Canadians do not want to visit the United States, so airlines cut seats

Airlines reduce the capacity while Canadians lose their interest in visiting the United States.

Travel data company OAG said reservations on Canada flights to the United States have dropped by more than 70% each month until September. He compared the number held this week compared to the same era last year.

During the same period, CIRIUM data, an aeronautical analysis company, showed a decrease of approximately 23% of reservations – for theft of Canadian cities in New York, Miami, Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles in the next three months.

Deposits show that airlines have responded by reducing the capacity of some 320,000 seats over the next seven months, by OAG.

He reported a drop in flight capacity between Canada and the United States every month until October. For July and August, the decrease reached 3.5%.

“This clear drop suggests that travelers do not hold the reserves, probably due to continuous uncertainty surrounding the wider commercial dispute,” said John Grant, OAG chief analyst.

In comparison April 2025 and 2024, Cirium data has shown a 1.6% drop in the number of flights provided between the United States in Canada – and a 2.7% decrease in their capacity.

Air Canada reduced 468 flights or 8.2%, and Flair Airlines reduced more than a third of its flights, by Cirium.

However, his data has also shown us that the airlines and the Canadian budget transporter increased their operations.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told a JPMorgan conference earlier this month that the carrier saw a “great drop in Canadian traffic in the United States”.

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Some airlines hope rather that transatlantic flights will help replace the lost capacity.

Westjet, the second largest carrier in Canada, canceled the routes between New York and Calgary and between Orlando and Edmonton.

He adds more routes to Europe, operating his “most important transatlantic calendar in Atlantic Canada,” said John Weathrill, commercial director.

“We have observed a change in the United States’s reservations to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean, and towards transatlantic destinations,” Westjet spokesperson told the points guy. “We remain focused on the continuation of flying where there is a request.”

A spokesperson for Air Canada told the airline that the reservations decreased, she saw “much less” than the 70% average reported by OAG.

Air Canada and Westjet did not immediately respond to requests for comments sent by Business Insider.

Tourism Economics initially planned a 9% increase in international visitors to the United States this year, but last month revised this to a decrease of 5%, highlighting trade tensions.

After President Donald Trump announced the automotive prices on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called them unjustified and a violation of commercial transactions.

“The old relationship we have had with the United States according to the deepening of the integration of our economies and close security and military cooperation is over,” he said on Thursday.

Carney plans to discuss a coordinated response with provincial ministers and corporate figures on Friday and announce reprisal measures next week.