Air Canada will begin Montréal to Copenhagen next summer. It'll be the first time the route has operated normally, at least in the past 18 years. It is the latest route addition for Canada's flag carrier from its fast-growing Québec hub, and it comes soon after Air Canada revealed two winter routes from the airport.

What's happening?

Air Canada will take off from Montréal to Copenhagen on June 1st. It'll be the airline's second Copenhagen route, joining – you guessed it – long-standing Toronto. Booking data shows Montréal was the fourth-largest unserved North American market from Denmark's capital in 2019.

The 'Star Alliance' route will be good for point-to-point demand, transit passengers over Montreal, connecting over Copenhagen with fellow Star member SAS, and bridging both hubs with the two airlines.

The 3,616-mile (5,819km) airport pair will run 5x weekly using 255-seat B787-8s. These have 20 fully flat seats in business (Signature Class), 21 seats in premium economy, and 214 in economy. The schedule is as follows, with all times local:

  • Montréal to Copenhagen: AC826, 17:55-06:45+1 (block time 6h 50m)
  • Copenhagen to Montréal: AC827, 13:15-15:00 (7h 45m)
Rising Air Canada 787-8 Into the YVR Sunset - With Beacons Flashing
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying

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25 long-haul routes

June is many months away and much can change, especially with the Far East. However, as of August 10th, Air Canada plans 25 long-haul routes to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America from Montréal in the first week of next June. That's up from 20 in the same week in 2019. Its network has grown by a quarter.

More importantly, departing flights (i.e., flights leaving Montréal) have risen from 97 to 142, up by a huge 46.4%, also reflecting frequency increases on multiple existing routes. OAG shows that departing seats for sale have grown from 28,910 that week to 42,889, up by 48.3%. They've increased by a similar amount over 2022 figures.

According to OAG, Air Canada plans a total of 1,212 weekly departures from Montréal that week. This means Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America will have 11.7% of flights. That's a higher proportion than from its main Toronto hub (9.7%) and its West Coast hub at Vancouver (7.4%).

Air Canada's Montreal network first week of June 2022
Air Canada's long-haul network from Montréal in the first week of June 2023. Notice the addition of Copenhagen. Image: OAG.

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26 long-haul routes next June

Here's a breakdown of what Air Canada plans to operate in the week beginning June 1st. It is, of course, subject to change. Routes include Milan, which restarted earlier this year after a 20-year absence.

  1. London Heathrow: 2x daily (1x B787-8, 1x B787-9)
  2. Paris CDG: 2x daily (1x B777-300ER, 1x B787-9)
  3. Athens: 1x daily (B787-9)
  4. Barcelona: 1x daily (A330-300
  5. Brussels: 1x daily (B787-9)
  6. Rome: 1x daily (B777-300ER)
  7. Frankfurt: 1x daily (B787-9)
  8. Milan: 1x daily (A330-300)
  9. Tokyo Narita: 1x daily (B787-9)
  10. Shanghai Pudong: 1x daily (B787-8)
  11. Casablanca: 6x weekly (A330-300)
  12. Copenhagen: 5x weekly (B787-8)
  13. Geneva: 5x weekly (A330-300)
  14. Lisbon: 5x weekly (A330-300)
  15. Lyon: 5x weekly (A330-300)
  16. Algiers: 4x weekly (A330-300)
  17. Cairo: 4x weekly (B787-8)
  18. Delhi: 4x weekly (B787-9)
  19. Dublin: 4x weekly (A330-300)
  20. Bogotá: 3x weekly (A330-300)
  21. Keflavik: 3x weekly (B737 MAX 8)
  22. Nice: 3x weekly (A330-300)
  23. São Paulo: 3x weekly (B787-9)
  24. Tel Aviv: 3x weekly (B787-8)
  25. Venice: 2x weekly (A330-300)

Where would you like Air Canada to fly from its Quebec hub? Let us know in the comments.