Summary
- Air Canada is adding new routes to the US with CRJ-900 jets starting in May 2025.
- Air Canada will fly from Toronto (YYZ) to Jacksonville (JAX) and Montreal (YUL) to Cincinnati (CVG) daily.
- The airline will also resume services to Washington using the CRJ-900s in May 2025.
Air Canada is set to add two new routes to its network. Both routes will be to destinations within the United States, and one of these routes marks the airline’s return to the destination after a hiatus of over five years. Both services will be launched in May 2025 using the airline’s fleet of CRJ-900 jets.
New destinations
Air Canada
is reportedly set to commence two new services next year to the United States of America, thus expanding its route network. According to Ishiron Aviation on X, the airline will be utilizing its fleet of regional jets, the Mitsubishi CRJ900
, to launch the following routes:
-
Toronto Pearson International Airport
(YYZ) – Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
- Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (YUL) – Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).
The itineraries for the two routes are as follows:
|
Service |
Start Date |
YYZ Departure |
JAX Arrival |
JAX Departure |
YYZ Arrival |
Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
YYZ – JAX |
May 22, 2025 |
18:30 |
21:12 |
10:00 |
12:45 |
Daily |
|
Service |
Start Date |
YUL Departure |
CVG Arrival |
CVG Departure |
YUL Arrival |
Frequency |
|
YUL – CVG |
May 22, 2025 |
18:10 |
20:25 |
13:15 |
15:30 |
Daily |
All Air Canada routes served by the Mitsubishi CRJ900s are operated by the Canadian regional carrier Jazz as Air Canada Express.
While the airline already serves Cincinnati from Toronto, it has not served Jacksonville since 2019. Thus, the announcement marks Air Canada’s return to JAX, which will also be the airport’s only international route.
The CRJ900s
While Air Canada operates various Airbus and Boeing family aircraft as part of its mainline operations, the carrier also has a sub-fleet of over 100 regional aircraft, which Jazz and PAL Airlines operate as air canada express
. Among these is a fleet of 35 Mitsubishi CRJ900s, which is exclusively operated by Jazz.
|
Class |
Capacity |
Configuration |
|---|---|---|
|
Business |
64 |
1-2 |
|
Economy |
12 |
2-2 |
Apart from the 76-seater CRJ900s, the other aircraft types used for regional services include the Embraer E175, De Havilland Dash 8-400, and the smaller Mitsubishi CRJ200.
While Jazz operates all four aircraft types, PAL Airlines, on the other hand, only operates some of the 46 Dash 8-400s.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The airline also recently announced that the carrier will be using the CRJ900s to return to another destination later next year. While the carrier stopped serving Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in April this year, Air Canada will resume services next May from Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Nearly suspended services
In recent times, Air Canada has been experiencing some intense negotiations as they were negotiating a new contract with the airline’s pilots to avoid a pilot strike, which would have seen the airline suspend its mainline and subsidiary operations completely in order to reduce travel disruption during the period.
However, the latest reports suggest that the carrier has reached a tentative agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which has been accepted. While ALPA has accepted the tentative agreement, it still requires ratification by vote before it can be finalized, which could take around a month. As of now, though, the airline has averted the strike.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The agreement, if ratified, will generate an additional value of $1.9 billion for the airline’s pilots throughout the four-year duration of the agreement’s term. Further details of the tentative agreement will only be released depending on the ratification of the agreement.