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More Global Choices, More Cities, More Sunshine Next Winter: Air Canada Adds Quito, More Europe Year-Round and Resumes Calgary-Mexico Routes

  • New flights to Quito from Montréal and Toronto start December 2026
  • Toronto-Manchester and Toronto-Copenhagen become year-round as of October 2026, supported by new Airbus A321XLR base in Toronto
  • Expanded winter season service to Rio, Santiago, and Lima
  • New Calgary services to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta launch December 2026
  • Builds on new Vancouver-Sapporo route announced earlier, the only non-stop flights from North America to Hokkaido

MONTRÉAL, Jan. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Air Canada today announced a strategically expanded winter network that includes the addition of Quito to its network, year-round service to Manchester and Copenhagen, two sun destinations from Calgary, and increased winter services to Latin America destinations. These winter route expansions follow the airline’s plans announced earlier this month to launch the only non-stop flights from North America to Sapporo.

New flights to Quito from Montréal and Toronto start December 2026

“With a comprehensive network spanning all six inhabited continents, Air Canada’s expanded winter schedule further cements our hubs as premier global gateways facilitating fast, convenient travel. These exciting new additions and enhancements are a catalyst to facilitating tourism, trade and connectivity, and deliver more compelling opportunities for our customers and Aeroplan Members to travel almost anywhere in the world to, from or via Canada,” said Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, and President of Cargo at Air Canada.

“We are continuing our strategic expansion into Latin America, taking advantage of continued demand strength and cargo opportunities, while leveraging a new Airbus A321 XLR base at our Toronto-Pearson global hub to enable year-round service to Copenhagen and Manchester. We are also capitalizing on growing demand and Vancouver’s unique geography to add our first-ever service to Sapporo, the only non-stop from North America to this world-recognized winter leisure destination, while bringing two new options for our brand loyal customers in Calgary seeking out the warmth of Mexico’s beaches,” he concluded.

Flights are available for purchase now at aircanada.com

Quito, Ecuador’s capital known for its rich history, will be served three times per week from Montréal, and one flight per week from Toronto, both starting in early December onboard a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with a choice of Signature Class, Premium Economy and Economy cabins. Air Canada’s flights to Quito have been designed to connect at both its Toronto and Montreal global hubs to facilitate convenient, easy travel to and from North America and Europe.

In South America, Air Canada is expanding its schedule to Brazil, Peru and Chile, with earlier starts and more frequencies on services to Rio and Lima as well as its newly-launched flights between Montreal and Santiago. Into Colombia, Air Canada’s flights to Bogota will operate onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet featuring a three-cabin configuration offering the airline’s industry-recognized Signature Class cabin with lie-flat seating.

Flights from Toronto to Manchester and Copenhagen will become year-round as of October, further building scale at Air Canada’s primary global hub. Both routes will be operated onboard the airline’s newest fleet type, the Airbus A321XLR featuring the first Air Canada narrow-body aircraft to offer Signature Class lie-flat seats. These additions are enabled by the airline’s new Airbus A321 XLR base at Toronto-Pearson, complementing a previously announced base at Montreal-Trudeau.

Air Canada’s customers in Calgary will now be able to fly non-stop to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta as of December. Operated with Air Canada Rouge’s fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, featuring premium and economy cabins, free beer, wine and premium Canadian snacks for all customers, plus fast, free wi-fi for all Aeroplan Members**, flights to Cancun will be offered four times per week, with three flights a week to Puerto Vallarta. 

Quito flights*:

FlightFromToDepartsArrivesDays of OperationSeason
AC962Montréal (YUL)Quito (UIO)17:4000:10 +1 DayWed, Fri, SunDec. 4, 2026 – Mar. 26, 2027
AC963Quito (UIO)Montréal (YUL)09:0015:15Mon, Thu, SatDec. 5, 2026 – Mar. 27, 2027
AC960Toronto (YYZ)Quito (UIO)17:5500:10 +1 DaySatDec. 5, 2026 – Mar. 20, 2027
AC961Quito (UIO)Toronto (YYZ)09:0015:10SunDec. 6, 2026 – Mar. 21, 2027
       

Year-round Europe flights*:

FlightFromToDepartsArrivesDays of OperationSeason
AC908Toronto (YYZ)Manchester (MAN)21:0009:00 +1 DayMon, Wed, Fri, SunYear-round, effective Oct. 25, 2026
AC909Manchester (MAN)Toronto (YYZ)12:0015:05Mon, Tue, Thu, SatYear-round, effective Oct. 26, 2026
AC828Toronto (YYZ)Copenhagen (CPH)21:1510:15 +1 DayTue, Thu, SatYear-round, effective Oct. 27, 2026
AC829Copenhagen (CPH)Toronto (YYZ)11:4514:45Wed, Fri, SunYear-round, effective Oct. 28, 2026
       

Calgary sun flights*:

FlightFromToDepartsArrivesDays of OperationSeason
AC2120Calgary (YYC)Cancun (CUN)8:3015:50Mon, Wed, Fri, SunDec. 11, 2026 – April 11, 2027
AC2121Cancun (CUN)Calgary (YYC)16:5021:00Mon, Wed, Fri, SunDec. 11, 2026 – April 11, 2027
AC2122Calgary (YYC)Puerto Vallarta (PVR)10:5016:40Tue, Thu, SatDec. 10, 2026 – April 10, 2027
AC2123Puerto Vallarta (PVR)Calgary (YYC)17:4021:45Tue, Thu, SatDec. 10, 2026 – April 10, 2027
       

Expanded Latin America routes:

RouteWinter 2026-27 vs. Winter 2025-26
Toronto-Rio
  • Flights resume Oct. 24, 2026, 6 weeks earlier than in 2025
Toronto-Lima
  • Flights resume Oct. 24, 2026, 6 weeks earlier than in 2025
  • Increasing to 3 weekly flights from 2 weekly flights in 2025
Montreal-Lima
  • Flights resume Oct. 25, 2026, 6 weeks earlier than in 2025
  • Increasing to 3 weekly flights from 2 weekly flights in 2025
Montreal-Santiago
  • Flights resume Nov. 26, 2026, 3 weeks earlier than in 2025
  • Increasing to 4 weekly flights from 3 weekly flights in 2025
Montreal-Bogota
  • Increasing to 4 weekly flights from 3 weekly flights in 2025
  

*Schedule times are subject to change
**Sponsored by Bell

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada’s largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network. Headquartered in Montréal, Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is Canada’s premier travel loyalty program, with more than 10 million members worldwide. Members can earn or redeem points on the world’s largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers more travel choices than any other Canadian tour operator to hundreds of destinations worldwide, with a wide selection of hotels, flights, cruises, day tours, and car rentals. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada’s passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada’s climate-related ambition includes a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For additional information, please see Air Canada’s TCFD disclosure. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX (AC) in Canada and the OTCQX (ACDVF) in the US.

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