TORONTO — With airline news coming in from every direction, sometimes you need the skills of an air traffic controller just to keep a handle on whatʻs what.
Of course, in the U.S., the air traffic controllers are the news, and itʻs not good.
Flight delays south of the border have been piling up due to short-staffing, as 13,000 U.S. air traffic controllers have been working without pay for weeks due to the U.S. government shutdown.
The situation has gotten so bad, the U.S. government yesterday ordered flight cuts, scaling up from 4% to 10% by next week, at 40 of the busiest airports in the U.S. Impacted flights could number into the thousands.
This morning the FAA released the list to airlines and wire services including The Associated Press picked it up. Airports in New York, L.A. and Chicago are on the list, along with Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco.
International flights would be exempt, according to reports.
The air traffic controller shortage is impacting not just U.S. airline operations, but flights here in Canada too.
As aviation industry expert John Gradek notes, because North American airspace is so integrated, planes often cross the border during flights. A shortage in the northern perimeters of the U.S. can impact the routing, timing and the departure times of Canadian flights.
Travelweek connected with Gradek to get his take on the other big news in the Canadian airline industry, namely Air Canadaʻs expansion at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ). Thereʻs also the matter of Onex Partnersʻ done deal selling 25% of WestJet to Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and Air France-KLM, plus a possible IPO for WestJet.
Meanwhile Air Transat’s pilots are set to vote on a strike mandate after contract talks with the airline stalled. Pilot leaders at Air Transat will ask their members, represented by ALPA, to give them the authority to go on strike if an agreement can’t be reached by Dec.10.
“OH YEAH? WATCH THIS!”
Air Canadaʻs expansion at YTZ can be summed up as Air Canada saying to Porter Airlines, “ʻOh yeah? Watch this!ʻ,” Gradek tells Travelweek.
Air Canadaʻs big spring 2026 plans for YTZ – which happens to be Porterʻs global hub and HQ – will come as Porter marks its third year flying dozens of its brand new E195-E2 jet aircraft out of Pearson Airport (YYZ), in line with its own massive expansion strategy first announced in 2021.
With its 2024-2025 winter schedule, Porter became the second-largest Canadian carrier between Canada and the U.S. at Toronto Pearson. The largest? Air Canada.
Porter’s expansion from Pearson has also included routes in western Canada and more, plus this past summer Porter announced its first flights to sun destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica for winter 2025-2026.
While the majority of Porterʻs big new route news has been focused on YYZ, the airline is still very much established at YTZ. The expansive passenger terminal at YTZ came courtesy of Porter in 2010, with the pedestrian tunnel opening in 2015. The terminal is now owned and operated by Nieuport Aviation, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is owned and operated by PortsToronto. But this airport is in Porterʻs DNA, and for many travellers, it’s synonymous with Porter.
Air Canada has domestic routes operating out of YTZ, on the lucrative Golden Triangle linking Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The airline is no stranger to the downtown airport, and the four new U.S. routes launching in spring 2026 – to New York-LaGuardia, Chicago-OʻHare, Boston and Washington DC (all strong routes with the corporate market, says Air Canada, despite the transborder downturn) – were years in the making for Canadaʻs flag carrier. They also happen to be destinations already offered by Porter Airlines out of YTZ, albeit to different airports for two of the routes (EWR & MDW).
Competition in the Canadian airline industry has always been fierce, and the rivalry between Air Canada and Porter is no exception. Named for Canadaʻs famous flying ace, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is now seeing a dogfight between two of Canadaʻs biggest airline players.
“Thereʻs going to be a lot more Air Canada tails at Billy Bishop,” said Gradek, adding that while Air Canada’s move is strategic, it’s not necessarily purely commercial. “YTZ is a true ʻO & Dʻ [Origin & Destination] airport. No oneʻs likely to connect through YTZ. No oneʻs driving in from Oshawa to fly out of YTZ. Most passengers are likely coming to YTZ from within a 10 km radius, especially with Torontoʻs traffic. Air Canada is all about building its network. Itʻs not a network location.”
He added: “The battleground started many years ago … Porter came into YTZ very aggressively, they wanted to establish a beachhead. So they built their fortress at YTZ. Then they bought the terminal. And they grew and grew.”
“THAT’S A LOT OF AIRPLANES TO FIND HOMES FOR”
All this focus on Toronto won’t escape WestJet’s notice, despite its doubling-down in recent years on the west, and especially Calgary. “Theyʻve got YYC pretty much locked up,” said Gradek.
While the airline may be gearing up for an IPO, that could be a year or two in the future, according to Onex Partners.
Earlier this fall WestJet made aviation history with its largest aircraft order to date, finalizing a deal with Boeing for dozens of narrowbody and widebody aircraft. The order includes 60 737-10 MAX narrowbody aircraft – with options for an additional 25 – and seven 787-9 Dreamliner widebody aircraft, with options for four more.
“Thatʻs a lot of airplanes to find homes for. That could be how they get back into eastern Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Halifax) in a big way. They have the opportunity to do that with this big aircraft order. It could be a big commercial opportunity for them,” said Gradek.
Asked about Onex’s sale of 25% of WestJet to Delta, Korean Air and Air France-KLM, first announced in May 2025 and finalized last month, Gradek said he wouldn’t be surprised to see some Delta Air Lines execs coming over to WestJet: “Thatʻs world-class aviation expertise, to level up the skill set.”
AIR TRANSAT PILOTS TO VOTE ON STRIKE MANDATE
Air Transat could have its own headlines in the coming weeks, as Air Transat’s pilots are set to vote on a strike mandate. According to ALPA, contract talks with the airline have stalled.
The airline and ALPA began their contract negotiations at the start of 2025. The parties entered conciliation on Sept. 19, which is expected to continue until November 18. If an agreement is not reached by then, a 21-day cooling-off period will begin Nov. 21. Depending on the result, the strike vote would give the pilots the authority to go on strike if an agreement can’t be reached by Dec. 10.
As the industry well remembers, the three-day flight attendants’ strike at Air Canada caused travel chaos this past August.
A spokesperson for Air Transat said negotiations with ALPA are a priority for the airline, and noted that talks “remain within reasonable timeframes.”
Air Transat added: “Given the productive discussions currently taking place intensively with the support of conciliators appointed by the Minister of Labour, we consider ALPA’s remarks to be premature. Nevertheless, holding a strike authorization vote is a normal part of the collective bargaining process. Our operations and activities continue as usual. Our goal remains to reach, at the bargaining table, a competitive collective agreement that satisfies both parties.”
This article appears in the Nov. 6, 2025 issue of Travelweek; click here.
