Air Canada's network diversification efforts create a buffer against falling US demand

Air Canada has been working to broaden its global network for more than a decade, and those efforts paid off during the first quarter as US tariff threats and other geopolitical uncertainty affected transborder leisure demand.

But the airline's sixth freedom traffic, which Air Canada has also steadily built over the last 10 years, remained robust, and the company sees opportunities to broaden its sixth freedom reach from Mexico.

It was an impressive reallocation of capacity on such short notice, and Air Canada remains confident that its network diversification will continue to serve as a buffer against future uncertainty, reflected by its decision to make a push into Latin America in 4Q2025.