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Sao Paulo, Brazil
From Canada to Brazil, Israel to Argentina and the Netherlands to Cape Verde, WestJet, El Al Israel Airlines and easyJet are each expanding their reach this northern winter with routes that will become the farthest in their respective networks.
CALGARY-SAO PAULO
WestJet plans to launch its first route to Brazil in November, marking a broader pivot by the Canadian airline toward Latin America as demand for US leisure travel remains weaker.
The airline will offer three flights per week between its home base at Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) from Nov. 8. The route will be operated with Boeing 787-9s and become the carrier’s 100th nonstop destination from Calgary.
At 6,568 mi. (5,707 nm)—and with a maximum block time of about 14 hr. 35 min.—the route will also become the farthest in WestJet’s network, eclipsing its 5306 mi. (4,611 nm) service between Calgary and Seoul Incheon (INC).
WestJet said passengers will gain access to more than 30 onward destinations across Latin America, including Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, and Santiago thanks to its partnership with LATAM Airlines Group.
The move comes amid a wave of new capacity in the Canada-Brazil market. Air Canada launched a winter seasonal service between Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) in December 2025, complementing its existing Sao Paulo flights from Toronto and Montreal. Air Transat also entered the Brazil market for the first time in February with two new routes to Rio from Toronto and Montreal.
By mid-December—once WestJet enters the market and Air Transat resumes its seasonal services—total two-way weekly seat capacity between Canada and Brazil is expected to reach about 13,100 seats, a record high, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. Air Canada will account for about 72.7% of that capacity, with Air Transat at 15.2% and WestJet at 12.1%.
Sabre Market Intelligence data show that O&D traffic between Canada and Brazil totaled about 365,000 two-way passengers in 2025, up 3.6% versus the previous 12 months. Toronto-Sao Paulo was the largest city pair with about 77,000 two-way passengers, while Calgary-Sao Paulo ranked seventh with roughly 9,600.
WestJet’s entry into the market reflects a broader reallocation of capacity by Canadian carriers toward Latin America and the Caribbean. As demand from Canada to US leisure destinations softened in early 2025 amid trade policy shifts and geopolitical tensions, airlines began redeploying aircraft to warmer-weather destinations farther south.
TEL AVIV-BUENOS AIRES
El Al Israel Airlines is expanding its long-haul network with plans to launch nonstop service between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires, marking its return to South America.
The carrier will begin operating the route between Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) and Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) on Nov. 29 with two flights per week using Boeing 787-9s, introducing what will become the longest service in its network. Flight times are expected to reach about 16 hr. 25 min. westbound and 15 hr. 15 min. eastbound, reflecting both the distance—about 7,606 mi. (6,609 nm)—and operational constraints requiring Israeli aircraft to avoid certain airspace across parts of Africa and the Middle East.
The move represents El Al’s first South American expansion since 2011 and restores nonstop connectivity between Israel and the region following the suspension of services by LATAM Airlines Group at the onset of the COVID pandemic. Before 2020, LATAM had linked Tel Aviv with Sao Paulo and Santiago, but no direct service has operated since.
The move comes as demand between the two countries has been strengthening despite the absence of nonstop service. Sabre Market Intelligence data show O&D traffic between Israel and Argentina totaled about 55,300 two-way passengers in 2025, up 37% year-on-year, although still below pre-pandemic levels of around 71,200 passengers in 2019.
The route is expected to serve Argentina’s large Jewish community—the fifth largest globally and the largest without nonstop links to Israel—while supporting broader tourism, business and diplomatic ties. It is also being supported by the Israeli government, which confirmed a subsidy of 20 million shekels ($6.9 million) per year.
AMSTERDAM-SAL
EasyJet is pushing farther into Africa with the launch of a new route from Amsterdam to Sal, Cape Verde, as the airline continues to reshape its network at one of Europe’s most slot-constrained hubs.
The LCC will begin operating 3X-weekly flights between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and Sal Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) on Oct. 27 using Airbus A320s. The service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
At 2,881 mi. (2,504 nm), the route will become the longest in easyJet’s network by distance, surpassing Manchester-Sal. However, it will not be the airline’s longest route by flying time. Several shorter sectors, including services from Hurghada to Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have longer scheduled block times because of prevailing winds and other operational considerations.
The launch builds on easyJet’s growing presence in Cape Verde, which began in late 2024 with flights from Lisbon and Porto to Sal. Those routes marked the airline’s first services to sub-Saharan Africa and established Cape Verde as both the southernmost and westernmost point in its network. During winter 2026-27, easyJet plans to serve Boa Vista, Praia and Sal from multiple European bases, offering about 285,000 two-way seats to and from Cape Verde, up from approximately 221,000 during winter 2025-26.
The move is also notable given easyJet’s recent retrenchment at AMS. OAG data show the airline’s seat capacity from the airport has fallen by about 11% between summer 2022 and summer 2026, while its share of total airport capacity declined from 8.6% to 6.5%. Over the same period, easyJet has reduced or exited several shorter intra-European routes.
Against that backdrop, the addition of Sal highlights how airlines are increasingly using scarce Schiphol slots to target longer-haul leisure markets that can generate stronger returns. TUI fly Netherlands already links Amsterdam with Cape Verde through services to Boa Vista and Sao Vicente, but easyJet’s launch adds a new destination in the archipelago and further diversifies AMS leisure offering.
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