An Air Canada plane is moved to the runway at the Ottawa International Airport in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
skpMONTREAL - Bookings on cross-border routes are down significantly across the industry amid ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥s' new-found aversion to U.S. destinations, Air Canada says.
At its annual shareholder meeting Monday, the company said its decreased cross-border flight bookings for the next six months were "comparable" to an industry-wide drop of about 10 per cent.
Most ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ carriers have reduced capacity to the United States while bolstering their domestic or transatlantic offerings, as customers turn their back on travel to a country whose president has set off a continental trade war and threatened annexation.
A weak loonie has also discouraged stateside excursions because the conversion rate has been particularly unfavourable for ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥s over the past four months.
Flair Airlines commercial vice-president Eric Tanner says cross-border trips will comprise just 12 per cent of the budget carrier's network in winter 2025-26 versus 20 per cent over the past few months.
"Overall, we’ve seen more customer and consumer uncertainty. Obviously the U.S. tariff issue is getting a lot of attention, and we’ve certainly seen an impact from that and made network moves to adapt accordingly," Tanner said in a phone interview.
Porter Airlines remains the exception, boosting its flight volume south of the border by 25 per cent year-over-year for the summer amid a rapid expansion, though its U.S. network will be smaller than previously planned.
This report by ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥was first published March 31, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)
The ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ Press. All rights reserved.
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