Despite some airlines collapsing or consolidating, Canadians air passengers can expect more seats and even some deals heading into the Thanksgiving long weekend this year.
Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that across the major Canadian airlines, total capacity is expected to be up by about 30,000 seats for the Oct. 11-14 weekend compared to Thanksgiving dates in 2023.
That’s despite the closure of Lynx Air, which folded in February of this year, and the consolidation of Swoop into WestJet.
While Air Canada, Air Transat, Flair and WestJet are all expected to see low-single-digit increases in seat capacity, the bulk of the improvements will come from Porter Airlines, with a jump of 37 per cent year-over-year.
“Most notably, Porter has been expanding aggressively, not just across Canada, but North America,” says Amra Durakovic, head of communications for Flight Centre Travel Group.
Story continues below advertisement
Seat capacity is more of a mixed picture for the Thanksgiving weekend in …