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Airlines Retreat From U.S. to Carve New Routes Overseas as Canadians Shun America

On Jan. 8, 2026, OAG reported Canadian airlines cut U.S. capacity by 10 per cent in Q1 2026, reducing 450,000 seats or almost 5,000 daily.
Flight volumes fell 15 per cent in the first three months of this year compared with 2025 after a slip that began in the second quarter of last year, and analysts link the change to rising anti‑American sentiment tied to President Donald Trump.
Air Canada and Flair Airlines altered networks by adding sun destinations as WestJet Airlines reduced U.S. capacity by 19 per cent, Air Canada by 7 per cent, and Flair by 58 per cent.
Chris Murray said the leisure traveller is substituting Caribbean and Mexican trips for Florida and Las Vegas, while additional capacity to the Dominican Republic and Italy partly closes snowbird revenue gaps.
Over the past year, Canadian carriers pulled back from the United States with no sign of a cross-border rebound, as Cirium data show a more than 14 per cent Q4 drop and John Gradek warned `the first quarter doesn't look much brighter.

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