Air Canada is deepening its transatlantic presence with new links to Italy and Hungary in summer 2026, while also increasing service to mainland China.
The Star Alliance member plans to launch Montreal–Catania, Sicily, and resume Toronto–Budapest next June, while also reintroducing nonstop flights between Toronto and Shanghai. In addition, its seasonal Vancouver–Bangkok route will shift to year-round operations.
The announcement comes days after the carrier confirmed Palma de Mallorca as the inaugural destination for its incoming Airbus A321XLR fleet. The aircraft type will also be deployed on Montreal–Toulouse, replacing Boeing 787-8s and increasing frequency from four to 7X-weekly, and on Montreal–Edinburgh, Scotland, where it will take over from the 737-8.
“Air Canada’s continued international expansion reflects our bold ambitions and leverages our network reach and scale to capitalize on global travel demand driven by leisure travel trends, growing demand for services to Asia and cargo development opportunities,” says Air Canada Executive Vice President and CCO Mark Galardo.
Montreal–Catania will launch on June 4 with 3X-weekly 787-8 flights, making Air Canada the only airline flying between Canada and Sicily. However, U.S. competition will come from Delta Air Lines, which began a New York John F. Kennedy (JFK)–Catania route in summer 2025 and plans to operate the daily service in summer 2026.
From Toronto Pearson, Air Canada will resume Budapest flights June 5 using 787-9s four times per week. The carrier last served the Hungarian capital in October 2019 with 767-300s before the route was suspended due to the pandemic, OAG Schedules Analyser data shows.
Budapest has lacked a North American link since 2022, when LOT Polish Airlines ended its New York JFK flights. However, American Airlines has confirmed it will return after a six-year hiatus with a Philadelphia–Budapest service from May 2026. Additionally, Air Canada intends to expand its Toronto–Prague service with one extra weekly roundtrip, taking it to four.
The moves build on a summer 2025 season in which Air Canada operated 49 Europe routes with 5.85 million seats, up from 45 routes and 5.5 million seats in summer 2024. With a 7.3% share of all North America–Europe capacity, it is the fifth-largest operator on the North Atlantic, behind United Airlines, Delta, American and British Airways.
In the Asia-Pacific market, Shanghai will rejoin Air Canada’s network from Toronto after a six-year hiatus. The Toronto Pearson–Shanghai Pudong route was last operated in February 2020, before being suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The relaunch on June 3, with 4X-weekly 787-9 flights, will supplement existing daily Vancouver–Shanghai and 5X-weekly Vancouver–Beijing Capital services. Despite the resumption, Air Canada’s China offering remains significantly smaller than 2019 levels, when it served five routes to the mainland with nearly 19,000 weekly seats. The current schedule provides around 7,150 weekly seats, according to OAG data.
The airline’s return to the Toronto–Shanghai market will place it in direct competition with SkyTeam member China Eastern Airlines, which currently operates 4X-weekly flights on the route. Toronto also has China links via China Southern Airlines with 4X-weekly Guangzhou services, Air China with 3X-weekly flights from Beijing Capital and Hainan Airlines with a 1X-weekly Beijing Capital rotation.
Elsewhere, Air Canada says Vancouver–Bangkok Suvarnabhumi will operate three times per week year-round from May 2026 using 787-9s. The carrier launched the seasonal service in 2022 and is now extending it in response to strong demand.
Related Content
