Air Canada expands winter sun network as survey highlights demand for new destinations

Air Canada is broadening its winter leisure network with services to destinations including Tenerife, Roatán, Santo Domingo, Mérida and Mazatlán, alongside additional seasonal connections from airports across Canada.

The airline highlighted the previously announced expansion as it released Ipsos research showing that 72% of Canadian autumn and winter travellers surveyed consider relaxation important when choosing a destination. Some 55% said there were many winter destinations they had yet to explore.

The winter programme includes Tenerife, Roatán and Quito from both Montréal and Toronto. Montréal’s offering also includes Santo Domingo and Aruba, while Toronto gains Mérida. From Vancouver, the expansion covers Mazatlán, Monterrey, Liberia and Puerto Escondido.

Additional seasonal services include Calgary–Cancún and Puerto Vallarta, Edmonton–Montego Bay, Winnipeg–Montego Bay and Punta Cana, Québec City–Pointe-à-Pitre, and Halifax–Bridgetown.

The survey also points to interest beyond established sun destinations. Some 37% of respondents described Central and South American destinations as unfamiliar but appealing, while 33% expressed similar interest in Asia-Pacific destinations. Hawaii, Costa Rica and Australia ranked among the winter destinations respondents were considering.

Air Canada did not provide route frequencies, launch dates or the survey’s sample size and fieldwork dates in this release.