United Airlines and American Airlines had their fun teasing new routes. Now Air Canada is getting into the game, releasing a short video packed with clues ahead of a major summer 2027 international expansion.
Air Canada will reveal its summer 2027 network expansion on September 3, but rather than simply announcing the routes, the carrier has released a 46-second teaser video inviting us to figure them out first.
You can watch the video here:
Air Canada is even offering two tickets anywhere it flies to those who correctly decode the clues.
I enjoyed doing this with United’s cryptic route teaser and then again with American’s bizarre menu, so here we go again…
And after studying the video and looking at what others have noticed online, here are my predictions of where Air Canada is headed.
My Five Air Canada 2027 Route Predictions
My guesses are:
Oslo (OSL)
Basel (BSL)
Dubrovnik (DBV)
Shannon (SNN)
Guangzhou (CAN)
Let’s go through the clues.
Oslo Looks Very Strong
One of the first things shown in the video is an airport vehicle bearing what looks like the registration:
DA 20027
The “27” is an obvious reference to 2027, but the more interesting part is “DA.”
Norwegian license plates use two-letter prefixes tied to the district where a vehicle was first registered, and DA is an Oslo registration prefix.
So I’m putting Oslo near the top of my list.
Basel: The Swiss Cross Is Not Subtle
Another shot shows a suitcase passing through an X-ray machine. Inside is a water bottle bearing a large Swiss cross.
Air Canada already serves both Zürich and Geneva, so if the clue represents a new destination rather than simply a new route to Switzerland, Basel is the obvious candidate (and the airport in Europe, along with Copenhagen, I see most often).
And Basel makes a lot of sense for an Airbus A321XLR (I had hoped either United or American would add a route there).
Air Canada has started taking delivery of the long-range narrowbody, which gives it the ability to serve precisely the sort of secondary European market that might not support a larger 787.
So I’ll go with Basel, either from Montreal or Toronto.
As an aside, the Rimowa-style bag could indicate other Germanic destinations – I’d love to service to Stuttgart or Hamburg.
Dubrovnik: Dragons And Croatian Checks
At one point a passenger walks through the terminal carrying a rather conspicuous black and red dragon.
Ljubljana immediately comes to mind because the dragon is the symbol of Slovenia’s capital. But look at the broader scene and there appears to be another clue pointing toward Croatia, including a red-and-white checkerboard pattern reminiscent of the Croatian coat of arms.
Then consider the dragon. Dubrovnik was famously used as King’s Landing in Game of Thrones, making a dragon a rather clever way to point toward the Croatian city.
Air Canada already serves Zagreb, but Dubrovnik would be a very logical seasonal leisure addition and exactly the sort of destination where the A321XLR could work nicely.
So I’m choosing Dubrovnik over Ljubljana, where United will launch service to next year. Then again, if Ljubljana is offering subsides for air service, maybe it is LJU?
And of course the dragons could represent Vietnam (SGN), adding to Air Canada’s direct service to Bangkok (BKK) and Singapore (SIN)…or maybe Guatemala, as I discuss below.
Shannon: County Clare May Be The Clue
There also appears to be a reference to “Clare” buried in the video, the name of a flight attendant but also perhaps a clue?
If that is intentional, I think it points toward Shannon Airport.
Shannon sits in County Clare, and Air Canada’s own website is already displaying a destination page for Shannon with Toronto fares appearing for spring 2027.
Now, that alone does not prove nonstop service. Airline websites routinely display connecting itineraries. But combined with the teaser clue, it strikes me as a reasonable guess.
Shannon is also almost tailor-made for the A321XLR. Western Ireland is a strong leisure and VFR market, the distance is very manageable, and Air Canada already has a substantial presence across the Atlantic.
Guangzhou May Be The Most Interesting One…Or More Guatemala City?
There are several Asian references in the video, including airport codes slapped onto a cargo container and imagery that could point in several directions.
The container itself shows several airport codes, including Doha, Hong Kong, and Miami, but I think those may largely be red herrings and I’ll specifically address “DOH” below.
One particularly interesting theory circulating online points toward Guangzhou.
Air Canada’s website has a dedicated Guangzhou destination page and currently displays Toronto-Guangzhou itineraries extending into 2027. Again, that does not mean nonstop service, but Guangzhou would represent an interesting restoration of Air Canada’s pre-pandemic China network and there’s a lot of Chinese imagery in the video.
China flying remains complicated by geopolitical constraints and Russian airspace restrictions, so this is the prediction I feel least confident about. But if the final five are Guangzhou, Dubrovnik, Basel, Oslo, and Shannon, that would be a fascinating collection.
At four seconds we see GUA, which of course is the code for Guatemala City, not Guangzhou.
And the dragon also has a place in Guatemalan culture, referring to Gucumatz, the feathered serpent god of the K’iche’ Maya (I had to look this up), which interestingly also has white and red feathers in some renderings…so maybe the DBV checkerboard really means something else…or maybe GUA does mean Guangzhou!
I’m going to say CAN on the 787-9, only because AC already flies to GUA.
And while we’re on the subject of Asia, look at the coffee up on the top image. Is that a bullet train, maybe a Japanese bullet train? Air Canada is taking delivery of widebodies too, so I’m not sure all new routes will be A321 routes…
What About Lagos?
There is one clue that almost screams Nigeria.
A man walks through the terminal dressed in green and white while a map of Africa sits prominently in the background.
Green and white are the colors of the Nigerian flag.
Air Canada has also previously indicated Lagos is in its future network plans, so Lagos certainly deserves consideration.
But here’s my hesitation: if Air Canada is really teasing five new destinations in this video, some of the other clues seem much more deliberately constructed.
Perhaps Lagos is one of the five and Guangzhou and Doha are the red herrings…if I had to name a sixth destination, Lagos would be it.
And What About Doha?
The most obvious airport code shown in the video is DOH.
Air Canada previously flew Toronto-Doha, but dropped the route in 2023 after developing a much closer relationship with Emirates.
Could Doha return? Yes, but sticking DOH prominently on a box almost feels too obvious, particularly when the rest of the clues require decoding.
I’m calling that one a red herring and I don’t see the demand for Doha as the Iran conflict continues. I also don’t know what D8 could mean, unless it’s another Olso clue and a cheeky nod toward Norwegian Air, which uses the code D8 for its flights.
CONCLUSION
Air Canada will reveal its new summer 2027 destinations on September 3.
My final five guesses are Oslo, Basel, Dubrovnik, Shannon, and Guangzhou, with Lagos sitting just outside that list and probably the destination most likely to make me look foolish.
These airline scavenger hunts are becoming a thing now…and I’m perfectly fine with that.
What are your five guesses?
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