Air Canada Reduces Service from Calgary

Air Canada has made some significant changes to the number of routes it operates out of Calgary International Airport (YYC).

This fall, the airline will remove six routes from Calgary, which will affect domestic, transborder, and international service.

Air Canada Reduces Service from Calgary

Air Canada has significantly reduced the number of flights it offers from Calgary International Airport (YYC).

As of late October 2023, Canada’s largest airline will remove the following direct routes from its schedule:

• Calgary (YYC) – Halifax (YHZ)
• Calgary (YYC) – Ottawa (YOW)
• Calgary (YYC) – Cancun (CUN)
• Calgary (YYC) – Los Angeles (LAX)
• Calgary (YYC) – Frankfurt (FRA)
• Calgary (YYC) – Honolulu (HNL)

It’s worth noting that the routes to Honolulu and Cancun are seasonal, while the rest of the routes previously ran year-round.

After these changes, Air Canada is now only currently scheduled to operate the following interprovincial, transborder, and international routes from Calgary, either seasonally or throughout the year:

• Calgary (YYC) – Kelowna (YLW)
• Calgary (YYC) – Vancouver (YVR)
• Calgary (YYC) – Winnipeg (YWG)
• Calgary (YYC) – Toronto (YYZ)
• Calgary (YYC) – Montreal (YUL)
• Calgary (YYC) – Newark (EWR)
• Calgary (YYC) – London (LHR)

In previous years, Air Canada has operated routes from Calgary to Las Vegas (LAS), Maui (OGG), Tokyo (NRT), and more; however, these routes haven’t been loaded into the airline’s upcoming Winter and Summer 2024 schedules.

Calgary-based passengers who wish to fly with Air Canada to the affected destinations will have to route through the airline’s other hubs, including Vancouver (YVR), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), and Montreal (YUL).

If you have an upcoming booking from Calgary to any of the affected destinations, keep an eye out for a message from Air Canada for alternative flight options. You may also be able to select new flights through the online self-service tool.

Air Canada cites an ongoing pilot shortage and supply-chain challenges as motivations for the route cancellations.

Another Shift in the Canadian Aviation Landscape

Air Canada’s reduction in service from Calgary marks the latest development in the ever-shifting Canadian aviation landscape. 

Earlier this year, Calgary-based WestJet launched a number of new domestic and transborder routes from Calgary (YYC) and Edmonton (YEG), and this year, added routes to Europe and Japan. Edmonton saw a 50% increase in WestJet flights offered compared to 2022, and from Calgary, the airline added, restored, or increased service.

Furthermore, WestJet completed its acquisition of Sunwing this year, which happens to operate routes from Calgary (YYC) to Sun destinations.

Apart from WestJet, we also saw the introduction of a new Calgary-based ultra-low-cost airline Lynx Air in 2022, which currently offers service from Calgary (YYC) to destinations across Canada and the United States.

Flair Airlines uses Edmonton (YEG) as its base; however, it also operates a handful of flights out of Calgary (YYC), as well as other Canadian airports.

Porter Airlines has also been rapidly expanding its route network as the airline takes delivery of more Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, which it operates mainly out of Toronto Pearson (YYZ). As it stands, Porter flies to Calgary from Toronto, but doesn’t operate any other routes out of Alberta’s largest city.

With Air Canada now only offering five interprovincial, one transborder, and one international route out of Calgary (YYC), it appears that the airline is focusing its efforts elsewhere for the time being.

During its latest route announcement in May 2023, it made a noteworthy expansion to the number of routes offered out of Vancouver (YVR); however, noticeably absent from the route announcement were resumptions, additions, or increases to flights from Calgary (YYC).

Conclusion

Air Canada has reduced the number of routes it offers out of Calgary International Airport (YYC). As of the end of October 2023, the airline is removing direct service to Ottawa, Halifax, Cancun, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, and Honolulu, but will continue direct service to Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Kelowna, Montreal, Newark, and London Heathrow.

Passengers affected by the route closures should receive communication from Air Canada with other options, and may be able to self-serve bookings online.

This is the latest development in the ever-shifting Canadian aviation landscape, and it will be interesting to see what happens next.