International service from Jacksonville returns with Air Canada flights to Toronto

Jacksonville will be back in the international flight club when Air Canada starts non-stop service in May to Toronto where the airport is a hub for flights to other cities around the world.

The Air Canada flights will have a travel time of about 2 hours and 45 minutes for a trip to Toronto Pearson International Airport on 76-seat planes. The daily service will begin on May 22 and marks a return by Air Canada to Jacksonville International Airport.

“These flights will connect Jacksonville with Toronto, our largest unserved Canadian market, but they are also perfectly timed to offer Northeast Floridians easy connections to additional destinations in Canada, Europe and Asia,” Jacksonville Aviation Authority CEO Mark VanLoh said.

The Toronto flight is Jacksonville International Airport's only international service, but the aviation authority is constantly making the case to airlines that there's enough passenger demand to support non-stop routes to cities outside the United States. Those talks typically unfold over a number of years.

"It's a long game you're playing," said Greg Willis, director of marketing and public relations at the aviation authority.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan has said she wants to see Jacksonville get direct service to London, which the aviation authority has been pursuing. She made the case for that route when she traveled last year to London with other Jacksonville officials for meetings about expanding business ties during the week before an overseas Jaguars game.

Jacksonville has never been a hub for international flights, though it offers frequent flights to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and New York City airports that have connections for those long-distance trips.

Jacksonville currently has non-stop flights to Puerto Rico but those technically are not international flights because Puerto Rico is a territory of United States.

Air Canada is adding Jacksonville to a number of Florida cities it already serves — Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers.

Air Canada is no stranger to Jacksonville because it's had service to the city before, most recently from May 2016 to April 2019.

The Air Canada flights between Jacksonville and Toronto will have 12 business-class seats and 64 standard seats. Air Canada Express will operate the service.

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The flight will depart Jacksonville at 10 a.m. and land in Toronto at 12:45 p.m. The return flight will leave Toronto at 6:30 p.m. and arrive in Jacksonville at 9:12 p.m.

Willis said that's a schedule that dovetails with flights from Toronto to other cities in Europe and Asia.

"The point-to-point connection (with Toronto) is important but it's also the ease which you can connect with other international destinations," he said.

For information about booking flights on Air Canada, go to www.aircanada.com .

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: International service from Jacksonville returns with Air Canada flights to Toronto