TORONTO — Both Etihad Airways and Emirates have announced that they will be ramping up service from Toronto to the United Arab Emirates following news of Canada’s expanded air transport agreements with the UAE and Egypt.

Etihad will be increasing service from Abu Dhabi to Toronto, effective Oct. 28, 2018, from three to five weekly services. The flights will be operated by Boeing 777-300 ER and depart Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

According to Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, Toronto is one of the airline’s most successful and popular destinations in its global route network.

“We have welcomed well over a million guests on our flights to Toronto since we launched the service almost 13 years ago. This news has been eagerly anticipated,” he said.

Meanwhile, Emirates will also introduce two additional flights to its YYZ service, which will operate on Saturday and Sunday, starting Aug. 18.

The new flight schedule will depart Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Toronto at 2:25 p.m. and arrive in Dubai at 11:40 a.m. the following day. Return flights will depart Dubai at 3:30 a.m. and arrive in Toronto at 9:30 a.m. Both flights will be operated by the iconic Emirates A380, with private suites in First Class, lie-flat seats in Business and spacious seats in Economy.

Emirates recently celebrated 10 years of operations in Canada last October. Over the past decade, it has introduced new aircraft on the route from a Boeing 777 in October 2007 to the flagship A380 in 2009. The A380 scheduled service increased passenger capacity on the Toronto service by 40%, and since then passenger occupancy on the route has averaged 90% with demand outstripping supply.

The additional frequency will add 65% capacity to the market.

Both service updates were made on the heels of the Honourable Marc Garneau’s announcement on July 27. Canada’s Minister of Transport unveiled expanded air transport agreements with both the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, saying that they are a “positive development for air transport relations between our countries”, and that they will “facilitate tourism, trade and investment between Canada and these countries and help our businesses grow and succeed.”

The Canada-Egypt air transport agreement has been expanded to allow designated airlines to operate up to seven passenger flights per week, up from four. In addition, designated airlines can now serve any city in the other country’s territory.

As for the expanded Canada-United Arab Emirates air transport agreement, each government can now allocate 68% more capacity among its designated air carriers (ie. the number of seats that carriers can sell). Moreover, the agreement now contains four dedicated frequencies for all-cargo flights for the first time.

These expanded agreements with Egypt and the UAE were reached under Canada’s Blue Sky policy, which encourages long-term, sustainable competition and the development of international air services.

Under this policy, the Government of Canada has concluded new or expanded air transport agreements covering 104 countries.