Air Canada has launched its non-stop flight between Montreal and Tokyo.

While the inaugural flight was operated with a Boeing 787-9, the route is scheduled to be flown with a 787-8, daily during the summer and three times a week in the winter.

“This further reflects Air Canada’s commitment to support the local business and tourism community through its ongoing international growth strategy from Montreal, following the introduction of non-stop flights to Shanghai, Lima, Algiers and upcoming launches to Dublin, Bucharest and Lisbon,” said Mark Galardo, vice president of network planning at Air Canada.

François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of international trade, said that in addition to two direct flights from Montreal to Beijing and Shanghai, this marks the third direct air link between Montreal and Asia launched in the past three years, setting the stage for closer commercial ties.

“Asia is one of the most economically dynamic regions in the world, and Japan is our largest trading partner within the recently concluded Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement,” he said. “As Canadian companies continue to seek to diversify their export markets, this new flight to Japan will play a key role in underpinning their efforts and also in further spurring Montreal’s already impressive international profile, as well as its connections to both Japan, and beyond.”

The schedule for the new flight is as follows.