American Airlines is launching two new routes connecting New York City to Canada, despite the low number of Canadian tourists currently traveling to the U.S. In recent months, several Canadian airlines have cut U.S.-bound flights amid low demand, as Canada’s U.S. travel boycott continues.
American Airlines Launches Two New Routes To Canada
American Airlines is about to add two routes to Canada, connecting John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) and Calgary International Airport (YYC). Both services will be seasonal and will start operating on Wednesday, August 5 and Thursday, August 6, respectively.
American Airlines’ New Canadian Routes
|
Connecting |
Aircraft |
Capacity |
|---|---|---|
|
JFK — YQB |
05 August–12 October |
Embraer E175s |
|
JFK – YYC |
06 August–04 October |
Boeing 737 MAX 8s |
This decision appears to be part of a broader expansion which began in 2024. Since then, American Airlines has launched several new direct flights between the U.S. and Canada, including service between Calgary and NYC, Calgary and Charlotte, and Dallas Fort Worth and Québec City, among others.
Thanks to these new connections, American Airlines will soon operate seven direct flights between the New York area and Canada. Despite this, overall departures remain below pre-pandemic levels due to low demand.
Canada’s U.S. Travel Boycott Continues
In 2025, the U.S. saw a 21% drop in Canadian visitors, as thousands of travelers decided to boycott the country following U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks about a possible annexation of Canada.
While numbers are now rising again, figures remain well below 2024 levels. According to Statistics Canada, in June 2026, Canadian residents’ return trips from the U.S. totaled 1.7 million. This represents 3.2% growth from the same period in 2025, while still reflecting a 28.7% decrease compared to June 2024.
In addition, U.S. citizens have also avoided traveling to Canada throughout 2025. Statistics Canada reports that last year, U.S.-resident arrivals to Canada totaled 22.8 million, representing a 2.9% year-over-year decline. These new trends have led several airlines to cancel hundreds of flights connecting the two countries, with Canadian carriers dropping thousands of seats on once-popular routes.
Canadian Airlines Continue To Cut U.S.-Bound Flights
According to Cirium schedule data obtained and analyzed by TheTravel, Air Canada has recently canceled 3,454 U.S.-bound flights and 578,872 seats. TheTravel compared data from the year ending in June 2025 with that ending in June 2026 and found that, during that period, the Canadian carrier reduced its flights from 66,437 to 62,983 and lowered seat availability from 8,041,119 to 7,462,247.
Despite this general trend, some Canadian airlines have made some exceptions. For instance, in late March, Air Canada launched a new route between New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ).
Not all cities have been affected in the same way, as once-popular hubs such as Las Vegas have reported drastic declines in Canadian tourist numbers. In the first quarter of 2025, Canadian airlines have reduced capacity to Las Vegas by 82,000 seats. This is equal to approximately 900 fewer seats per day.
Cancellations have continued throughout the year. For instance, WestJet has dropped a total of 214 flights to the U.S. this July compared to July 2025. Despite this, U.S. tourism officials appear positive about the future.
U.S. Travel Association Predicts Canadians’ Return
According to the U.S. Travel Association, the number of Canadian tourists traveling to the U.S. is expected to increase soon. A forecast published in May states, “The recovery in 2026 is expected to be uneven across markets. Visits from Canada are projected to increase after a 21% volume decline in 2025.”
More specifically, international inbound travel spending is expected to increase by 1.6% to $178 billion, while inbound visitors are projected to grow by 3.4%, for a total of 70.6 million international travelers. While the association didn’t provide exact figures for the projected increase in Canadian tourists in 2026, the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) reports that “Total international visitation to the United States is expected to grow by 25 percent from 68.3 million visitors in 2025 to 85.2 million visitors in 2030.”
However, President Trump’s newly appointed special envoy for tourism, Nick Adams, is now setting a much bolder target, hoping to attract 100 million visitors by 2030. This represents a 46% increase compared to 2025 figures. During the May U.S. Travel Association’s IPW conference, he acknowledged the 2025 decline in tourist numbers while stating that the Trump administration would “turn it around.”
“I will do everything in my power to make sure that our policies are policies that don’t discourage tourism from the places that have been so good to the industry,” Adams said, as reported by Travel Weekly.
This could be challenging, especially given that, according to a survey by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), 70% of Canadian travelers have no intention of entering the U.S.
Amid this uncertainty, American Airlines’ decision to launch two new routes connecting the U.S. and Canada appears to be a bold move. At present, it remains unclear when, and whether, Canadians will reconsider travel to the U.S., and how long it will take for U.S. inbound tourism to exceed pre-pandemic levels.
