Air Canada adds $30 phone booking fee, drops 5 U.S. routes

Air Canada customers who book flights by phone now pay an extra $30 per passenger, and the airline has dropped five U.S. routes from its 2027 schedule, as Canada’s largest carrier pushes travellers online and trims its transborder network.

The phone booking fee took effect Oct. 15, Air Canada said, according to The Canadian Press and The Globe and Mail. It puts Air Canada alongside WestJet, United Airlines and the many low-cost carriers that charge non-refundable phone booking fees. Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines still sell tickets by phone without a surcharge, The Canadian Press reported.

For a family of four booking by phone, the fee adds $120 to the bill.

Customers who need specialized support, including travellers with accessibility needs, are exempt, Air Canada said. “It does not apply to services that cannot be completed online,” spokesperson Sean Davidson said. “Using these digital tools for everyday travel needs helps reduce wait times and allows our contact centre agents to focus their expertise on situations that require personalized support.”

Andrew D’Amours, co-founder of the flight deal site Flytrippers, told The Canadian Press the fee reflects what it costs to staff call centres but could hit seniors hardest. “A lot of people, probably older folks, don’t really like booking on the app or on the internet. So I get the argument that it’s kind of unfair for them,” he said.

The fee is the latest example of airline “unbundling,” in which passengers pay separately for services such as checked bags, seat selection and priority boarding that were once included in a ticket.

Separately, Air Canada has removed five U.S. routes from its 2027 schedule, travel industry publication Pax News reported Wednesday. The routes are Toronto Billy Bishop to Boston, Toronto Pearson to Charleston, S.C., Vancouver to Nashville, Vancouver to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Montreal to Seattle.

Air Canada confirmed the cuts to The Points Guy, citing “commercial reasons,” and said it “regularly reviews its schedule to ensure capacity is aligned with customer demand and travel patterns,” according to Pax News. Canadian Travel News also reported the cancellations.

Montreal to Seattle, Vancouver to Nashville and Vancouver to Raleigh-Durham had been scheduled to resume in May 2027, and Toronto Pearson to Charleston in April, Pax News reported, citing Simple Flying and Cirium schedule data. The Charleston cut ends Air Canada’s only service to the South Carolina city, which began in March 2024. The other four destinations remain reachable through other Canadian gateways, including Boston from Halifax, Montreal and Toronto Pearson.

The cuts follow earlier reductions to U.S. flying this year. In July, The Canadian Press reported that Air Canada was halting or delaying eight transborder routes this fall amid high jet fuel costs and weak demand.

“Air Canada” was among the most searched terms in Canada on Google over the past day, with more than 50,000 searches, and “air canada cancels flights to us” also trended.

Travellers planning trips can check our guide to Canadian passport fees and processing times. Airlines have also pushed back on any airport plan that could raise travel costs.

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Sources: The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail, Pax News, Canadian Travel News.