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The airline is dropping routes to Detroit, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Nashville, and Tampa, citing poor demand, U.S. tensions, and winter profitability goals
by Fergus Cole
May 30, 2025
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Photo: Courtesy of Airbus SAS
Air Canada is set to axe five routes to the United States this fall amid changing consumer demand and increased competition as it aims to boost profitability ahead of the winter travel season.
The Canadian flag carrier’s flight cuts will affect services from its three major hubs – Montreal (YUL), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), and Vancouver (YVR). The exact routes set to be cut later this year are:
Air Canada’s route cuts come amid rising political tensions between Canada and the U.S., fueled by the Trump administration’s controversial tariff policies and the President’s threats to annex Canada as the 51st state. Trump’s aggressive foreign policy has irked many citizens north of the border, resulting in rapidly declining demand for travel to the U.S.
Photo: Courtesy of Mandel Ngan / Getty Images
According to an OAG report in March 2025, Canadian demand for cross-border travel this summer is significantly lower than in 2024, with the worrying trend predicted to continue into the later stages of this year.
“Future flight bookings between Canada and the U.S. have collapsed,” said OAG in its report. “Bookings are down by over 70% in every month through to the end of September. This sharp drop suggests travelers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute.”
Air Canada currently operates daily flights between Montreal and Detroit but faces strong competition from U.S. rival Delta Air Lines, which operates three daily flights between the two cities. Air Canada will cease operations on this route on September 30.
Photo: Courtesy of Air Canada
The Canadian carrier will then cut its Montreal to Minneapolis service on October 19. Currently, both Air Canada and Delta offer one flight per day on the route. Air Canada will also suspend its Toronto to Indianapolis service on October 19th. It’s currently the only airline to connect these two cities directly, so it’s likely being cut due to weak demand.
Meanwhile, Air Canada’s two services set to be dropped from Vancouver to Nashville and Tampa were only meant to be seasonal, according to the airline. It currently competes with Canadian rival WestJet on both routes. Air Canada also reassured customers that all five of its suspended routes will resume in 2026.
Nashville, Tennessee / Photo: Courtesy of Yve Assad
“The Vancouver-Nashville route was always intended to be seasonal, and the two weekly flights between Vancouver and Tampa have also always been seasonal,” said Air Canada in a statement to Montreal-based travel news platform Profession Voyages.
“As for the other routes, their suspension was a commercial decision, but we will continue to serve those destinations via Toronto, with the exception of Indianapolis. We are currently planning to resume the Montreal-Detroit and Minneapolis routes, as well as Toronto-Indianapolis, in May 2026.”
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