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For Canadians, Air Canada’s greatest advantage is often the simplest one: it can take us where we want to go without a connection. A tempting redemption on another airline might offer better availability or a more interesting routing, but it is hard to beat boarding a flight at home and stepping off at your final destination.
On top of wasting at least half a day on a positioning flight, separate tickets add more chances for delays, missed connections, and other disruptions that can derail the trip.
In the first article, we looked at Air Canada’s 10 longest flights. Now, let’s go through those routes one by one to see what a good Aeroplan price looks like—and when another airline makes more sense.
A Note on Booking Air Canada with Points
The way Aeroplan works is that every Air Canada seat is available for booking, but at various price points depending on demand, a phenomenon known as dynamic pricing.
Admittedly, the trend is to run a search and see hundreds of thousands of points required for a flight, and to think Air Canada flights are just egregiously priced; but the alternative would be no availability at all.
It is true that Air Canada has been very good at monetizing their premium cabins lately, and it’s rare to find “saver” award space available; that is, award space priced at the lowest end of the scale. However, it’s not impossible, and for the routes below, we’ll also discuss booking on a competitor should they fly the same route.
300k+ Aeroplan points one-way is not an atypical search result
As of last week, Aeroplan co-brand cardholders in Canada and the US can save 15% on the points required for eligible Air Canada flight rewards. Elite members should also try booking an Economy Flex or Premium Economy points booking and applying eUpgrades. Even if they don’t clear immediately, there is a decent chance they will by departure time, especially if you’re Aeroplan Elite 50K or above. Of course, this strategy isn’t foolproof, and you may end up in the cabin you originally booked.
If you’re an Aeroplan Elite member with access to Priority Rewards, applying them to these long Air Canada routes is generally a fantastic use of points, even if yours are only applicable to Premium Economy. Book Premium Economy, then apply eUpgrades.
Air Canada Signature Class
With that in mind, here’s how I’d approach each of Air Canada’s 10 longest flights.
Booking Vancouver (YVR) – Singapore (SIN) on Points
If available at the saver price, you can book Vancouver (YVR)–Singapore (SIN) in business class for just over 102,500 Aeroplan points; I’d say somewhere close to 110,000. While not Vancouver, Singapore Airlines flies from Seattle (SEA) and is also bookable on Aeroplan points. Set alerts for award space, and if it opens up, you can book it for the standard partner rate of 102,500 points one-way in business class.
Booking Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD) on Points
It’s the same story as Singapore, where Air Canada is bookable at around 102,500-110,000 points one-way if saver space is available. Alternatively, you can try booking Qantas, but know that Qantas might be even stingier than Air Canada with award space, and flying down under in business class is no easy task.
If Qantas is available, it’s best to book with Alaska Atmos Rewards or American Airlines AAdvantage for 85,000 and 80,000 miles/points, respectively. You can also book with Avios, although high fuel surcharges apply on the Vancouver-to-Sydney route. In the opposite direction, the Australian government imposes regulations on the fuel surcharges.
Aeroplan partner United doesn’t fly from Vancouver, obviously, but it does fly from San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), and Houston (IAH), and costs a flat 102,500 points one-way in business class should you find space.
United opens significantly more business class award space to its own MileagePlus program, and you get a 10% points discount by holding a United co-branded credit card. Bump that up to 15% off if you’re also a United Elite member, and with those two conditions, there’s a shocking amount of award space available for 85,000-90,000 miles one-way — including if you add on a connecting flight from, say, Toronto.
Book Toronto to Sydney in business class for 90,000 United miles
Booking Vancouver (YVR) – Brisbane (BNE) on Points
To Brisbane, Air Canada faces no direct competition, although Aeroplan-partner United flies from San Francisco. Air Canada Signature class will cost around 85,000-90,000 points one-way at the lowest end of the range, while United flights will cost a flat 90,000 points one-way if you can find space. It’s cheaper than Sydney because it’s in a lower-distance pricing band on the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart.
The same concept from Sydney applies to the Brisbane route. The easiest way to book business class to Australia is via United, and you’ll need both a co-branded card and Elite status (Marriott Titanium members automatically get United Premier Silver).
Get United MileagePlus Premier Silver with Marriott Titanium
Booking Vancouver (YVR) – Bangkok (BKK) on Points
Getting this route at the saver price of 85,000-90,000 miles is a deal because there really is no competition. All overflights from Vancouver to Bangkok require a connection somewhere in Asia.
