Air Canada and United Airlines to Offer Two New Routes this Summer
Air Canada and United Airlines announced today that, through their enhanced transborder joint business agreement, they will offer new routes between Canada and the U.S. for summer 2023. That includes a new United-operated flight between Washington-Dulles and Calgary and a new Air Canada-operated flight between Washington-Dulles and Vancouver.
The carriers have collaboratively optimized their schedules, subject to applicable government and regulatory conditions, and added more flights to provide customers greater connectivity and more flexible flight times, with over 80 transborder codeshare routes and more than 260 daily flights.
New, non-stop service between Vancouver and Washington-Dulles will begin June 1 and will be operated with an Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8. United will also introduce a new, non-stop flight between Calgary and Washington-Dulles on June 2 on an Airbus 319. Air Canada and United will codeshare on these flights, allowing Aeroplan or MileagePlus® members to accumulate and redeem miles. Eligible customers and loyalty plan members will also be able to enjoy benefits including priority check-in, lounge access, priority boarding and other benefits where available.
| Flight | Departs | Arrives | Frequency |
| AC 1036 | Vancouver 8:15 | Washington 16:16 | Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun |
| AC 1037 | Washington 17:10 | Vancouver 20:01 | Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun |
| UA 2221 | Calgary 13:30 | Washington 19:54 | Daily |
| UA 1125 | Washington 9:00 | Calgary 11:59 | Daily |
Shuttle-Style Schedule
The coordinated schedule will enable both carriers to offer shuttle-style hourly service throughout the day between key Air Canada and United hubs. The airlines will offer 29 daily flights with complementary timings between Toronto and New York/Newark and Chicago, and 11 daily flights between Vancouver and San Francisco.
| Route | Frequency | First Departure | Last Departure |
| Toronto-Chicago | 13- times Daily | 06:30 | 21:15 |
| Chicago-Toronto | 07:10 | 21:15 | |
| Toronto-New York/Newark | 16-times Daily | 06:15 | 21:00 |
| New York/Newark-Toronto | 06:00 | 20:15 | |
| Vancouver-San Francisco | 11-times Daily | 07:00 | 21:00 |
| San Francisco-Vancouver | 06:45 | 21:00 |
Customer Experience
Air Canada and United will offer business class seats on every flight between their respective hubs. All eligible customers will be able to enjoy Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounges and United’s lounges, as well as the benefits of the carriers’ Aeroplan and MileagePlus® loyalty programs. Additionally, customers will have a wider range of flight options with more than 80 transborder codeshare routes. Overall, customers will be able to connect to over 100 codeshare destinations in the U.S. and 25 of the most popular cities in Canada.
Partnership
In July 2022, Air Canada and United announced a joint business agreement for the Canada-U.S. transborder market, building on their long-standing partnership that will give more flight options and better flight schedules to customers traveling between the two countries (coordination subject to regulatory conditions). Air Canada and United are also founding members of Star Alliance and a transatlantic joint business agreement with the Lufthansa Group.
In 2019, the U.S.-Canada transborder market was the second largest international passenger air transportation market in the world and the largest international market for both Canada and the U.S., as measured by seats.