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Air Transat is expanding its footprint in Canada with a series of new non-stop routes to sun destinations, giving travellers in smaller and mid-sized cities direct access to the Caribbean and Mexico just as the leisure carrier shifts capacity away from the United States market.
New Non-Stop Gateways to the Sun From Three Canadian Cities
Air Transat is broadening its winter 2025-2026 program by adding non-stop flights from Windsor in Ontario, and Charlottetown and Fredericton in Atlantic Canada, to some of the most sought-after beach destinations in the Americas. The move gives these communities direct southbound links that previously required connections through major hubs such as Toronto or Montreal.
From Windsor, travellers will be able to fly once a week to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, with Friday departures scheduled from December 19, 2025, through April 10, 2026. The new service targets the sizeable Southern Ontario market that often drives or connects to Detroit or Toronto for winter getaways, offering a closer-to-home alternative that aligns with Air Transat’s focus on leisure-oriented, all-inclusive packages.
Charlottetown and Fredericton will see their own first-ever Air Transat non-stop flights to Cancún beginning February 18, 2026. Operated every Wednesday until April 22, 2026, these routes are designed to capture peak winter demand in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, regions where residents traditionally route through Halifax, Montreal or Toronto to reach resort areas on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.
By opening southbound routes from three new departure points, the carrier is signaling a broader strategy to diversify its Canadian origin markets. It is also strengthening its position in two of its strongest leisure destinations: Cancún and Punta Cana, where Air Transat already has an established presence from larger Canadian cities.
Strengthening Leisure Leadership in Cancún and Punta Cana
The addition of new non-stop flights from Windsor to Punta Cana and from Charlottetown and Fredericton to Cancún further cements Air Transat’s status as a specialist in sun-and-sand travel. Both destinations sit at the heart of the company’s winter offering, supported by a robust network of hotel partners and vacation packages.
Punta Cana has long been one of Air Transat’s highest-volume routes, drawing Canadian travellers with its extensive all-inclusive resort inventory and relatively short flight times from Eastern and Central Canada. The new Windsor service taps into a catchment that extends beyond the city itself, including nearby communities in Southwestern Ontario that have historically been underserved for direct international leisure flights.
Cancún, meanwhile, remains a cornerstone of the airline’s Mexican network. By layering Charlottetown and Fredericton onto its existing operations from larger Canadian hubs, Air Transat is effectively pushing its reach deeper into Atlantic Canada while consolidating market share on one of the continent’s busiest sun corridors. The Wednesday schedule is tailored to one-week and two-week vacation patterns, allowing seamless pairing with resort stays across the Riviera Maya.
For Canadian tour operators and travel agencies, the expanded lift into Punta Cana and Cancún adds capacity during key winter weeks, offering more options and potentially easing pressure on peak-season pricing. For local airports in Windsor, Charlottetown and Fredericton, the flights enhance their profile as gateways capable of supporting direct international leisure service.
Quebec City and Montreal Gain New Links to Latin America and the Caribbean
Air Transat’s sun expansion is not limited to secondary markets. In late 2025 the carrier inaugurated two notable routes from its heartland province of Quebec, further integrating Montreal and Quebec City into its southbound leisure network.
In December 2025, the airline launched service from Montreal–Trudeau to Guadalajara, operating twice weekly through late June 2026. The route marks Air Transat’s sixth destination in Mexico and underscores its ambition to go beyond traditional resort cities by adding a major cultural and economic center in western Mexico. Guadalajara appeals both to leisure travellers drawn to its historic core and to those seeking to combine city breaks with excursions to nearby coastal regions.
On December 14, 2025, Air Transat also began year-round flights from Quebec City to Fort-de-France in Martinique. The new service creates a direct bridge between Quebec’s capital and the French Caribbean, offering a unique blend of European and Caribbean influences without requiring a connection in Montreal or a European gateway. For Quebec City, it represents a significant enhancement in long-haul leisure connectivity.
Both of these routes are operated by the airline’s Airbus A321LR aircraft, a narrow-body jet optimized for long-range operations. The type features a two-cabin configuration with economy and Club Class, modern in-flight entertainment and a cabin interior designed for comfort on longer flights, reinforcing Air Transat’s focus on passenger experience on its expanding southbound and transatlantic networks.
From Smaller Cities to Big Beach Destinations: What Travellers Can Expect
For travellers in Windsor, Charlottetown and Fredericton, the new non-stop flights fundamentally change the way they can plan winter vacations. Instead of overnighting near a major hub or relying on multi-stop itineraries that lengthen travel days, passengers will be able to check in at their local airport and fly directly to their resort destination.
