Air Canada is temporarily suspending flights from Toronto and Montreal to New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, saying surging jet fuel prices have made some of its less profitable routes too expensive to keep flying. The pause starts on 1 June and is scheduled to end on 25 October.
The airline said the affected routes include one flight from Montreal and three from Toronto. It said customers booked on the flights will be contacted with alternate travel options. Air Canada also said it will continue flying to LaGuardia and Newark Liberty international airports 34 times daily from six cities across Canada, keeping most of its New York service in place even as it pulls back at JFK.
The move comes as fuel costs remain elevated after the US and Israel’s war with Iran began in late February and a fragile ceasefire was reached earlier in April. Air Canada said jet fuel prices have doubled since the conflict began, and that some lower-profitability routes are now no longer economically feasible. The company said the changes will affect 1% of its overall passenger-carrying capacity.
Air Canada’s decision also reaches beyond New York. The carrier said a Salt Lake City-Toronto route will be halted starting 30 June, with plans to resume in 2027, and that it is delaying the launch of a service from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Montreal. The airline said airlines worldwide may need to trim schedules as aviation fuel costs climb, even after Iran said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz had reopened and oil prices eased.
Other carriers are already making similar moves. The British budget airline easyJet has said it expects a pre-tax loss of £540 million to £560 million for the six months ending in March, while Qantas and Virgin Australia have announced fare increases and reduced flight frequency. The International Energy Agency has warned that Europe has only six weeks of jet fuel reserves left before shortages could start to bite.
