Canadian Airport Thread II

[RomanR27]

AC to make a "major announcement" at YTZ on Thursday. Best guess is they will expand into TB markets (LGA and DCA are what I'm betting on) once pre-clearance is open to compete with Porter:

Air Canada invites members of the news media to a press conference at 10 am on Thursday, October 23 at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport for a major announcement. Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer and President, Cargo at Air Canada, will be joined by RJ Steenstra, President and CEO of PortsToronto, Jennifer Quinn, CEO of Nieuport Aviation, and Doug Clarke, President at Jazz Aviation for this important announcement.

https://www.aircanada.com/media/media-ad...nt-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport/

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

AC to make a "major announcement" at YTZ on Thursday. Best guess is they will expand into TB markets (LGA and DCA are what I'm betting on) once pre-clearance is open to compete with Porter:



https://www.aircanada.com/media/media-ad...nt-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport/

Rumour has it they’ll also be adding YQT and increasing YOW & YUL.

[hollywoodcory]

Potential hints at WS S26 plans. They recently updated a map on its travel agents resource site.
https://www.westjettravelagents.com/delta-air-lines/

The previous version of the map only contained 1 route operated by DL (YYZ-SLC) but this time sees to have included a few more like NYC-YYZ/YUL/YHZ and YVR/YYC-SLC.

YWG-SEA appears now, but currently isn't flown by either.
YEG-SLC was also removed

Going to venture a guess and say any Transborder increases in 2026 will be mostly to DL hubs. Maybe they'll take a crack at YYC-LGA this time.

I don't (at this time) see any new destinations in the US but time will tell.

[thenoflyzone]

Bermudair announced BDA-YUL last February.
AC retaliated by announcing the same route one month later.

Now, AC removed YUL-BDA from the schedules for S26.

Not everyday you see a foreign carrier beat out AC on a route. Mind you, Bermudair isn't in a healthy financial state to begin with, so maybe AC is of the opinion it's not even worth competing, and that they will fail eventually.

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/251022-acns26bda

[thenoflyzone]

AC converting YUL-OPO to A321XLR next summer and increasing frequency to 5x weekly, as opposed to 3x weekly A333 last summer.

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/251023-acns26opo

That makes 5 routes that are getting the XLR to Europe.

YUL-EDI/DUB/TLS/PMI/OPO

[RomanR27]

AC is launching TB service from YTZ, to LGA, BOS, IAD and ORD.

LGA is 4x daily, beginning March 29
ORD is 2x daily, beginning June 1
IAD is 1x daily, beginning June 1
BOS is 3x daily, beginning July 1.

They are also increasing YOW-YTZ to 6x daily (from the current 4x), and YUL-YTZ to 9x daily (from the current 8x)

https://www.aircanada.com/media/air-cana...on-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport/

[thenoflyzone]

I doubt they were able to secure additional slots at LGA, so I wonder which flights they cut in order to add these LGA flights?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

AC is launching TB service from YTZ, to LGA, BOS, IAD and ORD.

LGA is 4x daily, beginning March 29
ORD is 2x daily, beginning June 1
IAD is 1x daily, beginning June 1
BOS is 3x daily, beginning July 1.

They are also increasing YOW-YTZ to 6x daily (from the current 4x), and YUL-YTZ to 9x daily (from the current 8x)

https://www.aircanada.com/media/air-cana...on-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport/

Odd choice considering the drop in Canada-US travel but maybe they want to wound an overexpanded Porter.

[Myst]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

I think this also shows how PD would be far better off adding YXE-YOW year-round that they'd have to themselves (along with YQR-YOW), whereas on YXE-YYZ, PD are the #3 carrier.

Splitting a rotation 4x/3x weekly YOW-YXE/YQR for summer 2026 launch seems realistic.

Agree - if it’s not working, try an adjustment.

Either run an alternating day sked, or just extend the YWG routes. Run YQR-YWG-YOW and YXE-YWG-YYZ, with the YWG station stop allowing passengers to exchange between flights and allow access to both destinations. Relatively few extra seat miles expended. And maybe have a chance to feed a sunspot in the winter, and use that aircraft in the summer to run a few supplemental weekly flights nonstop in the summer. Tough to get critical mass if you don’t try to pool the capacity a bit.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Myst

Agree - if it’s not working, try an adjustment.

Either run an alternating day sked, or just extend the YWG routes. Run YQR-YWG-YOW and YXE-YWG-YYZ, with the YWG station stop allowing passengers to exchange between flights and allow access to both destinations. Relatively few extra seat miles expended. And maybe have a chance to feed a sunspot in the winter, and use that aircraft in the summer to run a few supplemental weekly flights nonstop in the summer. Tough to get critical mass if you don’t try to pool the capacity a bit.

When WestJet was a small startup with only a few aircraft that is what they did. They only had 737 and had difficulty filling the aircraft with direct flights from Saskatchewan to Toronto.

They used YWG as a mini-hub. Early morning departures out of YXE and YQR that rendezvous in YWG and then continued on to YOW, YUL and YYZ.

In the evening there would be flights from YOW, YUL, and YYZ that rendezvous in YWG with two aircraft continuing on to YXE and YQR.

---

Air Canada for a time also did a triangle route. They would run YYZ-YQR-YXE-YYZ once a day. They would also run a YYZ-YXE-YQR-YYZ once a day.

That was until the CRJ705 and E-jets entered the AC fleet.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by Myst

Agree - if it’s not working, try an adjustment.

