Air Canada is trimming its US network for 2027, and the cuts tell you a lot about which cross-border routes actually pay. Five links from Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver have been removed from the schedule and are no longer bookable, and one — Toronto to Charleston, South Carolina — looks like a full withdrawal from the city.

The five axed routes: Montréal to Seattle, Toronto City Airport (Billy Bishop) to Boston, Vancouver to Nashville, Vancouver to Raleigh/Durham, and Toronto Pearson to Charleston. Most of these were young routes — three only launched in 2025 or 2026 — and all were seasonal, with plans to restart next spring now erased.

Why cut them? A mix of factors. Several served leisure-heavy markets where fares tend to be soft, and two of the routes (Vancouver–Nashville and Vancouver–Raleigh/Durham) are transcontinental sectors with hefty operating costs, thin margins and cheap fuel-free. Raleigh/Durham is the clearest case study. Launched in June 2025 as the first-ever nonstop between the two cities, it ran on a 169-seat 737 MAX 8, then shrank sharply in 2026 — departures down 27%, seats down 34%. Even with that right-sizing, load factors only nudged from 66.4% to 69.6%, with peak July 2026 at just 76%. For a seasonal long-haul route, that's not a business.

Charleston follows a similar arc. Air Canada launched it in March 2024 from Toronto, then steadily scaled back: 200 departures and 15,200 outbound seats in year one, down to 92 departures and under 7,000 seats by 2026. Average load factors hovered in the mid-60s, never cracking 70% in a single month. With nothing scheduled for 2027, the airline appears to be done with the city entirely.

The cuts aren't a wholesale retreat. Air Canada is simultaneously adding new US service — Edmonton to Newark and Montréal to Indianapolis — and reviving Toronto–Louisville after a 25-year absence. The pattern is clear: strong business and VFR markets stay, marginal leisure routes go.

For travellers, the practical takeaway: if you were counting on a nonstop for one of these five city pairs, your options now shift to connecting through Toronto, Montréal or Vancouver — Air Canada still serves Seattle, Boston, Nashville and Raleigh from at least one of those hubs. Anyone eyeing Charleston from Canada will likely need a connection via another carrier. And if you've already booked on one of the cancelled 2027 routes, expect rebooking or refund contact from the airline.

The broader context: Air Canada still dominates the Canada–US market with 160 daily departures this winter, rising to 215 by May, and its share of the transborder market has grown from 40% to 42%. The overall market has contracted slightly, but Canada's largest carrier is consolidating its position — just with a sharper eye on which routes earn their keep.

Via Simple Flying