After Months of Cutbacks, Air Canada Is Adding 3 Routes to the U.S. in May

Starting on May 1, 2026, Air Canada will operate 3 new routes to the U.S. This comes as the airline previously announced major expansions that didn’t include any news about its neighbor to the south — focusing instead on other destinations.

It’s even more surprising to see Air Canada adding routes back to the U.S. when passenger numbers and routes have been dwindling amidst the ongoing spat between the 2 countries.

Let’s take a closer look at the new routes available for passengers next spring.

Air Canada’s 3 New Routes to the U.S.

Starting on May 1, 2026, Air Canada will launch new flights between Montréal and Toronto to 3 U.S. cities. The new routes were first reported on X by Ishrion Aviation, and they’re already on sale.

Route details are as follows:

The A220 aircraft flying to San Antonio has 12 recliner business-class seats in a 2-2 configuration plus 125 seats in economy using a 2-3 configuration. These planes recently got new interiors, as well. Meanwhile, Air Canada’s E175 planes have 12 recliner-style business-class seats in a 1-2 layout across 4 rows, as well as 64 economy seats in a 2-2 configuration.

The news of new routes from Canada to the U.S. is a bit surprising, given everything going on lately.

Air Canada recently announced plans for summer 2026, and the U.S. didn’t make the list. Plus, we’ve reported on numerous cuts on flights from Canada to the U.S. as demand has waned. Whether that means routes were cut entirely or just scaled back, things were mostly moving in the opposite direction. This is the first, and surprising, addition by a Canadian carrier in quite a while.

How To Book

These flights are already on sale, and you can find them on both Google Flights and Air Canada’s website.

On most dates, you’ll find economy fares on the Toronto-San Antonio route for $242 in economy or $510 in business.

It’s also possible to redeem your Aeroplan points on these flights. You can find economy flights for around 10,000 points per person, while business will cost around 29,000 points most days.

Meanwhile, we’re finding weekend flights from Montréal to Cleveland for $262 one-way, while mid-week flights cost double that on numerous dates. Montréal to Columbus flights tell the same story, costing around $250 on the weekends and typically $510 on weekdays — so fly on the weekend if you can!

Final Thoughts

Air Canada left the U.S. off its recent 2026 expansion announcement, and that wasn’t surprising. Air Canada and WestJet have made numerous cuts to their U.S. flight network so far this year.

Now, in a rather surprising move, Canada’s largest airline is adding 3 routes as of May 1, 2026. One of these is going to Texas, while 2 of them are going to Ohio. The flights are already on sale.