Economy class seats are seen on Air Canada’s new Airbus A321XLR aircraft during a media preview at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on June 5, 2026. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
Air Canada says it is pausing and reducing service to a number of U.S. destinations this winter due to weak demand.
The suspended routes are similar to those paused by Air Canada last winter and include Montreal to Detroit, Montreal to Minneapolis, Toronto to Indianapolis. The airline is also delaying the start of seasonal flights from Ottawa to Fort Lauderdale, Quebec City to Orlando, and Montreal to Palm Beach.
“Air Canada regularly reviews its schedule to ensure capacity is aligned with customer demand and seasonal travel patterns,” the airline said in a July 6 statement to media, noting that eight U.S. routes are affected in total and also include routes from Montreal and Toronto to JFK Airport in New York that are not expected to run this winter.
Additionally, the airline said last month that it was cutting and pausing some routes for summer. Air Canada has also brought up fuel costs, noting that it suspended its full-year 2026 financial guidance this past April due to “volatility and uncertainty in relation to jet fuel prices for the second half of the year.”
Declining Canadian Travel to US
Air Canada’s pause and delay of some routes come as Canadian travel to the United States continues to be below levels seen prior to the start of trade disputes between Washington and Ottawa early last year.
This includes declining numbers of Canadians returning from the United States by air, which fell 28 percent between May 2024 and May 2026, according to Statistics Canada.
A survey last fall from The Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada found only 10 percent of Canada’s Baby Boomers said they had plans to travel to the United States in the winter. This represented a 66 percent decline from survey results from one year prior.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