The schedule structure, with weekly departures aligned to traditional vacation durations, is particularly suited to packaged holidays. Travellers can expect Air Transat’s usual bundled offerings, including transfers and resorts that cater to Canadian preferences in terms of language, cuisine and family-friendly amenities. The airline’s long-standing relationships with hotel partners in Punta Cana and Cancún provide a wide range of price points, from budget-friendly properties to upscale all-inclusive resorts.
The choice of aircraft will also be central to the passenger experience. While Air Transat has not yet detailed specific equipment allocations for every new route, its fleet of Airbus narrow-body and wide-body aircraft generally includes features such as individual entertainment screens, in-seat power on newer jets, and pre-order options for meals and seating. Club Class, when offered, gives travellers in vacation markets a premium cabin with more space and enhanced service without the formality or pricing of traditional business class.
For communities gaining their first direct international leisure routes, there is also an economic dimension. Increased traffic through local airports can support ancillary services, from ground transportation to hospitality, while giving residents a tangible quality-of-life benefit in the form of easier access to sun destinations during the long Canadian winter.
Strategic Pivot Away From the US Toward Stronger Sun Markets
The new non-stop sun routes come as Air Transat executes a wider strategic shift away from the United States market and toward destinations where demand and pricing are more favorable. The airline has been progressively winding down its limited US network and has now signaled that it will cease all remaining transborder services by June 2026, including routes from Montreal and Quebec City to Florida.
This retrenchment reflects the relatively small share of Air Transat’s overall capacity that US routes represented, especially compared with its strong footprint in Mexico, the Caribbean and select transatlantic markets. By redeploying aircraft and crews from lower-yield US operations into higher-demand sun and long-haul routes, the carrier aims to maximize utilization and profitability in a competitive leisure landscape.
The broader context includes softer Canadian demand for travel to the United States amid a mix of economic and political factors, as well as rising competition on certain cross-border routes from larger network carriers and ultra-low-cost entrants. Against that backdrop, Air Transat’s decision to double down on its core strength in vacation travel to warmer destinations underscores its identity as a leisure specialist rather than a generalist network airline.
For Canadian travellers, the pivot is most visible in the richer choice of sun destinations and the increased availability of non-stop flights from a wider array of cities. For airports in Mexico and the Caribbean, it translates into deeper connectivity to the Canadian market, often with schedules timed to support resort check-in and tour-operator itineraries.
Competitive Landscape: Canadian Carriers Chase the Winter Sun
Air Transat’s latest moves unfold against a backdrop of aggressive winter sun expansion by other Canadian carriers. Both Air Canada and WestJet have announced significant increases in capacity to Mexico, the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America for the 2025-2026 winter season, adding new destinations and routes from major hubs across the country.
Air Canada is growing its Latin American network with new links to cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Cartagena, Guatemala City and Guadalajara, as well as additional routes from Quebec City, Halifax, Ottawa and Vancouver to Caribbean destinations. WestJet has similarly unveiled new sun routes from Calgary, Montreal, Quebec City and several other gateways, highlighting Canadians’ sustained appetite for warm-weather escapes despite economic headwinds.
In this environment, Air Transat’s focus on non-stop service from smaller and mid-sized cities provides a point of differentiation. While it does compete head-to-head with larger airlines on some routes from Montreal and Toronto, its decision to build out direct flights from places like Windsor, Charlottetown and Fredericton allows it to tap into markets that may be too small or too seasonal for carriers with different business models.
The result is an increasingly dense web of north-south connections linking Canada to resort regions across the Americas. For consumers, it translates into more choice of departure points, more flexibility on travel dates and, potentially, more competitive pricing across the winter season as airlines vie for vacation travellers looking to escape the cold.
Outlook: More Sunshine on the Horizon for Canada’s Leisure Flyers
With new non-stop routes from three additional Canadian cities and fresh links from Montreal and Quebec City to key sun destinations, Air Transat is signaling that it sees sustained, long-term demand for winter leisure travel. The strategy hinges on giving more Canadians direct access to beaches, resorts and cultural hotspots without the complexity of multi-leg itineraries.
As the airline finalizes and publishes the rest of its winter 2025-2026 program, industry observers will be watching closely to see whether more regional Canadian airports are added to the map and whether additional Mexican, Caribbean or Central American cities join the network. The combination of right-sized aircraft, a leisure-focused product and an emphasis on non-stop convenience positions Air Transat to keep playing a central role in how Canadians travel south for the winter.
For now, travellers in Windsor, Charlottetown and Fredericton can anticipate a notably simpler journey to the sun starting in late 2025 and early 2026. With the promise of fewer connections, shorter total travel times and a familiar Canadian leisure carrier at the controls, Air Transat’s new routes are poised to reshape winter getaway habits across a broader swath of the country.