Hopper Editors - Thu Oct 26 2017
Armed with Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport alike, Canada now boasts air connections to some seriously far-flung corners of the globe. These flights see North Americans transported to the frenetic food courts of downtown Taipei, the barbecue-dotted coastlines of New South Wales, the sprawling megalopolises of Pakistan, and outposts right on the edge of the mighty Hindu Kush, to name just a few. Passengers clock up some pretty daunting flight times and distances along the way. Here's a look at the 10 longest flights currently on offer from Canada, which cover upwards of 11,000 kilometers in the air and take as much as 15 hours from departure to arrival—enjoy!
With an average ticket price that's upwards of CAD$6,000 return, it's likely that these serious long haul connections to Islamabad with Pakistan's national flag carrier will remain off the radar for many Canadian travelers this year. However, they are certainly worth considering if you're looking to case out the mysterious reaches of the high Himalayas, between the verdant rises of the Margalla Hills just on the edge of town and the remote valleys of Gilgit deep in the Hindu Kush to the north.
The second Pakistani city to make this list comes in the form of Lahore, a grand and imposing patchwork of Mughal fortresses, arabesque domes, and post-colonial relics of the British Raj that has established itself firmly as the nation's cultural hub. That means travelers on these lengthy 11,243-kilometer connections from Toronto will have plenty to look forward to — from the UNESCO-attested sights of the great Walled City to the Fasting Buddha statue of the acclaimed Lahore Museum.
Between the bubbling sulfur springs of Rotorua to the hip and happening coffee bars of burgeoning Ponsonby to the picture-perfect surfing spots of the Coromandel Peninsula, Auckland is arguably one of the most attractive international destinations currently on offer to fliers out of Canada. It's certainly one of the furthest afield too, with these daunting direct connections from Vancouver clocking up more than 11,300 kilometers in the air!
A neon-lit mind-boggling metropolis to rival the likes of Moscow and New York, London and Los Angeles, Shanghai has risen to become one of the world's undisputed bucket-list-topping towns for city lovers. That's probably why SkyTeam flier China Eastern opted to start these direct connections between Toronto and the city's Pudong International Airport last year, garnering a seventh position on this list of the longest nonstoppers out of Canada overall!
This return trip connection with the Ethiopian flag carrier currently offers Torontonians a gateway to the untamed landscapes and enthralling cities of East Africa three times a week. It also ranks as the fifth longest nonstop flight currently on offer from Canada overall. That means passengers on the daunting 11,600-kilometer, 14-hour journey would do well to remember the buzzing Ethiopian marketplaces, the trekking paths of Entoto Mountain, and the wonders of the Rift Valley that await after arrival!
Away from the soaring, snow-tipped heights of the Hindu Kush, Pakistan's largest metropolis (now a whopping 23.5 million people and counting) offers a gateway to the wondrous sights that await visitors. Find the coastal stretches of the Arabian Sea; the bustling promenades of Clifton Beach; and the gravity-defying hoodoos and volcanic mounds of the Hungol National Park. All that makes the 14-hour, 11,675-kilometer journey on flag carrier Pakistan Airlines, seem totally worth it — don't you think?
Touched by the shaping hands of the Han and Qing Dynasties from across the Taiwan Strait, alive with a thriving modern energy and flair of its own, the sprawling megacity of Taipei is on the up as a tourist destination in the Far East (is it surprising?). And what better way to case out the colossal town than by taking a colossal air connection nonstop across the Pacific from Toronto, flying on award-winning carrier EVA Air for an average of just CAD$1,568 round trip?
Forget the North Shore ranges and the icy waters of English Bay and think instead of the sunny stretches of Bondi Beach and the bucket-list attractions of Sydney Harbour and Luna Park, because that's what's on offer to travelers on the third-longest air connection currently leaving Canada's runways. That said, at a massive 12,514 kilometers in length and 15.5 hours flight time, the journey with the national flag carrier won't exactly be a walk in the park!
If you're thinking about trading in the waters of Lake Ontario for something a little more exotic this year, then the second-longest nonstop flight currently on offer to Canadanans may just be the perfect thing. It goes straight to the hubbub of Chinese Hong Kong, which sits in the swells of the Pearl River Estuary just across from Macau, awash with sunny beaches, temple-peppered hills, dolphin-dotted waters, and one seriously frenetic urban heart, where dim sum food courts are set to the rattle of trams and the confident strut of suited businessfolk alike.
Whether you're pining for a bout of Southeast Asian sunbathing on the legendary beaches of Bantayan Island, an intrepid trek through the broadleaf rainforests of Luzon, or a metropolitan foray in the heady conglomeration of suburbs and shiny new high-rises that is Manila itself, these air connections from Toronto to the Filipino capital promise to get you to the tropics without the need for stopovers. Clocking up a whopping 13,232 kilometers in the air and taking 15 hours from departure to arrival, these are the longest direct flights currently on offer from Canada overall!