Air Canada and Türkiye’s Pegasus Airlines are sharpening their focus on east–west travel, rolling out new and upcoming routes that tighten links between Canada, Türkiye and some of Europe’s most in-demand city breaks, including Istanbul, İzmir, Amsterdam, Geneva and Munich.
Canadian and Turkish Carriers Target a Buoyant Transatlantic Market
Airlines on both sides of the Atlantic are moving quickly to capture surging demand for leisure and VFR travel between North America, Türkiye and Europe. Air Canada has been steadily expanding its European footprint with fresh Mediterranean and Central European gateways from its hubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, while Istanbul-based low cost carrier Pegasus Airlines is enlarging its network deeper into Central Europe and secondary cities across the continent. Together, the two carriers’ strategies point to a more competitive, better-connected market for travelers heading to and from Türkiye’s cultural hubs and Europe’s classic city destinations.
Although Air Canada has not yet launched its own non stop service to Istanbul, it is actively marketing connections to the Turkish metropolis from cities across its network and positioning the city as a key long haul destination for Canadian travelers. At the same time, a separate Canadian carrier, Air Transat, is set to inaugurate a year round Toronto Istanbul route in December 2025, further underlining the Canadian market’s growing interest in Türkiye. Against this backdrop, Pegasus Airlines is adding capacity from Turkish cities such as İzmir and Antalya into high value European markets, including a seasonal İzmir Munich service and new links to Zurich and other regional airports.
The result for passengers is a denser web of connections that makes it easier to pair Turkish city breaks and coastal escapes with classic European itineraries. Travelers can now stitch together journeys that begin in North America, route through Canadian hubs to major European gateways and then continue on to Istanbul or İzmir, or reverse the direction and start in Türkiye before hopping onward to Amsterdam, Geneva, Munich or beyond.
Air Canada Builds a Wider European Network from Montreal and Toronto
Over the past two years, Air Canada has unveiled a series of new European routes that strengthen its position as a key connector between North America and the continent. For the summer 2025 season, the airline announced new non stop services from Montreal to Naples and Porto, as well as the return of Toronto Prague flights, alongside additional capacity to major Mediterranean capitals such as Rome and Athens. These flights sit atop more than 100,000 weekly seats to 30 destinations across Europe and North Africa at the height of the season, according to the carrier’s network planning updates.
Looking ahead to summer 2026, Air Canada is adding further depth to its schedule with new nonstop routes from Montreal to Catania in Sicily and Palma de Mallorca, while also restoring or expanding services from Toronto to Shanghai, Budapest and Prague and converting its Vancouver Bangkok operation to a year round route. The expanded program gives Canadian travelers more options to reach Southern Europe and Central Europe with a single overnight flight, while also creating additional one stop itineraries from North American cities that feed into the airline’s Montreal and Toronto hubs.
While these developments do not yet include a dedicated Air Canada operated route to Istanbul or İzmir, they are highly relevant for passengers bound for Türkiye. The new European services can be paired with onward itineraries on partner airlines or separate tickets, effectively turning cities like Rome, Athens, Prague, Catania or Palma into stepping stones toward Istanbul and the Turkish Aegean. For many travelers, that means more freedom to mix and match European and Turkish destinations within a single trip and to choose departure and arrival times that best suit their plans.
Istanbul Emerges as a Star Destination for North American Flyers
Istanbul continues to grow as one of the world’s most important aviation crossroads, and North American airlines and tour operators are paying close attention. The Turkish metropolis has seen increasing demand from Canadian travelers, boosted in part by favorable entry rules in recent years and by its unique appeal as a city that bridges Europe and Asia. For carriers such as Air Canada, the city represents both a coveted long haul destination and a powerful connection point for itineraries that reach onward into the Middle East, Africa and Asia via partner airlines.
Although a direct Air Canada operated flight to Istanbul has not yet been announced, the airline promotes the city prominently in its destination marketing, highlighting fare options from major North American gateways and emphasizing the range of travel styles Istanbul can support, from food focused city breaks to culture rich, multi stop itineraries. In parallel, the expected arrival of Air Transat’s non stop Toronto Istanbul service in December 2025 underscores the fact that Canadian demand to Türkiye is now strong enough to support multiple players in the market, with each carrier targeting different price points and customer segments.
For North American travelers, these developments translate into more choice and often more competitive pricing, particularly outside peak summer dates. With Istanbul standing as both an end destination and a connecting hub, travelers can increasingly consider it as the centerpiece of a longer trip that also includes side journeys to Central or Western Europe. In that sense, the city is becoming a flexible pivot between continents, and the growing network strategies of Canadian and Turkish airlines are helping to reinforce that role.
New Pegasus Routes Put İzmir Back on the European City Break Map
On the Turkish side, Pegasus Airlines is steadily building out its flight map from secondary hubs, with İzmir increasingly in focus. Network filings for the Northern summer 2025 season show that the low cost carrier plans to resume a seasonal İzmir Munich route from early June through mid September, operating once weekly with Airbus A320 aircraft after a pause in service since 2023. In addition, Pegasus has scheduled a new year round İzmir Zurich route beginning in September 2025, further strengthening the city’s connectivity to Central Europe.