Either run an alternating day sked, or just extend the YWG routes. Run YQR-YWG-YOW and YXE-YWG-YYZ, with the YWG station stop allowing passengers to exchange between flights and allow access to both destinations. Relatively few extra seat miles expended. And maybe have a chance to feed a sunspot in the winter, and use that aircraft in the summer to run a few supplemental weekly flights nonstop in the summer. Tough to get critical mass if you don’t try to pool the capacity a bit.

Adding a YWG stop would defeat the purpose of hubbing at YOW. There’s enough O&D plus connecting traffic to support multiple weekly flights, eventually building to daily on both.

This summer, PD’s most obvious new route adds will be YOW-YLW/YXE/YQR all 3-4x weekly each. Apparently YOW-YMM is still in the cards, so if it’s 3x weekly, that would work on alternating days with a YLW frame while the two Saskatchewan cities are nearly identical distance wise. A second daily YOW-YWG would seem like a sensible option.

[whatnext]

Guess they had to pay for those wage settlements somehow...

Air Canada laying off hundreds of staff as it slims operations
Irish Mae Silvestre
Oct 24 2025, 7:22 am

Air Canada announced that a round of layoffs will affect about one per cent of its staff as the airline looks to slim down its operations.

According to its corporate profile, as of 2023, Air Canada employed around 90,900 people across the country. An airline representative confirmed news of the layoffs in an email statement to Daily Hive...

https://dailyhive.com/canada/air-canada-layoffs-2025

[Calfan12]

T’WAY AIR NW25 VANCOUVER AIRCRAFT CHANGES

Korean carrier T’way Air this week filed aircraft changes on Seoul Incheon – Vancouver route during Northern winter 2025/26 season. From 28OCT25 to 28MAR26, the airline schedules A330-200 aircraft will serve this route 4 times weekly, replacing -300.

Schedule below focuses on the period of 30NOV25 – 07MAR26.

TW531 ICN2120 – 1425YVR 332 x135
TW532 YVR1625 – 2135+1ICN 332 x135

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/251023-twnw25yvr

[Calfan12]

AIR CANADA MARCH 2026 MANILA SERVICE INCREASE

Air Canada in recent schedule update filed temporarily service increase on Vancouver – Manila route, currently scheduled 4 times weekly.

From Vancouver, service between 09MAR26 to 27MAR26 will increase to 5 weekly, on board Boeing 787-9.

AC017 YVR0150 – 0645+1MNL 789 x46
AC018 MNL1005 – 0640YVR 789 x57

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/251024-acmar26mnl

[Myst]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Adding a YWG stop would defeat the purpose of hubbing at YOW. There’s enough O&D plus connecting traffic to support multiple weekly flights, eventually building to daily on both.

Possibly. Part of the challenge is that YYZ is the largest concentration of destination passengers in the country. On one hand, there isn’t a large enough market for a 3rd carrier between there and Sask. On the other, some way to make that possible might be seen as necessary. Back in the Canadi>n days they also didn’t fly YQR-YYZ or YXE-YYZ. It limits their market market appeal.

The other half is how you get year round to be viable. No presence for 2 or 3 months isn’t good for building any business traffic. It’s a strategy vs pragmatism tradoff. Either of which is better than neither, which seems to be the current case.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Myst

Possibly. Part of the challenge is that YYZ is the largest concentration of destination passengers in the country. On one hand, there isn’t a large enough market for a 3rd carrier between there and Sask. On the other, some way to make that possible might be seen as necessary. Back in the Canadi>n days they also didn’t fly YQR-YYZ or YXE-YYZ. It limits their market market appeal.

The other half is how you get year round to be viable. No presence for 2 or 3 months isn’t good for building any business traffic. It’s a strategy vs pragmatism tradoff. Either of which is better than neither, which seems to be the current case.

When I lived in Saskatoon, my preference would have been a connection in Winnipeg over Toronto. Connections in Winnipeg could be tight but doable. Flying time was less. Toronto is quite a bit south to turn around and head north to get to Montreal or Ottawa.

Basically your door-to-door travel time was less connecting in Winnipeg. If Porter, WS and AC are all connecting in Toronto, what competitive advantage does Porter have? None.

[MonctonRad]

Recent flight path out of YHZ:

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by casper

basically your door-to-door travel time was less connecting in winnipeg. If porter, ws and ac are all connecting in toronto, what competitive advantage does porter have? None.

free booze!!!

[casper]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

free booze!!!

Porter has had a profound impact on the industry. To remain competitive Air Canada has had to start offering free booze as well.

We should continue to support Porter so the pressure continues. Porter also has these almonds doped with olive oil. Best free "premium snack" in the Canadian skies.

WestJet is hopeless on catering. They don't even have real cream for the coffee.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by casper

Porter has had a profound impact on the industry. To remain competitive Air Canada has had to start offering free booze as well.

We should continue to support Porter so the pressure continues. Porter also has these almonds doped with olive oil. Best free "premium snack" in the Canadian skies.

WestJet is hopeless on catering. They don't even have real cream for the coffee.

I was impressed enough with Porter this summer as a leisure traveller that I just signed up for their branded BMO World Elite credit card and I just booked them for a cruise in March out of Florida. Reserve fare was only 80 bucks each person higher than Air Canada basic economy, and we got luggage and seat selection in the extra leg room front rows. I never eat on the plane within North America but we did enjoy the snacks going to San Francisco in the summer. I just wish I had got the credit card before that flight so I could have earned the points from it and had them to use for this trip.