Plans for a direct flight service between downtown Vancouver and Seattle have been in talks for seven long years; however, the plans are coming into fruition this spring.

Now, a pilot program is launching between the two cities.

The service offers an extremely convenient option for business travellers who won’t spend long in each city. Vancouver’s Harbour Air Group struck a deal with Seattle’s Kenmore Air to provide flights four times per week between the two city centres.

The non-stop flights will operate of Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre in Coal Harbour and Seattle’s Lake Union.

As a result, the service will allow the two tech hubs to have efficient access. Otherwise travellers face long waits at the border or checking into the main airports with all the other traffic.

What’s more, Facebook just announced that they plan to open a second corporate office on Burrard Street next year. This means that there will be even more business trips between the two city centres.

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Downtown Vancouver and Seattle

Premier John Horgan announced that BC is investing $300,000 to a business case study that Washington State has commissioned. It’ll examine the feasibility of a high-speed rail connection between Seattle and Vancouver. Until that’s completed, however, the flights offer a viable alternative.

With that in mind, the train could anywhere between $24 billion to $42 billion U.S, meaning that the flights are much more economical.

The flights will take less than an hour to complete.