Even though we are months away from cooler weather in the northern hemisphere, Air Canada is gearing up for the winter season and announcing new services out of Quebec City. The airport will see new services to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in November and December, respectively. The airline has also announced increased service out of Quebec City to Punta Cana and Cancun.

"We're excited to be launching these two new routes to Florida from Quebec City, a first for Air Canada. We know that, for many Quebecers, Florida is a popular place for winter vacations," - Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada, via statement.

Escaping Canadian winter

Whether it's frequent rain on the west coast or ice and snow almost everywhere else in the country, many travelers look to sunny destinations further south for some relief from the cold winter weather.

With this in mind, Air Canada is announcing service out of Quebec City's Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Air Canada calls the cities "two very popular sun destinations in Florida, highly favored by Quebecers." The announcement by the airline also notes that capacity will be increased to two existing routes out of Quebec City: Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Cancun (Mexico).

This is what we can expect from the airline this winter in terms of start dates:

  • Flights to Fort Lauderdale will start on November 19th, up to four times weekly.
  • Flights to Orlando on December 17th, once weekly.
  • Starting December 4th, Air Canada will also be offering more flights to Punta Cana and Cancun. These services will each run twice weekly.

Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada, notes that Punta Cana and Cancun are also among the most popular tropical destinations and that the airline is happy to be able to bring back these connections. These routes were first established in 2019 and were covered by Simple Flying.

"These routes will not only provide more diverse flight options for Quebec City residents but will also strengthen our foothold in a growing market and better serve the Jean Lesage International Airport, our long–time partner," Galardo adds.

Air Canada us routes
Many Canadians across the country flock to sunny southern destinations during colder times of the year. Photo: GCMap.com

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Service details

Air Canada flights out of Quebec City will be operated by Air Canada's leisure brand, Rouge, using the carrier's Airbus A319s. These smaller narrowbodies are capable of accommodating 136 passengers.

Air Canada Rouge A319
The Airbus A319 is the largest part of the Air Canada Rouge fleet. Photo: Air Canada

Consisting of 39 aircraft, Air Canada Rouge is Air Canada's low-cost, leisure-focused subsidiary. The airline brand recently shed itself of its long-haul, widebody Boeing 767s- some of which will be converted into freighters for Air Canada's cargo division. With these retirements, the airline now operates an all-Airbus A320 Family fleet, with 20 A319s, five A320s, and 14 A321s.

Planespotters.net data shows that all of Air Canada Rouge's aircraft are currently parked and inactive. With Air Canada's Quebec City announcement, however, it looks like that will change in the months ahead.

Have you flown with Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge to southern sun destinations before? Share your experience with us in the comments.