Aviation

Air Canada is looking beyond the U.S. as Canadians continue to shun their neighbour amid the trade war.

With 2026 marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first Lufthansa, Germany’s national airline says it is using milestone as an opportunity to fundamentally redesign its onboard experience. Dubbed FOX – short for Future Onboard Experience – the reset will be introduced next Spring on long-haul routes with the aim of reinforcing Lufthansa’s premium claim.

Air Transat is enhancing its summer 2026 program with a new non-stop service between Montreal (YUL) and Agadir (AGA). This addition strengthens Air Transat’s presence in Morocco and responds to the strong demand from leisure travellers and the Moroccan community in Quebec.   

Air Canada plans to launch flights to the U.S. out of Toronto’s island airport in a bid for business passengers that marks a direct challenge to rival Porter Airlines. The airline announced Thursday it will fly planes between Billy Bishop airport (YTZ) and New York (LaGuardia), Boston, Chicago (O’Hare) and Washington, D.C.’s (Dulles), starting next spring for a total of 10 daily return flights.

Six months ago, Flair Airlines announced “Flair FWD,” a series of “transparent and customer-centric” experience enhancements the ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCCD) promised will “deliver the best value in the Canadian skies without losing the affordable prices.” So, where does the airline’s bold initiative stand, er, fly? 

The opportunity to open new markets is just one reason Air Canada network planners are eagerly anticipating the arrival into its fleet of the airline’s first Airbus A321XLR in 2026. While the first delivery of the aircraft is “on the horizon,” logistically it won’t likely be drafted into service before next summer, says the company.

Air Canada resumed flights to Israel late last week (Oct. 9), the latest carrier to return to Israel following similar moves by United and Delta. The Canadian carrier had been scheduled to resume service to Tel Aviv (TLV) on Sept. 8 but postponed implementation by a month due to what it called “geopolitical uncertainly in the region.”

Air Transat has begun its summer 2026 route roll-out with the announcement of new international routes and annualization of several southern services from Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto – with “further developments” to follow in the coming weeks.

A working paper from IATA that suggested raising the retirement age of pilots to help mitigate a shortage of personnel across the industry was soundly rejected by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at its 42nd Assembly in Montreal.

Porter Airlines is announcing a significant expansion of its 2025-26 winter schedule, increasing flights to southern destinations by up to 25% during peak travel periods and unveiling four new routes, including its first transborder service from Vancouver (to Phoenix).

Citing the “profound changes” brought about by digitization and artificial intelligence, Lufthansa Group says it will shed 4,000 jobs by 2030 – even as the company is reporting strong demand for air travel and predicted stronger profits in years ahead.

Boeing is getting back the ability to perform final safety inspections on 737 Max jetliners and certify them for flight more than six years after crashes of the then-new model killed 346 people.

American Airlines and Porter Airlines are teaming up on a new codeshare partnership to give customers more options for cross-border travel. Porter will place its code on select American transborder and domestic flights, giving passengers seamless access to more destinations when travelling from Canada.

WestJet celebrated Hope Air’s annual Haul for Hope in Calgary Sept. 24 with a record number of all-WestJet employee teams competing to haul a 67,000-pound Q400 aircraft to raise money for Hope Air. Of the total teams in Calgary competing, 10 were comprised of WestJet employees from across all areas of the business, signifying care and commitment to community investment.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is following through on his threat to force Delta and Aeromexico to dissolve their longtime partnership because of his concerns that Mexico isn’t being fair to U.S. airlines.

Spirit Airlines plans to furlough 1,800 flight attendants before the end of the year, the cash-strapped budget carrier said Monday. The company said it made the “difficult decision” to put cabin crew members on temporary leave to match staffing needs with expected flight demand during Spirit’s second bankruptcy in a year.

Air Canada has announced changes to its regional network that include new flights connecting Ottawa to both Fredericton and Moncton beginning Dec. 15 and non-stop flights from Vancouver to Fort McMurray starting Dec. 2. The airline is also increasing flights from Toronto to Sudbury as of Feb. 1, 2026.

With elbows-tourism flourishing, Air Canada has begun a major upgrade program on its regional fleet. Under the initiative, 25 De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft operated for Air Canada Express by Jazz Aviation LP (Jazz) will undergo a full cabin redesign to install new seating, new interiors and, on select aircraft initially, flying from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, free Wi-Fi.

Now it’s their turn: The union representing WestJet flight attendants says it has given the airline notice to begin contract talks with a key issue being compensation for unpaid work. CUPE 8125 said it has served notice to bargain a new collective agreement with its current contract set to expire on Dec. 31. The union says WestJet flight attendants are seeking better treatment. 

Air Canada says that the union representing its 10,000 flight attendants has asked to dispense with the mediation process over the parties’ tentative labour agreement and have the wage component proceed directly to arbitration – a request the airline has accepted “in a spirit of cooperation.”

As flight attendants from across Canada represented by CUPE descend on Parliament Hill on Tuesday (Sept. 16), to call on Ottawa to act to end unpaid work in Canada’s airline industry, a number of other aviation workers – including Transat pilots and airport screeners in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces – are similarly airing, and taking action, to resolve long-standing circumstances they deem unfair.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says she’s aiming to have a probe into allegations of unpaid work in Canada’s airline sector wrapped up by early December. Hajdu has said this process could result in new legislation – but she also says Ottawa wants to be “very careful” about what it does next to ensure it upholds the right for union members and employers to bargain over terms of their work.

Transat’s revenue is back in the black with the company reporting a net income of $399.8 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $39.9 million in the same quarter last year, the company reported late last week.

Air Canada announced its international network for Summer 2026 with new destinations taking flight in Europe and Asia. Beginning next year, the airline will launch new routes from Montréal to Catania in Sicily, Italy and, as previously announced, Palma de Mallarco, Spain. From Toronto, Air Canada will re-establish non-stop flights to Shanghai and Budapest and increase flights to Prague.

Amid an industry shortage of pilots and other skilled staff, WestJet and CAE have signed a 15-year training agreement under which the global leader in aviation training will establish the Alberta Training Centre of Excellence (the Centre) for Aviation and Aerospace – a cutting-edge facility in Calgary that will house eight full-flight simulators alongside cabin trainers and state of the art digital learning tools.

WestJet says it is ordering nearly 70 aircraft from Boeing, marking the airline’s largest order agreement to-date, and the largest-ever Canadian Boeing order. The agreement purchase of 60 737-10 MAX narrowbody aircraft, with options for an additional 25, and seven 787-9 Dreamliner widebody aircraft with options for four more, brings the carrier’s current order book to 123 aircraft and 40 options, while extending WestJet’s fleet growth plans through 2034.

Budget carrier Spirit Airlines said Friday that it has filed for fresh bankruptcy protection months after emerging from a Chapter 11 reorganization. The ultra low-cost airline said it plans to keep flying as usual during the restructuring process, meaning passengers can still book trips and use their tickets, credits and loyalty points. Employees and contractors will also continue to get paid, the company said.

At the end of work trips, Nathan Miller goes home to a makeshift bedroom in his parents’ house in Virginia. The 29-year-old flight attendant is part of a PSA Airlines crew based in Philadelphia, but he can’t afford to live there. Miller says he makes about US$24,000 a year staffing multiple flights a day as a full-time attendant for the American Airlines subsidiary.