Air Canada is set to launch daily flights from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to four major U.S. cities: New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The airline plans to start with four daily round-trip flights to New York LaGuardia in March 2026, followed by the introduction of three daily flights to Boston Logan, two to Chicago O’Hare, and one to Washington Dulles during the summer.
This move by Air Canada signals an intensification of the competition with Porter Airlines, which currently serves these same American destinations from Billy Bishop. The escalation in rivalry comes as a result of the announcement that U.S. customs pre-clearance will be available at Toronto Island airport, according to Roelof-Jan Steenstra, CEO of PortsToronto, the parent company of Billy Bishop. This new facility is expected to open in the near future, allowing passengers to clear American customs before boarding their flights while still on Canadian soil.
The service expansion also includes increased frequency on domestic routes, with Air Canada adding one daily flight to Montreal and two to Ottawa. The new routes will be operated using 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft. This development comes at a time when Canadian travel to the U.S. is on a decline, with a notable decrease in the number of Canadian residents returning from the U.S. by air, based on recent Statistics Canada data.
Furthermore, several airlines, including Air Canada, have adjusted their U.S. routes due to reduced demand, and there have been discussions about potential reassessments of airport pre-clearance procedures. The shifting landscape of travel patterns has prompted Air Canada to expand its offerings both domestically and internationally, positioning the airline for growth in the evolving market.