Source: The Points Guy
Summary
United Airlines and Air Canada have expanded their partnership, adding new routes between the U.S. and Canada for summer 2027. United will resume service to St. John’s, Newfoundland, and add routes from Denver to Ottawa and Quebec City. Air Canada is launching three new U.S. routes but cutting five others. The expansion is under review by Canadian regulators. Flights between the U.S. and Canada have declined by 6% since 2024, according to Cirium.
Our Reading
The escape is carefully planned.
United adds St. John’s, Denver to Ottawa, Denver to Quebec City.
Air Canada brings Louisville to Toronto, Indianapolis to Montreal, Newark to Edmonton.
Cuts Boston to Toronto, Charleston to Toronto, Nashville to Vancouver, Raleigh to Vancouver, Seattle to Montreal.
Travel between the U.S. and Canada is a numbers game, not a romantic one.
Author: Evan Null
New United routes to Canada
In all, United plans to add three new routes to Canada: Newark to St. John’s International Airport (YYT) — summer seasonal, Denver to Ottawa International Airport (YOW), and Denver to Quebec City’s Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB). This expansion will mark the first time United has offered service from Newark to St. John’s since 2016. The EWR-YYT route will give the airline a new easternmost destination in Canada.
Air Canada adds 3 routes, cuts 5
As part of its U.S. network shakeup, Air Canada announced three routes it’ll launch for summer 2027: Louisville, Kentucky’s Muhammed Ali International Airport (SDF) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Indianapolis International Airport (IND) to Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL), and Newark to Edmonton International Airport (YEG). Beyond these new routes, United and Air Canada also announced plans to add additional flights or larger planes on a handful of existing routes.
5 US routes eliminated on Air Canada
However, Air Canada will also cut five U.S. routes from its schedule, as first reported by Ishrion Aviaton. Routes getting the axe include Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Billy Bishop Toronto International Airport (YTZ), Charleston International Airport (CHS) in South Carolina to Toronto Pearson, Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Vancouver, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Montreal.
Joint venture expansion planned
Friday’s route announcement between Air Canada and United came as the carriers announced an agreement to expand their cooperation on service between the U.S. and Canada. The proposal is currently under review by Canadian regulators. On top of partnering through the Star Alliance, the two airlines share a joint venture that allows them to coordinate on schedule and pricing. That aspect of the tie-up dates back to 2022.
Bottom line
Travel demand between the U.S. and Canada has seen some volatility over the past couple years, and that’s led to a host of airline route adjustments during that stretch. Across all airlines in 2026, the total number of flights and seats between the two countries is down roughly 6% versus two years ago, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
