Air Canada is adjusting its flight schedules to the U.S. due to rising jet fuel costs and decreased demand for travel south of the border. The airline is pausing or postponing eight transborder routes starting this autumn, including three routes from Toronto and Montreal to cities in the Midwest that will be canceled for the second consecutive winter. Additionally, three seasonal routes from Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City to Florida will now begin in December instead of October. Two previously suspended routes from Montreal and Toronto to New York’s JFK airport will not be reinstated this winter.
Earlier this year, Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat reduced their summer flight capacity to the U.S. as escalating jet fuel prices, driven by the conflict in the Middle East, made some routes unprofitable. Statistics Canada’s preliminary data revealed a 28% drop in the number of Canadians flying back from the U.S. between May 2024 and May of this year.
In response to these changes, Air Canada’s spokesperson Angela Mah mentioned that the airline regularly evaluates its schedule to match capacity with customer demand and seasonal travel trends. While the airline plans to resume service to JFK in the future, it intends to enhance its New York presence by offering up to five daily flights between Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport and LaGuardia Airport this winter.