Vacationers to Canada’s largest metropolis have one thing to stay up for subsequent spring: Air Canada’s new U.S. flights from Toronto’s downtown Billy Bishop Toronto Metropolis Airport (YTZ).
The Star Alliance service’s new nonstops to Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., that start in March 2026 are the first-ever problem to Porter Airways’ monopoly on U.S. routes from YTZ because it started flying south of the border in 2008.
YTZ, Porter’s residence base, is exclusive as a result of jet planes are banned, and airways can solely serve it with turboprops. Each Air Canada and Porter solely fly 78-seat De Havilland Sprint 8-400s to the airport.
“This implies extra choices and extra affordability to get to Toronto sooner or later,” Katy Nastro, a journey skilled on the low cost flight deal alert service Going, mentioned.
Low-cost flights are good for customers and might encourage extra individuals to fly, particularly in a market like U.S.-Canada, which is tormented by excessive fares (and taxes).
However there is a query lurking at the back of most airline business watchers’ minds: Does Toronto want these flights? Or is Air Canada hitting Porter the place it hurts?
Journey from Canada to the U.S. is down. And from YTZ, numbers are down much more with Porter. Regardless of flying solo on U.S. routes, it is filling fewer seats now than it did a yr in the past. The scenario is ripe for each Air Canada and Porter to lose cash — and if journey demand doesn’t bounce again, we may even see one competitor throw within the towel and retreat.
YTZ: Extra flights, sagging demand
Simply minutes from downtown Toronto, YTZ sits on an island in Lake Ontario, accessible by each tunnel and ferry. Nonetheless, U.S. journey demand at this regional airport is something however scorching.
One quarter fewer individuals flew from YTZ to the U.S. yr over yr for the primary seven months of 2025, U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics knowledge through aviation analytics agency Cirium reveals. Relatedly, Porter has lower its seats available in the market by about 20%.
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U.S.-bound passenger numbers from the town’s primary airport, Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), have been down simply 9% over the identical interval, BTS knowledge reveals.
Total, the variety of Canadians coming into the U.S. through air was down almost 12% within the January-to-July interval in comparison with the identical interval in 2024, in response to the most recent knowledge from the U.S. Worldwide Commerce Administration.
When requested about transborder demand throughout an interview on the brand new YTZ routes on Oct. 23, chief business officer of Air Canada Mark Galardo mentioned:
“Whereas there’s a little bit of a slowdown in Canadian origin journey to the U.S., primarily for leisure functions, there was no notable slowdown in enterprise journey on the Canada-U.S. sector, and there is been no slowdown in Individuals coming to Canada — in truth, it’s totally favorable from an trade charge perspective. The Canada-U.S. hall remains to be, for all intents and functions, a fairly strong hall.”
He added that Air Canada has a “robust section of brand-loyal Air Canada flyers” in Toronto which can be looking forward to the airline to supply U.S. flights from YTZ. The service can be a detailed companion of United Airways and might faucet into its loyal flyer base on the American facet of the border to fill planes.
Air Canada on Tuesday informed buyers that journey demand on U.S.-Canada flights was “secure.”
Regardless of the decline in flyers, with Air Canada’s entry into the market, seats from YTZ to the U.S. will soar by 27% from January to July 2026 in comparison with the identical interval this yr, Cirium schedules present.
Offers for Toronto-New York vacationers (for now)
Toronto vacationers seem set to profit, at the least initially, from the brand new competitors. When Air Canada launches the first-ever nonstop from YTZ to New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on March 29, 2026, the bottom obtainable fare on the route will drop 28% — from $185 to $133 one-way — fare knowledge from Google Flights on Nov. 13 reveals.
The brand new LGA flights have been made doable with the opening of a brand new U.S. Customs and Border Safety preclearance facility at YTZ, permitting vacationers to clear passport management in Toronto and arrive within the U.S. as if that they had taken a home flight. The power is because of open subsequent spring.
Porter serves New York Metropolis and the broader tristate space through Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) in New Jersey.
The identical financial savings can’t be mentioned — but — for journey to Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) or Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD) from YTZ. One-way fares on each routes are unchanged at $214 and $183, respectively, throughout the weeks each earlier than and after Air Canada begins flights subsequent June and July, Google Flights fare knowledge reveals.
By way of Chicago, Air Canada will serve O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) whereas Porter serves Chicago Halfway Worldwide Airport (MDW). And fares between Toronto and Chicago soar 72%, from $111 to $191 one-way.
Nastro attributed a few of this airfare back-and-forth to the uncertainty in U.S.-Canada relations since President Donald Trump took workplace in January.
“The largest motive we see low cost flights is competitors [but] add an exterior wild card and all bets are off the desk with regards to low cost flight availability,” she mentioned.
Air Canada versus Porter
“Air Canada has a well-documented historical past of focusing on opponents,” mentioned one airline adviser who has labored within the Canadian market however declined to be named.
WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, for years mounted a problem to Air Canada with a hub at YYZ; nevertheless, in 2022 it reduce to its core western Canadian market after stiff competitors with the flag service.
Porter crammed the hole WestJet left at YYZ in 2024, launching its personal longer-distance flights with new Embraer E-Jets to locations throughout Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Air Canada’s growth at YTZ might be a aggressive response to Porter’s development on the service’s largest hub.
“We have been ready a very long time to scale up our operations right here and we’re comfortable to see it via,” Galardo mentioned.
A Porter spokesperson equally had little constructive to say on the brand new competitors at its residence airport.
“YTZ stays a focus of Porter’s regional community,” the spokesperson mentioned. “As we construct a highly-integrated community that stretches throughout North America, we’ll proceed to contemplate alternatives for including flights at Billy Bishop. Porter’s ongoing development and distinct service requirements are clearly disrupting the competitors to the nice advantage of vacationers.”
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