, Japan offers B.C. businesses many opportunities to increase exports by taking advantage of its high demand for energy resources, raw materials, seafood and international education. In 2012, USD 101 million worth of B.C. exports left YVR for Japan, making it the third largest market, by value, served from the airport.

“This new air service from Japan further strengthens our already excellent air connections to Asia,” said B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone. “Attracting new air passenger and cargo routes is a key pillar of our Pacific Gateway Transportation Strategy and the BC Jobs Plan. With All Nippon Airways now touching down in Vancouver, business travellers and tourists will have better access to more destinations in B.C., Canada, Japan and Asia.

The 350 new jobs created by ANA’s new service add to the 1,494 local jobs already created by existing flights to Japan from YVR. In total, YVR’s three daily flights to Japan will generate an estimated USD 64.8 million in wages, USD 36.1 million in taxes and USD 99.3 million in added Gross Domestic Product for the province. With more than 23,600 people working on Sea Island, YVR is one of British Columbia’s key economic and employment generators.

ANA’s new service to YVR will use Boeing 767-300 aircraft, with capacity for 214 passengers. Flights arrive to YVR at 2:55 PM and depart at 4:55 PM.