Air Canada Cuts Flights To India

Air Canada is making further changes to its route network, with the planned adjustment to its Toronto Pearson-Delhi service for a limited window in August 2026.

The carrier will reduce its frequency between the two cities from daily, equating to seven flights a week, to six flights a week. However, this will be during a limited two-week window between 5 August 2026 and 19 August 2026.

Air Canada’s shift, reflected in a new schedule change flagged by aeroroutes.com, is part of a continued focus on network adjustments in response to many factors, including increased operating costs driven by spiking fuel prices, among other constraints.

The airline will now, as a result of the shift, operate one fewer return flight per week using the Boeing 777-300ER and the 777-200LR jets, which have been tasked with serving Delhi from Toronto Pearson.

Just A Limited Cut By Air Canada

When airlines typically make schedule changes, they’re a sizeable shift, and in the case of Air Canada’s most recent adjustment to Delhi planned for August, this is limited, very limited.

The reduction over a two-week window reflects just one fewer weekly flight from the typical daily service, and the explicit commitment that India remains a highly important market for the airline means this reduction isn’t a sign of things to come.

Air Canada will restore the Toronto-Delhi service during the high season. However, while it remains committed, it’s also wary of many factors that might require it to adjust how it serves international locations. That was evident on its Montreal-to-Delhi flight, which was suspended for commercial reasons during the 2026 Northern Summer.

Now, much of the airline’s growth in India is targeted at Toronto. With India’s air travel demand spiking, airlines, including Air Canada, need to respond by dedicating aircraft to cities where customers require frequent service.

Toronto, with its growing population and significant increase in residents born in India, means there’s a drive to offer a larger source of connecting and originating traffic, especially through widebody operations. That type of connectivity is becoming easier as models like the 787-10 begin to be delivered this year, easing pressure on existing units like the mid-market 787-9.

Air India Makes Changes To Canada Too

Not just Air Canada, but the Indian flag carrier and struggling Air India have also been forced to make changes to their operations between cities in their home country and to Canada.

The airline has progressively cut its Canadian operations in response to ongoing international network shifts, as the business bleeds money and tries to offset increased operating costs following the outbreak of the Iran war and a spike in jet fuel prices.

In mid-April, the airline decided to shift its service across May between Delhi and Vancouver with a reduction in the overall flights, one less flight a week departing across the AI185/AI186 service.

Secondly, the airline’s flight to Toronto was also cut, as the business reduced the 10 weekly flights to 7, with these flights westbound via Vienna, as part of further sweeping changes. After this, a broader cut was implemented, not because demand was dropping but to protect margins.

Despite those changes and given further adjustments to international flying for the flag carrier, these moves aren’t permanent, just like Air Canada’s. Still, they are certainly more impactful and longer-lasting than the fellow Star Alliance partner.

The airline recognises that Canada remains a pivotal market with a large and growing Indian immigrant population. Therefore, its changes aren’t due to a lack of passengers on its flights, but rather to protect its more premium gateways and margins and to ensure that the billions being lost annually can be cooled.