Air Canada to scale back flights in North America, Caribbean: report

Air Canada is set to make more scheduling changes as it continues to evaluate the rising cost of jet fuel amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

According to aviation consultancy Ailevon Pacific, the airline has scaled back summer and fall capacity on several routes.

These include flights from Vancouver to Halifax, Quebec City, and Miami, as well as from Toronto to St. Maarten.

The adjustments follow earlier service cuts. The airline ended flights between Toronto and Yellowknife in late August, and between Fort McMurray and Vancouver in late May.

Looking south, Air Canada is also suspending its Toronto–Salt Lake City route as of June 30, with plans to potentially restart it next year.

On the international front, the carrier has cancelled its planned new nonstop service from Montreal to Guadalajara, which had been scheduled to launch on June 2.

The airline’s seasonal Montreal – Algiers route for the summer 2026 season has also been suspended.

“As we regularly do, we monitor and review our network to ensure that routes are meeting profitability targets. Jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict, affecting some lower profitability routes and flights which now are no longer economically feasible. Schedule adjustments including some frequency reductions are being made in response,” Air Canada writes in a statement posted to its website.

WestJet has also trimmed capacity, reducing flights by about one per cent in April, three per cent in May and approximately six per cent in June, while consolidating service on lower-demand routes.

Air Transat, too, has reduced planned capacity by six per cent from May to October, with the extended suspension of its Cuba service through October accounting for most of that reduction.

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