Air Canada Launching U.S. Flights from Toronto Island Airport

Interesting news, Jetsetters!

Air Canada will add four U.S. destinations from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport starting spring 2026, doubling its daily departures and directly competing with Porter Airlines.

The expansion represents Air Canada’s largest growth at the downtown airport in 35 years. Here’s what’s changing.

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The Routes

Air Canada will launch service to:

• New York LaGuardia – 4x daily (March 29, 2026)
• Chicago O’Hare – 2x daily (June 1, 2026)
• Washington Dulles – 1x daily (June 1, 2026)
• Boston Logan – 3x daily (July 1, 2026)

All flights use 78-seat Dash 8-400 turboprop aircraft operated by Jazz Aviation.

All four U.S. routes operate under Air Canada’s joint venture partnership with United Airlines. The choice of Dulles over Reagan National was made to connect with United’s hub.

In addition to this, domestic service to Montréal increases from 8 to 9 daily flights, and Ottawa from 4 to 6, starting January 2026.

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U.S. Customs Pre-Clearance Enables Expansion

The new routes depend on a customs pre-clearance facility opening at Billy Bishop by early Q2 2026. This allows passengers to clear U.S. customs in Toronto, arriving at American airports as domestic passengers.

Pre-clearance is particularly critical for the LaGuardia route, as that airport lacks international customs facilities. Without it, direct flights to LaGuardia wouldn’t be possible.

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Service Features

Air Canada introduced several amenities for Billy Bishop passengers:

• Free in-flight Wi-Fi (launched October 2025, a first for Dash 8-400 aircraft globally)
• Complimentary snacks, beer, and wine (matching Porter’s offering)
• Aspire Air Canada Café lounge access for eligible customers

New ergonomic seats with device holders are coming to 25 aircraft in 2026.

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Direct Competition with Porter

Porter already serves three of Air Canada’s four new destinations from Billy Bishop: Boston, Chicago, and the Washington area via Newark. Porter doesn’t fly to LaGuardia from the island airport, though it does serve that route from Toronto Pearson.

With pre-clearance coming to Billy Bishop, Porter could now add LaGuardia and other U.S. routes that weren’t previously possible. Porter indicated it will continue considering opportunities to add flights at Billy Bishop and is also implementing a new partnership with American Airlines.

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Why It Matters

Billy Bishop sits on an island 400 feet from downtown Toronto, accessible via an underground tunnel or 90-second ferry ride. This is far more convenient for downtown business travelers than Toronto Pearson, located 27 kilometers from the city center.

However, the airport only permits turboprop aircraft, limiting operations to regional planes. Air Canada operates over 600 daily flights to 124 destinations from Pearson, making Billy Bishop a complement rather than replacement.

The expansion gives Toronto travelers more U.S. flight options, with schedules designed for business day trips. Whether Air Canada can successfully compete with Porter’s dominant position at the airport remains to be seen.

For more information, read Air Canada’s official announcement of this news: https://www.aircanada.com/media/air-canada-to-launch-us-flights-from-toronto-island-in-a-major-expansion-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport/

What do you think, Jetsetters? Are these new routes enough to pull you away from Porter, or will you stick with Billy Bishop’s longtime favourite?