Originally Posted by
toonomadic
As of today, it looks like they are only selling flights starting May 2. Curious if this route will be just outright cancelled at one point, since it hasn't even been opened.
Originally Posted by
ISTFlyer
If I'm not wrong, TK would start the route at some point, most likely when Canada re-opens their border and removes quarantine for arrivals.
Vancouver is a strategic destination for TK and due to the border closures and Canada implementing 15 days of self-isolation where the first 3 days are spent in a hotel room, I don't think there is demand at this point.
I had been about to move over some Marriott points to book some August flights to/from YVR, when the J award space just disappeared yesterday. That's not a great sign IMO, but of course it could be meaningless.
The new Canadian rules about hotel quarantine are completely about dis-incentivising Canadians from travelling internationally. (borders are of course shut to foreigners already) I can't really see that changing until a significant % of the population is vaccinated, and that's not going to happen by May and probably not before the summer. Simply not the time to be launching a new route...
But longer term there still may be a market for South Asia <--> Western Canada that isn't really well served by anybody.