United and Air Canada have asked to bring 10 more city pairs under their partnership, and Transport Canada has posted the plan for public comment. The list includes links such as Montreal to Chicago and Washington, Ottawa to New York, and Toronto and Vancouver to San Francisco, among others.
The joint venture launched in 2022 and lets the two airlines work together on selected cross border flights, aligning timetables, ticket prices, and promotion.
Travel between the U.S. and Canada has been pressured by geopolitics, with rising anti U.S. sentiment tied to President Donald Trump imposing tariffs and talking about Canada as a potential 51st state. Against that backdrop, a person with knowledge of the situation said Air Canada's capacity to the U.S. has slipped by around 10 percent in the last two years, with leisure travel seeing the biggest impact.
Beyond the joint venture filing, the partners plan to start new nonstop routes next summer, including Toronto to Louisville, Montreal to Indianapolis, and Edmonton to Newark. Separately, Chicago based United said Friday it will operate a seasonal Newark to St. John's flight from its Newark hub.
That announcement lands just ahead of United's third quarter earnings next week, where attention will be on cost pressures and possible capacity reductions related to the U.S. Iran war.
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If Transport Canada signs off, tighter coordination on more routes could help the pair defend share on key business and tech corridors while they navigate softer cross border demand. Meanwhile, the summer adds show both carriers are still leaning into targeted growth even as investors brace for cost and capacity headlines in United's report. The bottom line: watch how joint venture expansion and capacity plans intersect with geopolitical risk in your travel exposure.
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