Air Canada launched its historic direct summer service connecting Montreal (YUL) and Palma on June 17, 2026, running through to late October 2026. Driven by high demand from Canadian cycling enthusiasts, the airline upgraded to larger aircraft and adjusted seat capacity for the route and a large number flew over for the eclipse.
However, on the whole demand is also being driven by a Canadian boycott of the United States as a holiday destination. The BBC their decision is a response to US tariffs and the president Trump’s comments about annexing their country.
Even with a slight uptick in road trips to the US in April, Canadians made 800,000 fewer trips that month compared to the same time in 2024, before Trump was elected, according to national data.
The boycott has meant a loss of about C$3.3bn ($2.35bn; £1.75bn) in travel revenue for the US last year – money that Canadians have instead chosen to spend overseas or exploring their own country. And Air Canada’s revenue for September and October is likely to break records for the two months as more premium travelers avoid the heat and summer crowds in Europe and Japan, a senior executive said.
Large North American airlines have increasingly built their business in recent years around premium travellers, corporate accounts and loyalty program members, betting those customers are slower to pull back when fares rise.
Increased demand for corporate flying in autumn combined with shifting travel patterns among premium leisure passengers are lifting executives’ expectations for seasons once considered slower than peak travel months like July and August.
“We anticipate that September and October will probably be the strongest September and October from a revenue perspective that the company’s ever had,” Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer Mark Galardo said.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in demand for people travelling business class to go to Italy, Spain, France, the Mediterranean in general, Japan,” he added. “And typically, these customers avoid the summer peak.”
U.S. carriers like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have also reported seeing shifting travel patterns drive more demand in autumn, particularly for lucrative European destinations.
Record heat, droughts and wildfires have affected large parts of Europe this summer, and the lack of widespread air-conditioning in some destinations has made them less attractive for tourists. Japan has also had very hot days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Galardo said the shift among premium travellers to flying more in spring and autumn, which began two or three years ago, had accelerated, and was even showing up a little in November.
The change has already led Air Canada to add flights to European leisure destinations like Sicily and Mallorca and there will be more to come as the carrier takes delivery of new aircraft next year, Galardo said. “We’re expecting that the fall and spring seasons will be significant contributors to these new routes,” he said.