United Airlines and Air Canada seek Canadian approval for expanded joint venture

Air Canada and United Airlines have applied to Transport Canada for approval of an amended joint venture covering Canada-U.S. flights, Air Canada said on Friday. The airlines agreed to renew and expand the arrangement, subject to regulatory approval.

Transport Canada is reviewing the proposal through a public interest assessment, the agency said. Canadians can comment at letstalktransportation.ca until Nov. 15.

The airlines have operated under the joint venture since 2022. It lets them coordinate flight schedules, ticket prices, marketing, sales and revenue management on certain Canada-U.S. routes. Under Canadian law, the transport minister can authorize a joint venture, authorize it with conditions or refuse it.

"By conducting a thorough public interest assessment of this amended joint venture, we're ensuring that any expanded cooperation between these carriers benefits Canadians and drives stronger economic growth," Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said in a statement.

Air Canada announced new routes for summer 2027 under the agreement. It will launch service from Toronto to Louisville, Montréal to Indianapolis and Edmonton to Newark. It will use a larger Airbus A220 on its Edmonton-San Francisco route. Toronto-Louisville service starts April 28, 2027.

United will start seasonal service to St. John's from Newark and add service from Denver to Ottawa and to Québec City. It will increase flights between Washington, D.C., and Québec City and raise daily seats between Denver and Winnipeg by 65%.

The two carriers are seeking to fold 10 more routes into the partnership, among them Montréal-Chicago, Montréal-Washington, Ottawa-New York, Toronto-San Francisco and Vancouver-San Francisco, according to Bloomberg. Travel between the two countries has slumped amid growing anti-American feeling, with President Donald Trump imposing tariffs and musing about Canada as the 51st state, according to Bloomberg.

"Our schedule has grown every year since our transborder agreement was signed in 2022," Patrick Quayle, United's senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, said in a statement.

Mark Galardo, Air Canada's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement that the airlines have unlocked more than 5 million new transborder seats since 2022. Air Canada said 20 new routes have been created under the agreement and more than 4.3 million passengers have flown jointly on the two carriers. It said customers have access to more than 1,200 connecting itineraries with integrated through-fares.

The filing follows a period of strained trade relations. Trump signed proclamations in July imposing 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods covering roughly $20 billion in imports. In August, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada was responsible for the collapse of trade negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the U.S. introduced last-minute changes to the proposed terms.