Sacramento to Vancouver flights take off Friday

Sacramento to Vancouver flights take off Friday
Sacramento Business Journal - 4:19 PM PDT Thursday, June 14, 2007
by Melanie Turner
Staff writer

Air Canada Jazz is set to launch nonstop service to Vancouver, B.C., from Sacramento International Airport on Friday following a ceremonial presentation by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Honor Guard and the singing of both countries' national anthems by a member of the Canadian Royal Police.

Air Canada Jazz is the second foreign carrier to offer flights from Sacramento International Airport. The airline will offer twice-daily nonstop service from Sacramento to Vancouver, B.C.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based airline, Air Canada's regional carrier, will depart Sacramento at 7:40 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Flights from Vancouver will arrive in the capital at 3:52 p.m. and 9:47 p.m. Flights have been timed to coincide with connections in Vancouver to and from Air Canada's flights to Asia and points across Canada.

People traveling from Sacramento to Europe or Asia often fly out of San Francisco or Los Angeles. Danna Siverts, sales and marketing associate for Vancouver Airport Authority, said it makes more sense to fly north.

"It's all about ease and convenience," she said. "You shouldn't have to fly south to go north."

There are 117 flights a week to Asia out of Vancouver International Airport, Siverts said.

Mexicana Airlines is the airport's only other international carrier. That airline began service from Sacramento International on July 1, 2002. Domestic carrier Frontier Airlines also launched international nonstop service to Mexico earlier this year.