Canada, historically, has been one of the most important markets for the airlines based in the United States, and because of the proximity, even smaller regional carriers and low-cost airlines of both nations are able to compete on flights to Canada, alongside larger legacy carriers from both countries.

This article looks at the busiest transborder routes being operated from US airports to Canadian airports for the month of June, and evaluates the operations of these routes. Data considered will include one-way flights from the US to Canada, but will include operations of US and Canadian airlines.

Three Routes Will See Over 500 Flights This June

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Data from Cirium shows that a total of 14,283 flights are scheduled to operate from the US to Canada in June, of which only the top three routes will see over 500 flights across the month. These three routes include services from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and services from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in the North American West Coast.

Data indicates that LGA – YYZ will be the busiest route next month, with 682 flights scheduled for operations, which will be led by Air Canada operating 285 flights, followed by Delta Air Lines operating 165 flights, and American Airlines operating 146 flights. Regional carrier Porter Airlines will also be operating on this route, with the carrier scheduled to fly the remaining 86 flights. The second busiest route, ORD – YYZ, will see 526 flights. This route will see United Airlines, American Airlines, and Air Canada operating 286, 150, and 148 flights, respectively.

Over on the West, the SEA-YVR route is scheduled to have 500 flights operated, with Alaska Airlines dominating the route with 201 services, followed by Delta and Air Canada having 180 and 119 flights scheduled, respectively. Overall, across these three routes, a total of 1,708 flights will be operated in one direction, deploying 156,344 seats on the market.

10 Busiest Routes & 10 Highest Airline Operations

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Considering operations on a per-route basis, it is easy to understand how competitive a particular route is. However, when evaluating the data on an individual airline-operation basis, it becomes clear as to which route an airline focuses on and why.

The following table shows routes with the highest number of scheduled flights across all airlines and routes with the highest number of flights on a per-airline basis:

As seen from the table, the individual route an airline focuses on is not ranked in the same order as routes with the highest overall frequency. This is indicative of the fact that airlines don’t always focus on markets with higher competition and demand, but operate flights in a complementary manner by coordinating with their partners.

While various individual airlines and alliances compete with each other within the transatlantic market, when it comes to operations within North America, there is a very strong dominance of Star Alliance within the market. This is primarily because of the presence of United and Air Canada, along with the extensive regional and cross-border network they operate. United is also the US-based airline with the largest number of flights to Canada, with the carrier accounting for four out of every ten services to Canada operated by US carriers.

A High Degree Of Collaboration Between Two Carriers

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The US and Canada are home to United and Air Canada, both of which are Star Alliance members and codeshare partners. This allows the two airlines to focus on their strengths and hubs to complement each other, rather than demonstrating individual presence on every single route. This is an advantage that other US-based carriers do not have when it comes to the US – Canada market.

The table above shows that the US origin point of six routes, among the top ten routes served by overall frequency, is a United hub. That being said, the Canadian destination of all ten of these routes is an Air Canada hub. This allows United to offer its passengers connectivity on routes it does not operate on, via Air Canada’s services. Similarly, the two carriers account for five of the top ten individual airline operations across the border, with Air Canada and United dominating the top three spots.

That being said, earlier this year, Air Canada did slash 10% of its services to the US due to the geopolitical situation of the US imposing tariffs on Canada. Various levels of capacity cuts to the US were replicated by other Canadian carriers as well. This saw the airlines shift a portion of their capacity and operations to other markets, such as Mexico, which saw considerable increases in flight services to and from Canada.