Air Canada Changes 5th Freedom Boeing 787 Dreamliner London Heathrow Flights
Image: Oliver Holzbauer, Flickr
Air Canada has been chopping and changing its Indian operations recently, partly due to the inability to fly over Russian and Ukrainian airspace. It has removed the seasonal Calgary-London Heathrow-Delhi fifth freedom service, which operated in winter 2024/2025. In its place is Toronto-Heathrow-Mumbai, which Air Canada operated in winter 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.
Until the carrier’s latest schedule update, it had intended to fly Toronto-Mumbai non-stop this coming winter. However, while it had that ambition last winter, flights stopped in Frankfurt to refuel en route back to Canada’s busiest airport. It has decided to do away with that risk and uncertainty completely.
Air Canada Returns To Toronto-Heathrow-Mumbai, Just On Its Smallest Widebody
Image: Great Circle Mapper
Based on IATA slot seasons, carriers in the Northern Hemisphere, including Air Canada, will switch to winter schedules on 26 October. Many seasonal and new routes will begin on or around that date. They include Air Canada reintroducing a daily Toronto-Heathrow-Mumbai service, timed as follows. The first departure will leave Toronto on 25 October, with Heathrow-Mumbai lifting off the following day.
When that long route was previously operated, Canada’s flag carrier flew the 298-seat Boeing 787-9. When it flew Calgary-Heathrow-Delhi, it also primarily used that variant, although the 400-seat 777-300ER appeared occasionally. Things will be different now, with Mumbai scheduled to see the airline’s 255-seat 787-8, its smallest widebody. Air Canada’s last regular 787-8 flight to Heathrow was in October 2024.
Toronto-Heathrow: AC856, 21:20-08:30+1 (local)
Heathrow-Mumbai: AC856, 12:00-02:15+1 (local)
Mumbai-Heathrow: AC857, 04:10-09:20 (local)
Heathrow-Toronto: AC857, 13:00-17:05 (local)
Heathrow’s Mumbai Flights Return To 8x Daily
Image: Oliver Holzbauer, Flickr
Heathrow to Mumbai is a huge market. In 2024, an estimated 639,000 two-way point-to-point passengers flew between the two airports. This is regardless of whether they flew non-stop or connected en route in Europe or the Gulf.
With Air Canada’s return, four airlines will operate non-stop again, as outlined below. They’ll have 8 daily departures in the winter. Mumbai will be Heathrow’s most-served Asian airport (excluding the Middle East). Flights have doubled compared to before the pandemic in winter 2019/2020.
Air Canada: daily 787-8
Air India: 2 daily 777-300ER
British Airways: 3 daily A350-1000, 777-200ER, 787-9
Virgin Atlantic: 2 daily A350-1000, 787-9