PointsNerd

Aeroplan’s Mini-RTW – Part 4 – Airlines with No Fuel Surcharge – Asia

Jayce
This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Aeroplan's Mini-RTW

As we continue on with the mini-RTW redemption series, we will take a look at airlines that can get you to Asia without fuel surcharge.  This list has expanded in the past couple of years due to some countries making it illegal to charge fuel or carrier surcharges, which is fantastic.

Structure

I, like many of you, would rather have as few connections as possible to get to your final destination, so I will be focusing on the finding the best possible route to Europe through each major Canadian city.

In terms of which airline you should fly, it’s going to come down to personal preference and availability.  If you are lucky enough to have a choice of no YQ airlines to fly to Asia, I would encourage you to watch a few YouTube reviews on the airline to see if it’s right for you.

I won’t be going into depth about Fuel/Carrier Surcharge (YQ) but if you want some more background, please refer to my previous post on the subject.

I will go through each major Canadian city and provide some options to get to Asia.  I’m not claiming that this is a complete list but I’ll try to give you some solid options and hopefully, you can extrapolate from there.

I will also refer to cities using their IATA code so if you don’t know them, I would encourage you to learn them but until you do, you can refer to the IATA city and airline lookup tool.

Key Airlines to Asia

The following are key airlines that do not charge fuel surcharge, their IATA code (in brackets) and the cities in North America that they have a direct flight to with Canadian cities bolded.  If the airline does not charge a fuel/carrier surcharge but does not fly direct to North America, they are not included in this list.

I should note that while Air China (CA) is listed below, they have proven to be almost impossible to book due to very limited availability.  Keep this in mind if you are looking to use them to get to Asia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canadian City Suggested Routings

Like the Europe routings we explored in Part 3, we will look at all the Canadian city suggested routings starting in the west and working east.  I again apologize in advance if I didn’t include your city but hopefully, you’ll start to understand how to think about the problem and look for routes that work for you.

As before, you can connect through the Canadian hubs to Asia such as Vancouver but you will have to fly Air Canada and that means fuel surcharge.

[highlight color=”#eeee22″ rounded=”no” class=”” id=””]Air Canada charges a LOT of fuel/carrier surcharge on their reward flights with one exception … flights to countries that have made it illegal to collect fuel surcharge.  In Asia, that includes Japan, so in this post, you may see Air Canada sprinkled in but keep in mind that this is the exception, not the rule.  Also, keep in mind that this could change at any time.[/highlight]

Once you get to Asia, finding flights that can get to your chosen city in that region is pretty easy, so our primary concern is getting across the Pacific Ocean.

Vancouver (YVR)

If Toronto and Montreal were the European gateways, Vancouver most definitely serves as the Canadian gateway to Asia.  If you live in Vancouver and want to go to Asia, you live in the perfect city as you are likely to be able to find a direct flight to a major hub in Asia.  In the unlikely event that you cannot find availability through Vancouver, you can always connect to a United hub like San Francisco, which will give you the option of 12 different Asian hubs to fly to.

Air Canada (AC)
YVR-NRT

Air China (CA)
YVR-PEK

ANA (NH)
YVR-HND

EVA Airlines (BR)
YVR-TPE

United Airlines (UA)
YVR-SFO-HND/NRT/KIX/ICN/PEK/XIY/CTU/PVG/HGH/TPE/HKG/SIN
YVR-LAX-NRT/PVG
YVR-DEN-NRT
YVR-IAH-NRT
YVR-ORD-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG

Calgary (YYC)

Unfortunately, your choices are limited in Calgary but as I had mentioned earlier in the post, Japan provides a safe haven for YQ free flights and with a direct flight from Calgary to Tokyo (NRT) on Air Canada, it’s probably the easiest way to get across the Pacific.  Add to the fact that the route is serviced by Air Canada’s new 787 Dreamliner, it starts to become a very good option.  If you can’t find availability, you could always route through a United hub to get across the ocean.

Air Canada (AC)
YYC-NRT

United (UA)
YYC-SFO-HND/NRT/KIX/ICN/PEK/XIY/CTU/PVG/HGH/TPE/HKG/SIN
YYC–DEN-NRT
YYC-IAH-NRT
YYC-ORD-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG

Edmonton (YEG)

Edmonton features absolutely no international flights with Star Alliance so you are forced to connect.  The best options are to connect with United through either Denver or Houston to Tokyo or through Vancouver but again, if you connect through Vancouver, you will fly with Air Canada, which will have fuel/carrier surcharge.

