Canadian travelers are taking their loonies elsewhere, tanking demand for US flights
- Airline bookings from Canada to the U.S. have dropped significantly amid the ongoing trade war.
- Data shows that bookings for the upcoming summer season are down by over 70%.
- Airlines are reducing capacity on U.S.-Canada routes, cutting approximately 320,000 seats through October.
As the trade war between the United States and Canada continues and fears of detention at the U.S. border mount, Canadians are channeling their sentiments through their wallets and choosing to travel elsewhere.
According to aviation data firm OAG, airline bookings from Canada to the U.S. have collapsed in recent months.
"Using forward booking data from a major GDS supplier, we've compared the total bookings held at this point last year with those recorded this week for the upcoming summer season. The decline is striking — bookings are down by over 70% in every month through to the end of September," a statement from the firm said. "This sharp drop suggests that travelers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute."
OAG data shows that airlines are also starting to trim capacity on routes between the U.S. and Canada.
"Comparing the total number of scheduled one-way seats between the two countries filed on 3rd March and those filed on 24th March … 320,000 seats have been removed by airlines operating between the two countries through to the end of October," a statement from OAG said. "The most noticeable cuts are in July and August – the two peak summer season months – where airlines have cut capacity by some 3.5%."
Still, the shift in demand is not hitting all airlines equally. Air Canada, the country's largest airline, said it is seeing a some booking shifts, but not at such a high volume. The airline also acknowledged planned capacity shifts.
"While we have experienced a softening in the transborder market – and have shifted a limited amount of capacity to adapt to it as previously announced – the decline Air Canada has experienced is not of the magnitude cited in the blog," Christophe Hennebelle, Air Canada's vice president of corporate communications, told Paste BN in a statement. "According to our information, when aggregating all indirect and direct booking channels, the decline is significantly less."
Canada also recently updated its guidance for its citizens who plan to travel to the U.S., reminding them of a new requirement to register with the U.S. government for stays longer than 30 days.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for Paste BN. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.