Air Canada, United add U.S. routes, seek JV renewal

Air Canada and United Airlines announced new Canada-U.S. routes for summer 2027 on Friday and said they have applied to Transport Canada to approve a renewed and expanded joint business agreement covering flights between the two countries.

The Canadian Press reported that Air Canada said it has signed a deal to renew and expand the joint venture with United. The airlines’ news release, issued from Montreal on Oct. 16, said the renewal is subject to regulatory approval.

Air Canada will add three U.S. routes. Toronto-Louisville service is to start April 28, 2027, and run to Oct. 31, 2027, with up to daily flights that become daily in May. Montreal-Indianapolis will operate daily from June 1 to Sept. 30, 2027. Edmonton-Newark will run four times weekly from June 1 to Oct. 17, 2027.

Air Canada also plans to upsize its Edmonton-San Francisco service by using the larger Airbus A220 aircraft.

United is adding a seasonal Newark-St. John’s route, along with new Denver-Ottawa and Denver-Quebec City service. It will also add flights between Washington, D.C., and Quebec City, and raise daily seats between Denver and Winnipeg by 65 per cent.

“From Louisville and Indianapolis to Newark, we are giving customers more ways to travel directly to U.S. destinations,” Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s chief commercial officer, said in the release.

Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice-president of global network planning and alliances, said Canada is “an incredibly important part of United’s international network.”

The airlines said the agreement supports more than 1,200 connecting itineraries with integrated through-fares. Since 2022, they said, the partnership has created 20 new Canada-U.S. routes, six of them in 2026, and more than 4.3 million passengers have flown jointly. Together the carriers serve 10 Canadian gateways.

About two million customers connect between the United States and Air Canada’s domestic network each year, the airlines said, benefiting more than 50 Canadian communities. They said transborder seat capacity grew about 31 per cent in 2023 and seven per cent in 2024. Air Canada and United have been partners since 1996 and are founding members of Star Alliance.

Airport leaders welcomed the plans. Edmonton International Airport vice-president James Jackson said the airport is thankful for Air Canada’s continued commitment. Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport president Stephane Poirier called the announcements a “game changer” for the city, and St. John’s International Airport CEO Dennis Hogan said re-establishing non-stop service to the eastern U.S. seaboard is a strategic priority.

Winnipeg Airports Authority CEO Nick Hays said the added capacity will give Manitobans more choice and convenience. Joel Tkach of the Ottawa International Airport Authority said Denver becomes United’s fourth destination from the capital.

The release did not say when Transport Canada is expected to rule on the application. The figures and growth claims above come from the airlines and have not been independently verified.

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Via The Canadian Press (CTV News) and an Air Canada and United Airlines news release.