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San Antonio bets on Canadian comeback with new direct Air Canada flight
Jesse Ship
Jesse Ship is a Toronto-born, Paris-raised, Belgian national and freelance writer with a passion for arts, travel, music and culture. His work has appeared in the Toronto Star, Fodor’s Travel, Flight Centre, Metro, BlogTO, Vice, Exclaim, Antenna, CBC, and many others.
“San Antonio is a very exciting route for us on the new A220s,” said Yazdan Bakhtiary, partner, regional sales at Air Canada.
“It’s part of our wide fleet expansion. We’re taking 80 new aircrafts over the next few years. It’s going to be a mix of business and economy class, travelling three days a week.”
Those plans were highlighted at a gathering for travel pros in Toronto’s downtown core Tuesday night (April 14) at Arianna, part of the Harbour 60 steakhouse complex.
Visit San Antonio was in town to celebrate the kick off of Air Canada’s new route, which will run from May through to October, from Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
As Canadian travel to the United States declines amid tariffs and annexation rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, and a weakened loonie, the new seasonal route – the only direct flight between Canada and San Antonio – signals renewed confidence in the market.
Canadian visitation to San Antonio dropped by 14 per cent in 2025, from 2024 (from 53,000 to 45,500), projections for 2026 are optimistic.
The tourism board is expecting Canadian visitation numbers to bounce back to nearly 51,000 this year, and then up to nearly 62,000 in 2028.
All about Texas
San Antonio, in the words of writer and humorist Mark Twain, is one of the four unique cities in America (next to Boston, New Orleans and San Francisco)
It’s known for its rich blend of cultures, shaped by waves of immigration from Spain, Germany, France, and Ireland over centuries, all wrapped in a warm, distinctly Texan hospitality with strong Mexican influences.
There’s a lot of culture to take in, at low to no costs. San Antonio was built by Spanish Franciscans who built five missions along the San Antonio River, which are now a UNESCO World Heritage site and are free to access.
Four of them are still active Catholic parishes for those who wish to take part.
A highly-walkable city
Transportation costs can be minimal. San Antonio International Airport is only a 15 km cab ride to downtown, which brings transportation costs down from the get go. It’s also a highly walkable city.
“Our hotel rates are very affordable,” said Dee Dee Poteete, director of regional media relations, CTA, at Visit San Antonio, “even though we have all the luxury brands and boutique hotels.”
Many of their parks and attractions are free to visit as well including the majors like the Alamo, the scenic River Walk, Japanese Tea Garden, and Brackenridge Park.
Image caption
Alamo updates
The Alamo, an historic Spanish mission and fortress compound, is currently in the middle of a $550 million-dollar update plan.
The renovation is said to be triggered by singer Phil Collins, who promised to donate his enormous collection of Alamo memorabilia.
According to Poteete: “He basically said, if you create a world-class visitor centre museum, tell the whole story of the Alamo, not this cleansed story, but one where there’s layers and complexity including indigenous and Tejano history (it’s very much not always pretty, but a complex story), we establish boundaries and more, then I’ll give you my collection.”
And so, they did. While the construction won’t be completed until 2028, Collins’ collection is currently on display.
Super festival on steroids
San Antonio loves to throw a good party, and there are many festivals to attend.
“We like to throw a party at the drop of a sombrero. Fiesta San Antonio (in its 130th year) is an 11-day festival in April, that features over 100 events, like oyster bakes, a mariachi or jazz festival, cooking demos, arts and crafts shows, pet parades and rides. There’s just so much. And so much confetti,” said Poteete. “It’s a super festival on steroids!”
San Antonio also hosts the largest Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival in the United States.
Who’s visiting?
San Antonio gets roughly 40 million visitors a year, with 65-75 per cent being leisure visitors. It’s also a hot spot for Canadian snowbirds.
“While I know some of them, right now, are staying closer to home, we’ve watched snowbirds come regularity,” said Poteete.
“We have all the amenities to accommodate them in terms of RV parks and pull through units. They’re a very lucrative piece of our business and we love showcasing to them all the shopping and value of San Antonio.”
“We’re very much a hub and spoke. You can drive to multiple beaches, or Mexico even, in a few hours. Texas Hill Country has beautiful antiquing, B&Bs and wineries.”
Culinary class
San Antonio has a bustling culinary scene and is only one of two U.S. cities deemed UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy, and 12 restaurants earning Michelin designations (one even has a green star). Poteete credits the city’s cultural blending to that.
“You’ll find all kinds of fusion cuisine, like one restaurant that takes recipes from ancient Mexican archives and infused them with fresh offerings from local ranchers and local farmers.”
The prestigious Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA) also has an outpost in San Antonio, with an emphasis on Latino cuisine.
It’s a world-class chef training centre, but visitors can also take afficionado and enthusiast programs where they might spend the afternoon learning to make mole.
But it’s not all high-end dining. There’s plenty of barbecue, taco spots and mom and pop places to eat out at.
“You can just take your bike or scooter and watch for steam coming out of windows,” said Poteete. “When you get there, you’ll find the Abuelita (grandmother) making tortillas, serving them on a couple of tables in her front room and you’ll be like ‘this is the best breakfast taco I’ve had in my life!’ and it’s just a little neighbourhood joint.”
The new route
Air Canada’s new route will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, departing at 6:20 a.m. EST
“You can have your clients at the airport by 9pm and drinking prickly pear margaritas by 10:30 on the river,” said Poteete. “On the way back, flights to Pearson run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, leaving at 10:30 a.m. and home by 3 p.m. There’s no excuse not to go to work the next day.”
San Antonio is prepped and ready for an influx of Canadian visitors.
“Whether you’re travelling now or in the future, Canadians are very, very, very important to us,” said Poteete.
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