Air China adds Havana to Beijing-Montreal

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People load luggage from a Miami charter flight onto a car at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana August 30, 2014. Cuba has raised duties and restricted imports on consumer goods brought in by air travelers or sent by mail, imposing greater hardship for a fledgling private sector and angering people looking to counter chronic shortages. The new restrictions, which began on Monday, take aim at black market dealers of goods that are hard to find on store shelves or come with steep excise taxes, while protecting the state monopoly on selling imported goods. They also burden Cubans who run small businesses like restaurants and beauty parlors and depend on travelers carrying suitcases full of goods into the country. Picture taken August 30, 2014. REUTERS/Enrique De La Osa (CUBA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR44JEJ

Air China will start its new three-times weekly Beijing-Montreal-Havana service using B777-300ER aircraft on 27 December which adds a southward extension to Havana on the carrier’s Beijing-Montreal service already started on 29 September. In recent years, the economic and trade ties between China and Cuba have become increasingly close and the Air China’s new service marks the first between Cuba and China.
The Beijing-Montreal-Havana service represents a tangible move by Air China to expand its footprint in the Central and South American regions. In 2015, Air China has been cementing its global route network with its hub in Beijing and the expansion of its presence in the Americas. The new service will bring the number of destinations in the Americas that Air China serves up to 10, including New York (JFK, Newark ), Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Vancouver, Montreal, Hawaii, Sao Paulo and Havana. Air China now offers over 140 flights per week, linking to North Americ, Central America and South America.