This is one of the top use cases for a Super Elite business class priority reward if you really care about flying direct.
Booking Toronto (YYZ) – Delhi (DEL) on Points
Since we’ve now learned that booking Air Canada Signature Class isn’t simple, I would recommend booking Air India instead. And Air India is not what you think: right now, 7 of 10 weekly rotations are on its brand-new Boeing 787-9 aircraft with its latest business class, and as of January 2027, all 10 flights will feature the new product.
Air India Boeing 787-9 business class
Anshul flew this product from Mumbai (BOM) to Frankfurt (FRA) and felt it more than held its own against competitors.
Business class award space is easier to find and costs 90,000 points one-way.
Book Air India instead of Air Canada
Booking Toronto (YYZ) – Shanghai (PVG) on Points
Flying to China post-pandemic on points is much harder than before, and with demand still sky-high, I would not expect any saver-level business class award space to appear on this route anytime soon.
I wouldn’t expect the price to drop anytime soon
Although compared to connecting twice domestically and then flying from Vancouver, maybe 415,300 points is a deal.
I rarely see flights pricing over 1 million points
If you don’t mind a single connection, the easiest way to fly business class from Toronto to Shanghai is via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific for a total of 119,000 Asia Miles. Cathay’s pretty good about opening award space to its own Asia Miles program.
If you don’t mind a connection, book Cathay Pacific instead
As for the direct flight on China Eastern, you should, in theory, be able to book with Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic, but I’ve never seen any award space from Toronto.
You can book China Eastern on Flying Blue, but I’ve never seen award space to/from Toronto (YYZ)
Booking Vancouver (YVR) – Auckland (AKL) on Points
As with Sydney and Brisbane above, Air Canada saver-level award space is hard to come by, and you’re better off booking United Polaris business class via MileagePlus. If you don’t mind routing through Hong Kong, Cathay charges the same 119,000 miles in business class even after tagging on an extra flight to Oceania.
While Air New Zealand flies this route as well, award space is even rarer than Air Canada. It would cost 85,000 Aeroplan points one-way if available.
Booking Montreal (YUL) – Delhi (DEL) on Points
No other airline competes with Air Canada on this route, so my recommendation to save points and have a great in-flight experience is to take a short positioning flight to Toronto and fly Air India per the example above. You can book both flights on the same ticket for the same price as booking just the Toronto (YYZ)–Delhi (DEL) flight at 90,000 Aeroplan points.
Since it’s on one ticket, your checked bags will go all the way through, and you are protected in case of delays or cancellations.
Booking Toronto (YYZ) – Osaka (KIX) on Points
Like Montreal (YUL)–Delhi (DEL), Air Canada does not face competition on its Toronto (YYZ) – Osaka (KIX) segment. However, saver-level award pricing at 85,000-90,000 points one-way appears much more frequently than Air Canada flights to Singapore or Shanghai.
Therefore, I’d recommend checking the calendar well in advance and setting alerts. Even multiple seats at the lower price are possible, and Air Canada eUpgrades are also a strong possibility here.
If you can’t find anything for your dates, I’d recommend taking a positioning flight to a city where ANA or JAL flies and then flying to Japan. It does add an extra connection, but both ANA and JAL reliably release award space one year out.
Book ANA with Aeroplan instead
Booking Toronto (YYZ) – Seoul (ICN) on Points
As is the norm, Air Canada Signature class dynamic pricing tends to be expensive. When available at the saver price, it should cost 85,000-90,000 points.
Alternatively, book Korean Air with Flying Blue or Alaska Atmos Rewards. However, at the time of writing, there is not a single business class seat available. In these cases, I’d make the same recommendation as above and book a Japanese airline with a connection in Tokyo.
Takeaway
The problem with flying nonstop on Air Canada is that the convenience often comes at a steep price in Aeroplan points. Saver-level Air Canada Signature class awards still exist, but they’re increasingly difficult to find on many of these routes. If you’re flexible, it’s worth looking at alternatives like United to Australia, Air India to Delhi, Cathay Pacific to Asia and Oceania, or ANA and JAL to Japan and Korea rather than paying several hundred thousand Aeroplan points for the nonstop.
Still, if you can find one of these routes near the lower end of Aeroplan’s pricing, use a Priority Reward, and/or successfully apply eUpgrades, Air Canada’s longest flights are among the best ways to use your Aeroplan points.
