Air Canada A321XLR Updates

Air Canada is gearing up for a busy 2026, and at the heart of the operation will be the debut of the Airbus A321XLR.

As part of preparations for the aircraft, the airline has also made changes to its scheduling, with the jet to be deployed across key domestic routes for longer than initially expected, thus flying deep into the summer season.

Montreal to Calgary will operate with the Airbus A321XLR from 1 May 2026 through 15 May 2026; however, it’ll also operate from 15 June 2026 through 7 September 2026, extending the initial endpoint, which was scheduled for 30 June 2026.

Flight AC317 departs Montreal at 0820 and arrives in Calgary at 1102; this flight operates daily. The return leg AC324 departs Montreal at 1200 and returns to the airline’s home at 1815. All times local.

Lastly, the airlines’ Montreal to Vancouver service will operate once daily with the Airbus A321XLR, departing Montreal at 1835 as AC315 and arriving in Vancouver at 2106.

The return leg will depart Vancouver as AC316 at 225 with a next-day arrival at 0615 back into Montreal. Air Canada says that the A321XLR service domestically will be scheduled until 7 September 2026.

These domestic legs are to complement the debut of the A321XLR on international services as well. That includes, from 2 July 2026, a tri-weekly service from Montreal through to Berlin, which ceases on 10 October 2026 and is thus seasonal.

Dublin launches before that on 15 May 2026 from Montreal, also on the same day, being complemented by Toulouse flying. Other cities include Porto, Palma de Mallorca, Nantes and Edinburgh.

A Record-Breaking Year

Not only will the arrival of the A321XLR bring a fresh feel to the airline’s domestic and international operations, but it will also come as 2026 is expected to be a record-breaking year.

The flag carrier is expected to take delivery of 35 new aircraft across 2026, based on its preliminary forecasts released at the end of 2025.

These planes are not deemed solely critical to the airline’s revenue, but the airline has also identified the sheer number of aircraft being delivered as necessary for optimisation efforts across the network.

With the knowledge that the 737 MAX will begin being removed from the mainline division in favour of the A321XLR, it also represents a changing of the guard, and part of the airline’s attempts to reach more markets, certainly to also be aided by the 787-10’s arrival to ease pressures on the widebody fleet.

Air Canada Also Makes 777 Change

Air Canada has also made an additional change to its European operations, with a capacity upgrade planned for the Northern Summer 2026 schedule.

The flag carrier will switch out the Airbus A330-300, which operates the service between Montreal and Geneva, for a Boeing 777-300ER, a model configured to seat 400 passengers.

The 777-300ER will increase capacity quite considerably on service between these two cities from 15 June 2026 to 6 September 2026.

Flight AC884, departing at 2030 from Montreal, is scheduled to arrive in Geneva at 0955 the following morning, and the service operates daily.

The return flight is scheduled to depart as AC885 from Geneva at 1240 with a 1440 arrival back into Montreal, all times local to their respective city.