Ugh I know there needs to be a formal system, but this bilateral restriction is so insane, such tight restrictions harken back to regulated era, most countries have moved way past that. I hate to be controversial or un-patriotic, but some things Canada does lately seem almost arrogant or not "traditional" Canadian openness. Even the US (at least not yet) doesn't stifle things as much as us. The fact that airlines have such a strong interest serving multiple cities in our country is a boost of confidence, and yet we have archaic muzzles to artificially lower traffic and connections. The powers-that-be seem hellbent on alienating us from every major market in one way or another. The fact that our government/PM mishandled situations with some of our most important partners (China, India, Turkey, Mexico, USA). I am not saying we need to roll over or get bullied, and the issues at play with each of these countries is different. But it seems we are not handling it how we should with anyone, and that is concerning. If we only fumbled with one big country, then it might be a misunderstanding. But when that many different countries each take offence to what you did, it is no longer a "you" problem... Having countries WANT to forge more connections, having their population WANT to visit, and giving love to multiple airports is great, some countries would kill for that kind of demand. We guard the gate so tight it's absurd.
Is YUL-SCL a brand new route, or did AC service it anytime before? This kind of add deserves a new release for sure, how did they not do one?? If it's a first time route pair for AC, they definitely should have. If it's a resumption of any kind, they wouldn't necessarily need to announce it. But a new add international addition, it's news release worthy 100%. Good for YUL, that's a great SA destination variety actually. And continuing the trend of adding international services to YUL that were previously YYZ territory. I wonder how close AC international traffic is at YYZ v. YUL. Not transborder, just international. I bet that gap is really narrowing.
Here's a weird change:
VIRGIN ATLANTIC MODIFIES WESTJET CODESHARE PARTNERSHIP IN NS25
The change is that VS will add its code on WS flights from YYZ to a bunch of Canadian destinations. Yet the article says "Despite the airline’s press release issued yesterday (18FEB25) claimingthe expansion of codeshare partnership with WestJet, the airline’s new codeshare routes to/from Toronto will replace existing ones via Calgary (except Calgary – Toronto route). Previously reported on AeroRoutes on 10FEB25, Virgin is discontinuing placing VS-coded flights on WestJet’s Calgary – London Heathrow route from 30MAR25. In addition, 11 routes to/from Calgary will no longer carry VS-coded flight numbers from the same date. I guess they only want to promote YYZ and build it up, rather than encourage people to fly to YYC on WS. That's no shade, just seems a very direct move that they aren't deep in with WS, and not really interested in being a partner to somewhere like YYC. Virgin has always seemed odd to me, but nowadays more than ever. Their destination list is a weird combination of leisure sun routes and random international cities, and they have had a rocky destination history, ditching some very high profile international routes like NRT and HKG. As much as I admittedly lament losing them to YVR for these couple years, my opinion on them isn't personal, just based on what I see. Their big score though was the DL partnership, that really shifted their focus and opened up a massive connecting market. They used to focus on places like ORL and LAS (plus of course NYC and LAX, the majors). But now they are right in deep with DL, really an odd pairing.
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