Sichuan Airlines enters N. American market

Sichuan Airlines flew into the Vancouver market, on its inaugural flight Friday, becoming the first carrier to link western China with Canada.

For the Chengdu-based carrier, the Vancouver line designed to be three times a week, which includes a stopover in Shenyang, is its eighth international route and first foray into the North American market.

The carrier's entry into the Canadian market comes at an opportune time as Chinese visitors to the country have increased dramatically after it received Approved Destination Status (ADS) from China in June 2010.

Last year, its first full year of the ADS, 242,000 Chinese travelers visited Canada. The Canadian Tourism Commission is forecasting the number of Chinese arrivals to jump 21.3 percent this year and 25.2 percent in 2013.

With Sichuan Airlines entering a crowded Vancouver market that is already serviced by Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, in addition to Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific and Air Canada, the availability of more flights would only foster greater tourism and business travel, said Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast.

"For me as trade minister, it's really important that we allow business between Canada and China to take place in a more expedited manner," said Fast, who is also the Asia-Pacific Gateway minister.

"We want to make sure that people who are doing business between Canada and China can do so efficiently with convenient flights to and from our respective countries, and I think in the future it bodes very well for deepening our trade and investment relationship, as well as our people-to-people ties."

China is now Canada's second largest trading partner after the United States as the two countries recorded a two-way merchandise trade of 65 billion Canadian dollars (65 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011, partly fuelled by a 27 percent rise in Canadian exports to China.

"This route has real opportunity for both China and Canada," said Lan Xinguo, chairman of Sichuan Airlines, who arrived on the inaugural flight carrying 245 passengers aboard an Airbus 330 jet. The total flight time, with the Shenyang stopover, was 12 hours and 50 minutes.

"We can provide opportunities for each other in agriculture, education and tourism areas in the future," Lan said.

A report said the Vancouver airport was losing 950,000 passengers annually to airports in Seattle and Bellingham in the bordering Washington State, mainly for cheaper airfares to American destinations such as Hawaii, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, among others.

But according to the British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, arrivals of Chinese nationals were up 24.9 percent to 25,598 in the first quarter of 2012 compared to a year earlier. In addition, the arrivals of Chinese nationals have increased 40 percent at the Vancouver airport since the 2010 ADS approval.

"Certainly to the economy of the airport, it (the Sichuan Airlines arrival) is very important, because there's landing fees and other shopping experience that go with this," Larry Berg, president and chief executive officer of Vancouver Airport Authority, told Xinhua.

"We have 61 flights a week now between Vancouver and China, including Hong Kong, so that's probably about the most of any airport in North America."

The international trade minister also said he had been in discussion with Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney about making it easier for Chinese visitors to get visas to ensure there is a "plan going forward to leverage these new flights" into significant economic growth.

He added there had also been talks of encouraging more Canadians to visit China with the increased flights.

"It should be a two-way street and so we're going to continue to work hard, especially through the Canadian Tourism Commission, to also let the public know about the opportunity to visit an incredible country, and a very diverse country that offers so much for tourists," he said.