With the holiday travel period now over and political relations between the US and Canada deteriorating, Canadian airlines are now cutting a significant part of their flight capacity to the US. As reported by The Globe and Mail, Canada-based carriers have reduced US-bound seat capacity by roughly 10% compared to the first quarter of 2025.
The US is generally the largest international market for Canadian airlines, and Canada is also a massive market for US carriers. But demand for travel to the US from Canadians has declined amid a rise in anti-American sentiment, and all Canadian airlines have cut capacity. This is particularly noticeable in prominent leisure destinations such as Florida and Las Vegas, while airlines are looking to reallocate capacity elsewhere.
A Drop In Capacity From Canada To The US
For the first quarter of 2026, Canadian airlines have cut overall capacity to the United States by roughly 10% compared to the same three-month period in 2025. In total, this represents a capacity cut of roughly 450,000 seats, as well as a four percent reduction in international flight capacity from Canada. This also amounts to a daily cut of roughly 5,000 seats.
The trimming is primarily being done to leisure destinations such as Orlando, Miami, and Las Vegas. These are warm-weather destinations that are traditionally popular with Canadian leisure travelers, which is a far more volatile demographic than business travelers. But even to cities with higher business traffic, such as New York and Los Angeles, Canadian carriers are also trimming capacity.
Air Canada, the flag carrier of the country, has trimmed overall capacity to the US by roughly seven percent, a fairly mild cut. Air Canada is a full-service airline and thereby relies less on leisure travelers. WestJet, a hybrid carrier, has cut its capacity to the US by roughly 20%. Meanwhile, Flair, an ultra-low-cost carrier that specifically targets leisure travelers, has cut US capacity by nearly 60%.
Where Is The Capacity Going To Be Reallocated
While the US is a major market for Canadian carriers, the decline in demand for US travel is coming with an increase in leisure demand to other destinations. Demand is particularly strong for Latin American countries such as Costa Rica, as well as for cities in Mexico such as Cancun. These are already major markets for Canadian airlines, but they’re now seeing heavier demand than ever.
In addition, passengers are increasingly favoring domestic travel rather than flying to the US, despite there being no warm-weather destinations similar to Florida in the country. Flights to the US are all relatively short and are within the capabilities of narrowbody aircraft. This means that it’s fairly simple for Canadian airlines to reallocate aircraft and crews to the regions where demand is increasing.
For passengers, these changes mean that prices to the United States are likely to go up significantly, while schedule options will also decline. However, an increase in capacity to Latin America and domestic routes will likely cause fares to hold steady or decline. As passengers are favoring travel to these regions, the decisions of Canadian carriers will make these flights more accessible.
Changing Travel Trends Within North America
As a whole, the airline industry in the United States has performed extremely well for legacy carriers, and international travel has been exceptionally strong, while domestic travel has seen less momentum. This has largely been due to economic uncertainty, while premium leisure passengers continue to take US legacy airlines on long-distance flights and airlines make efforts to boost market share against foreign carriers.
Anti-American Sentiment Cause Canadian Airlines To Reduce Capacity To The US By 10%