These moves are significant for travelers who see İzmir not only as a vibrant Aegean city in its own right, but also as a convenient gateway to coastal resorts and archaeological highlights such as Ephesus and the seaside towns of Çeşme and Alaçatı. By linking İzmir directly with German and Swiss cities that enjoy strong outbound travel demand, Pegasus is positioning the destination to capture more long weekend traffic and multi country European itineraries that include Türkiye.
For North American travelers, the expansion means that once they reach a European gateway using carriers such as Air Canada, adding an İzmir segment on Pegasus becomes more straightforward. A typical trip might involve flying from Toronto or Montreal to a major European hub, then continuing on to İzmir with Pegasus, and finally returning home via Istanbul to sample the city’s urban energy before heading back across the Atlantic. As more seats are added on routes like İzmir Munich and İzmir Zurich, these combinations are likely to become both more convenient and more attractively priced.
Pegasus Deepens Its European Reach, from Munich to Zurich and Beyond
Pegasus Airlines’ summer 2025 schedule reflects an ambitious push deeper into the European market, particularly from its bases in Antalya and İzmir. Alongside the İzmir Munich and İzmir Zurich services, the carrier is rolling out additional routes from Antalya to cities such as Dortmund, Erfurt, Graz and Salzburg, many of which will see frequencies increased as the season progresses. These additions build on an already dense network that covers more than 150 destinations in over 50 countries, with a focus on price sensitive leisure travelers and members of the Turkish diaspora living across Europe.
The airline’s strategy leans heavily on point to point traffic and competitive fares, making it easier for travelers to assemble flexible itineraries that hop between European and Turkish destinations without always passing through a single mega hub. For instance, a passenger could fly into Munich or Zurich on a transatlantic carrier, connect onto Pegasus for İzmir or Antalya, and then continue overland or on domestic flights to explore Türkiye’s interior and coastline. On the return, they might depart from Istanbul on a different airline, effectively creating an open jaw ticket that maximizes time in each region.
Pegasus’ growing European presence is set to expand even further following its agreement to acquire Czech carrier Smartwings, including the Czech Airlines brand, in a deal valued at around 154 million euros. Once completed, the transaction will give Pegasus additional aircraft, slots and market access across Central Europe, reinforcing its role as a bridge between Türkiye and European capitals and opening up more options for travelers who want to combine Prague, Amsterdam, Geneva or other continental favorites with Istanbul or İzmir on a single trip.
Connecting Istanbul, Amsterdam, Geneva and Munich on One Ticket
For travelers, the most tangible benefit of Air Canada’s and Pegasus Airlines’ evolving strategies is the ability to link marquee cities such as Istanbul, Amsterdam, Geneva and Munich with fewer layovers and a broader choice of departure days. Air Canada’s dense transatlantic schedule from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver provides an array of nonstop options into Western and Central Europe, including major hubs where Pegasus and other carriers operate frequent services onward to Türkiye.
Amsterdam and Munich in particular are well placed as connective waypoints. Both cities are staples of Air Canada’s European roster and are also served by a variety of European and Turkish airlines, making it relatively simple to connect through them on the way to Istanbul or İzmir. Geneva, long popular for business and diplomatic travel, offers additional opportunities to pair a Swiss lakeside stay with a follow on beach holiday in Türkiye, thanks to Pegasus’ expanding reach and the broader ecosystem of European carriers that serve both Switzerland and Turkey.
Travelers designing their own itineraries are increasingly crafting multi city journeys that might start in Canada, include a few days in Amsterdam’s canal lined neighborhoods or Munich’s beer gardens, then continue on to Istanbul’s historic peninsula or İzmir’s waterfront promenades. With schedule information and pricing now more readily searchable across airline websites and booking platforms, passengers are also better able to identify combinations that keep total travel time reasonable while still delivering the variety they seek in a single vacation.
What the New Routes Mean for Travelers in 2026 and Beyond
The wave of recent and upcoming route announcements signals that airlines expect demand for travel between Canada, Türkiye and Europe to remain strong into 2026 and beyond. For Air Canada, the emphasis is on broadening its long haul network to include more Mediterranean and Central European destinations that appeal to leisure travelers, while for Pegasus the focus lies in deepening its presence in Europe’s mid sized markets and leveraging acquisitions such as Smartwings to secure a larger share of the continent’s low cost traffic.
For passengers, the practical takeaway is that it should become easier to find competitive fares and convenient schedules when planning trips that link Istanbul or İzmir with classic European city break destinations, or that start in Canada and loop through multiple countries. As more services launch and mature, travelers can expect a greater choice of cabin products, from full service transatlantic lie flat seats on Air Canada’s widebodies to no frills Pegasus flights between European cities and Türkiye’s coasts, often within a single overall journey.
While capacity and schedules will continue to evolve, especially as airlines adjust to seasonal demand, the direction of travel is clear. Istanbul and İzmir are moving closer than ever to North America and Europe in practical terms, and cities such as Amsterdam, Geneva and Munich sit at the heart of that new connectivity. For many travelers planning 2026 and 2027 vacations, that will translate into more ways to experience several cultures, cuisines and landscapes in a single trip, enabled by new and expanding routes across the Air Canada and Pegasus Airlines networks.