Airspace restrictions make flights costlier, longer

Wendy Wang, a Chinese Canadian who has lived in Toronto with her family for more than a decade, hasn't been to her home country for more than three years since the pandemic.

Now, it is time to visit her parents in North China. But there's one problem: There are a limited number of flights and the air tickets are expensive, she said.

"I booked a round trip to China recently. The flight will be from Toronto to Beijing via the Republic of Korea; I have to spend more than 35 hours and (it will) cost approximately C$4,000($2,936) for a one-stop travel, which is almost three times longer and twice more expensive than before (pandemic). It's really hard."

Wang's dilemma is typical of thousands of passengers looking to travel. According to the latest data from travel app Expedia, flight searches for travel in March and April are up 40 percent compared with the same period last year, with interest in destinations from Asia to Europe seeing double-digit increases compared with the spring break last year.

While demand soars, travelers from North America to Asia across the Pacific will continue to fork out more than usual for flights this year due to myriad reasons.

Soaring costs, labor shortages and the closure of Russian airspace are all pushing up prices, experts said.

Economy fares to Asia from North America and Europe are set to rise 9.5 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively, this year compared with last year.

In response to airspace prohibitions on Russia at the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, Russia barred Canadian, US, British and European Union operators from its airspace over a year ago.

Before the airspace bans, flight paths to Asia did not cut straight across the Pacific Ocean but rather took the shortest possible route by tracing an arc through the Arctic Circle and eastern Russia. Following the ban, Canadian planes headed to East Asia and South Asia have to skirt Russian airspace daily.

The adjusted routes can be 10 percent longer. This applies to flights from Vancouver to Hong Kong or from Toronto to Delhi. Other nonstop routes also require a course correction.

Peter Fitzpatrick, manager of corporate communications at Air Canada, told The Canadian Press that many of the airline's routes to Asia and the Middle East have had some rerouting.

"Longer routes increase costs and fuel consumption, and reduce passenger capacity and cargo loads, making certain routes uncompetitive and/or economically unviable," Fitzpatrick said.

Asia is one of Air Canada's key markets. Flights to Asian countries accounted for more than 14 percent of its $17 billion revenue in 2019. Moreover, travel between China and North America has been accelerating since China eased its pandemic travel restrictions.

Lucie Guillemette, former executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of Air Canada, said that despite challenges in the last few years, the airline industry needs to increase its capacity to the Asia-Pacific market, where business is booming.

"We're extremely pleased and we're also very encouraged by the demand trends that we're observing in the Asia-Pacific market. We're restoring nearly 60 percent of our 2019 capacity in 2023. We see strong and clear signs of recovery."