United (UA)
YEG-IAH-NRT
YEG–DEN-NRT

Air Canada (AC) and EVA Airlines (BR)
YQR-YVR-TPE

Air Canada (AC) and Air China (CA)
YEG-YVR-PEK

Air Canada (AC) and ANA (NH)
YEG-YVR-HND

Regina (YQR)

Regina is another Canadian city that simply isn’t serviced with direct international flights or even direct flights to the US.  If you live in Regina, you are forced to fly Air Canada before your onward connection.

Air Canada (AC) and EVA Airlines (BR)
YQR-YYZ-TPE
YQR-YVR-TPE

Air Canada (AC) and Air China(CA)
YQR-YVR-PEK
YQR-YUL-PEK

Air Canada (AC) and ANA (NH)
YQR-YVR-HND

Winnipeg (YWG)

Winnipeg is very similar to Edmonton and Regina in that there are no direct international flights from the city.  You are forced to connect through a US city to Tokyo (NRT) or through Vancouver or Toronto.  That connection would be with Air Canada and would thus attract YQ.

United (UA)
YWG–DEN-NRT
YWG-ORD-NRT

Air Canada (AC) and EVA Airlines (BR)
YWG-YYZ-TPE
YWG-YVR-TPE

Air Canada (AC) and Air China (CA)
YWG-YUL-PEK
YWG-YVR-PEK

Air Canada (AC) and ANA (NH)
YWG-YVR-HND

Toronto (YYZ)

Hazah!  Finally, Toronto gets the short end of the straw on award redemptions.  For most award flights, Toronto is the place to be but for flights to Asia, they are quite limited if you want to fly YQ free.

Air Canada (AC)
YYZ-NRT

EVA Airlines (BR)
YYZ-TPE

United Airlines (UA)
YYZ-DEN-NRT
YYZ-ORD-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG
YYZ-IAH-NRT
YYZ-IAD-NRT/PEK
YYZ-EWR-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG

Air Canada (AC) and Air China (CA)
YYZ-YUL-PEK

Ottawa (YOW)

While Ottawa does not have any direct flights to Asia, it is well located so you can get there with one connection on United.  You could also try connecting through Toronto if you want to fly EVA Airlines or Montreal for Air China.

United Airlines (UA)
YOW-ORD-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG
YOW-IAD-NRT/PEK
YOW-EWR-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG

Air Canada (AC) and EVA Airlines (BR)
YOW-YYZ-TPE

Air Canada (AC) and Air China (CA)
YOW-YUL-PEK

Montreal (YUL)

Montreal has one direct flight to Asia on non-YQ carrier Air China, so if you don’t mind flying with that airline, you can get there fairly easily.  You also have the option to connect to Asia through a United hub in the US.

Air China (CA)
YUL-PEK

United Airlines (UA)
YUL-ORD-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG
YUL-IAD-NRT/PEK
YUL-EWR-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG

Halifax (YHZ)

With Halifax, your options are limite to a connection in either Toronto (YYZ) or New York (EWR)

Air Canada (AC) and EVA Airlines (BR)
YHZ-YYZ-TPE

United Airlines (UA)
YHZ-EWR-NRT/PEK/PVG/HKG

St John’s (YYT)

Little choice is the theme of the day for St John’s.  If you live in St John’s you probably know there are no direct flights internationally except for London with Air Canada so you are forced to connect to either Toronto or Montreal to get to Asia.

Air Canada (AC)
YYT-YYZ-NRT

Air Canada (AC) and EVA Airlines (BR)
YYT-YYZ-TPE

Air Canada (AC) and Air China (CA)
YYT-YUL-PEK

Conclusion

Like travel to Europe on a mini-RTW, Asia has many options, especially if you consider that fuel/carrier surcharges are currently illegal in Japan.  This opens up a world of possible routes even from cities that typically do not have direct routes to Asia, like Calgary.

Now that you have seen how to get to Europe and Asia on non-YQ airlines, hopefully, you can see how you can leverage this information to build your own mini-RTW.

I don’t think I will do a post on trips to Africa or Australia on non-YQ airlines as you would typically have to route through Europe or Asia respectively since there are very few direct routes to those continents.  If I get a lot of comments asking for it, perhaps I can write a supplement to the series later on.

Next Up

Next up, we will build a mini-RTW from scratch so if you have an idea of where you would like to go on a mini-RTW, leave a comment below and I’ll see if I can figure something out for you.  If you are interested, leave your three cities, your dates of travel, how many passengers and the class of service you are after.

Series Navigation<< Aeroplan’s Mini-RTW – Part 3 – Airlines with No Fuel Surcharge – Europe