Air Canada expands summer 2024 int’l schedule, adds Montreal-Madrid route

Air Canada has announced a new, year-round route between Montreal and Madrid beginning next May, as part of its expanded international summer 2024 flying schedule.

The airline on Tuesday (Sept. 5) said it plans to operate 100 per cent of its peak summer 2019 trans-Atlantic capacity next year, taking advantage of the “robust recovery” in its largest international market.

"Air Canada saw a tremendous rebound in international flying this past summer, particularly on the trans-Atlantic, and we expect Europe will remain popular next year. In anticipation of this, we are expanding our flying schedule to offer customers more choice and flexibility as they begin to plan their 2024 holidays," stated Mark Galardo, executive vice-president of revenue and network planning at Air Canada.

"The centrepiece of today's announcement is our new Montreal-Madrid flight. This will be the only year-round service between Montreal and the Spanish capital, complementing our long-standing Toronto-Madrid flights, and offering compelling options for leisure customers and also returning business travellers."

Air Canada's Montreal-Madrid service will be operated with a 255-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.

The schedule is as follows:

Air Canada will have 51 routes to 30 cities in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India in summer of 2024, with Toronto and Montreal hubs ranking as the third and fifth-largest in North America in terms of average daily trans-Atlantic seats.

The airline says it is committed to further developing both hubs' trans-Atlantic footprint in the coming years.

"We are excited to announce a significant expansion of our service offering to Italy, with a combined three daily flights from Toronto and Montreal to Rome, as well as daily services to Milan and Venice. This underpins the importance of Italy in Air Canada's global network, as we are the largest carrier between Canada and Italy, and the only one connecting the two countries on a year-round basis," said Galardo.

Air Canada will also expand frequencies to Mediterranean destinations and bring forward the start-up of several seasonal European services next summer.

Key increases for summer 2024 include: