Canada's Airlines Awaken

Airlines Plan New Schedules as Canada Takes Its First Steps Toward Reopening

Pushing Back: Inside the Issue

At long last, Canada has begun to relax some Covid-19 restrictions on domestic and international travel. For much of this year, the country had had among the strictest rules, requiring travelers to provide test results and quarantine in government-approved hotels (at great cost), among other measures. These rules all but squashed international travel, and domestic restrictions put a damper on flights within the country. But now, the industry's airlines are taking their first steps back from the void, with Air Canada resuming several international routes from its Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver gateways. Still, the airline plans to fly only 35 percent of its 2019 capacity this August. Meanwhile, Ottawa provided Porter Airlines with a loan, as it did for Air Canada and Transat. The carrier, which hasn't flown a single flight since last March, now says it will resume operations in September.

Elsewhere in this issue, Washington Dulles International Airport is considering a new concourse to replace a dated United facility. Lufthansa is adding narrowbody freighters to its fleet. Latam spars with its creditors over aircraft deals. Investors didn't love Wow Air copycat Play's debut on the stock market. And speaking of low-cost long-haul, will Ravn Alaska really build a hub in Anchorage for Asia-U.S. flights?

U.S. airline leaders have been downright giddy about demand this summer. They say leisure travel is back almost to 2019 levels, and they're increasingly confident business demand will return in September. So will this exuberance be reflected in the balance sheets? We'll find out, starting next week, when Delta kicks off earnings season.

Verbulence

"This is the moment our team members, passengers, and the communities we serve have been waiting for."

Porter Airlines CEO Michael Deluce