First Look: Air Canada’s New Nonstop Flight From Columbus to Montreal

Updated: May 1, 2026, 9:42pm CDT

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New Air Canada Route: Columbus to Montreal
Air Canada’s Inaugural Flight From Columbus to Montreal
Final Thoughts

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The author traveled as an invited guest of Air Canada. All opinions are the author’s own, and the airline had no input in this article.

Air Canada just launched its newest route on May 1, 2026 — a nonstop flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Montreal, Canada. This is a big deal for Columbus, a Midwest city with a brand-new airport on the horizon and limited international routes.

I’ve wanted to visit Montreal for years, so I was thrilled to see this new route from my home airport in Columbus, and I jumped at the opportunity to get a seat on the inaugural flight.

Let’s check out this new Air Canada route that’s connecting Ohio’s capital city to the Canadian province of Quebec.

New Air Canada Route: Columbus to Montreal

This new Air Canada route from John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) to Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) is the first ever between the 2 airports. It will run daily from May to October on an Embraer E175.

This is only the third international route from Columbus (there’s also daily service to Toronto on Air Canada and seasonal service to Cancun on Southwest Airlines), so the new Air Canada route is excellent news for Central Ohio. A new $2 billion airport is being constructed with an anticipated opening date sometime in 2029, so it’s clear the city is setting itself up for more new routes and destinations in the future.

Air Canada's first flight from Columbus to Montreal — The mood was celebratory for the first flight between Columbus and Montreal.

“The launch of our new nonstop service between Columbus and Montréal represents a renewed commitment by Air Canada to this market and a strong vote of confidence in the vitality of the Columbus economy,” said Vincent Gauthier‑Doré, managing director, Canada and U.S. sales at Air Canada.

In addition to providing easy access to Montreal and the surrounding areas in Canada, this new route will open up another path to access Europe and beyond.

“Through Montreal, customers can conveniently connect to Air Canada’s extensive global network,” said Gauthier‑Doré. In fact, there were passengers on the inaugural flight with itineraries going to places including Athens, Barcelona, Casablanca, Lisbon, and Paris.

Daily flights began May 1, 2026, and will operate through October 3, 2026. Flight 8622 departs Columbus at 2:15 p.m and lands in Montreal at 4 p.m. Flight 8621 departs Montreal at 1:20 p.m. and lands in Columbus at 3:22 p.m.

Hot Tip:

In addition to this flight between Columbus and Montreal, Air Canada added 2 other new routes on May 1, 2026. A daily flight between Montreal (YUL) and Cleveland (CLE) will be flown on an E175, and a 3x weekly flight on an A220 will connect Toronto (YYZ) and San Antonio (SAN).

Air Canada’s Inaugural Flight From Columbus to Montreal

The mood was festive before the inaugural flight between Columbus and Montreal. Passengers arriving at gate C46 were greeted by a giant lighted YUL sign, surrounded by balloons. There was also a table full of goodies, celebrating the partnership between the 2 cities, featuring Clearly Canadian and Canada Dry beverages, maple candies, and custom cookies. Those were all great, but the maple buckeye candies were the perfect fusion of the flavors of these 2 cities.

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Passengers were treated to themed goodies before the flight.

After a brief press event where we heard from local officials and representatives from Air Canada, it was almost time to board. Custom luggage tags were on each seat in the terminal, and guests were invited to take additional treats for the flight.

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Passengers received goodies, including luggage tags and cookies.

The flight itself was quick and uneventful — exactly how I like my flights.

Air Canada’s E175 aircraft has 4 rows of business class seats in a 1-2 layout, plus 64 economy seats in a 2-2 configuration. I was seated in seat 16A.

Air Canada E175 economy — I was in a Standard economy seat for this quick flight.

I don’t have Air Canada or Star Alliance status, so I was given the option to pay for a preferred seat. Since it was such a short flight (just 1 hour and 25 minutes in the air), I opted to remain in a standard seat.

There was a quick snack-and-drink service, and before I knew it, we were landing in Montreal.

Hot Tip:

If you don’t have enough Air Canada Aeroplan points to book your flight, you can transfer points from American Express, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and even Marriott Bonvoy. Alternatively, you can book this new route between Columbus and Montreal through United using MileagePlus miles.

Final Thoughts

Air Canada just launched a brand new route connecting Columbus, Ohio, to Montreal, Canada. This new nonstop flight will operate daily from May to October on an E175. This is great news for travelers who use Columbus as a base, since this is only the third international flight available. Plus, it will give Central Ohio access to Air Canada’s vast route network through connections in Montreal.