Air Canada Cuts Summer Flight Schedules

DALLAS - Air Canada (AC) has announced that it is to make "meaningful reductions" to its summer schedule as the airline attempts to deal with the current "unprecedented strains" on the global aviation industry.

A statement released on June 29 revealed that AC would reduce its schedule by 154 flights per day on average during July and August. This equates to approximately 10% of its total number of services. Before this, the airline had operated around 1,000 flights per day.

Air Canada will reduce its July/August schedule by 77 round trips per day. Photo: Air Canada.

Routes Affected

The reduction will affect the airline's domestic and trans-border services, mainly at its Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL) hubs. Three routes will be temporarily suspended between YUL and Pittsburgh (PIT), Baltimore (BWI) and Kelowna (YLW), and one from YYZ to Fort McMurray (YMM). International flights will be unaffected.

Speaking of the cuts, Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau said they were "not an easy decision."

"Despite detailed and careful planning, the largest and fastest scale of hiring in our history, as well as investments in aircraft and equipment, it is now clear that Air Canada's operations too have been disrupted by the industry's complex and unavoidable challenges."

The reductions will affect 'primarily evening and late-night flights by smaller aircraft.' Photo: Luca Flores/Airways.

'Meaningful Reductions'

He continued, "To bring about the level of operational stability we need, with reluctance, we are now making meaningful reductions to our schedule in July and August in order to reduce passenger volumes and flows to a level we believe the air transport system can accommodate."

"Doing this in advance allows affected customers to take time to make other arrangements in an orderly manner, rather than have their travel disrupted shortly before or during their journey, with few alternatives available."

Long airport queues, lost luggage, flight delays, and cancellations have plagued airlines and airports worldwide over the past months as the industry struggles to keep up with the surge in demand.

Air Canada's move follows several other airlines, including Qantas (QF), which revealed it would slash its domestic capacity until March 2023. Meanwhile, London's Gatwick Airport (LGW) has introduced a cap to limit the number of flights that will operate from the facility this summer.

Featured Image: Air Canada Boeing 737-8 (C-FSOI). Photo: Brandon Farris/Airways.