On a day when Air Canada marked the restart of flights between Ottawa and London Heathrow, the airline revealed that its cross-border flight bookings for the coming six months have fallen by approximately 10pc. This decline, however, is significantly less than some industry predictions suggesting traffic could be down by as much as 70pc.
During its annual shareholder meeting on Monday, the company indicated that its decrease in bookings is “comparable” to broader industry trends.
Most Canadian airlines have cut back on routes to the U.S. while enhancing their domestic and transatlantic services, as travelers are reassessing trips to a country where the president has ignited a trade conflict and made threats of territorial expansion.
Additionally, a weak Canadian dollar has deterred trips to the U.S., as the exchange rate has been particularly unfavorable for Canadians in recent months.
Flair Airlines’ commercial VP Eric Tanner stated that cross-border travel will represent only 12pc of the low-cost carrier’s network in the winter of 2025-26, compared to 20pc in recent months.
In contrast, Porter Airlines has notably increased its flight volume to the U.S. by 25pc year-over-year for the summer amid a rapid expansion, although its U.S. network will be smaller than initially anticipated.
As for the Ottawa-London route, Air Canada relaunched its service on Tuesday, offering four weekly flights connecting Canada’s and England’s capitals.
Overall, by summer 2025, Air Canada plans to operate up to 63 weekly flights to London Heathrow from six Canadian cities, providing a variety of connections throughout Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa.
The service will operate four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with a flight duration of just over seven hours.
Air Canada’s state-of-the-art 787-9 Dreamliner will be used for these routes, offering lie-flat seats in Business Class and spacious options in Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
Passengers can enjoy return fares starting from £528 in Economy, and travellers will have access to Ottawa’s rich cultural scene and outdoor activities, including the Canadian Tulip Festival each May.
