Rio de Janeiro is suddenly closer for Canadian travelers. With Air Transat’s first non stop flights from Toronto and Montreal to the Brazilian city now airborne, and a wave of fifty new airline routes launching worldwide in February, Canada Latin America air connectivity is entering a new phase. From fresh beach escapes and city breaks to deeper, easier access across South America through new partnerships, February 2026 is shaping up as a turning point for travelers planning winter sunshine and beyond.
Rio de Janeiro Becomes Canada’s Newest Winter Gateway to South America
Air Transat formally entered the Brazil market this week, operating its inaugural direct services from Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau to Rio de Janeiro Galeão. Flight TS272 departed Toronto on Wednesday February 4, while TS274 took off from Montreal on Thursday February 5, both operated by widebody Airbus A330 aircraft. The launches mark the first time the leisure carrier has served Brazil, and they position Rio as a flagship long haul destination in Transat’s expanded winter program.
The Toronto Rio route will run twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, through June 10, 2026. Montreal Rio operates once weekly on Thursdays until June 4, 2026, and is currently the only nonstop option between Montreal and Rio. For Canadian travelers, that means a same plane journey to Copacabana and Ipanema, bypassing previous routings that often required a change of aircraft in São Paulo, the United States or Europe.
For Transat, the move is described internally as a strategic leap rather than a tactical seasonal add on. Executives have framed Rio as a cornerstone of a broader push into South America, joining a list of new winter destinations that also includes Guadalajara, Valencia and Bordeaux from Montreal, and Georgetown and Medellín from Toronto. By pairing Rio with other sun and culture rich cities, the airline is betting that Canadians’ appetite for more varied winter travel will support a diversified, more resilient route map.
Brazilian and Canadian tourism authorities have welcomed the flights as a long awaited bridge between two markets that have shown steady growth but historically limited nonstop capacity. Demand figures from recent years point to hundreds of thousands of annual passengers moving between Canada and Brazil, much of it through São Paulo. Rio, long a dream destination, is now positioned to capture a larger share of that flow.
How Air Transat’s New Rio Flights Change Trip Planning
For travelers, the immediate impact of Air Transat’s Rio launch is a simpler, more predictable journey. The Toronto service departs in the early evening, arriving in Rio the following morning, while the Montreal flight follows a similar overnight pattern. That timing allows passengers to make the most of their first day on the ground, whether they are heading straight to the beach, joining a city tour or catching a connecting domestic flight deeper into Brazil.
The use of Airbus A330 aircraft is also significant. Widebody cabins, a choice of seating classes, and long haul oriented amenities bring the experience closer to what travelers expect on transatlantic services. This is especially relevant for those combining Rio with longer itineraries across South America or connecting from other Canadian cities to reach Toronto or Montreal first.
From a planning standpoint, the finite winter season matters. With operations currently scheduled only until early June from Toronto and early June from Montreal, the sweet spot for booking Rio via Transat falls between late austral summer and the start of Brazil’s cooler months. Canadians seeking Carnival, which typically takes place in February, or shoulder season visits in March and April will find the new flights particularly well timed.
Travelers should also pay attention to day of week patterns. Twice weekly service from Toronto and once weekly from Montreal mean that flexibility around departure and return dates can unlock better fares and smoother connections. Those intending to link Rio with side trips to destinations like Salvador, Florianópolis or the Iguaçu Falls will want to align domestic sectors with the inbound and outbound Transat flights.
New Partnerships Extend Canada–Brazil Connectivity Beyond Rio
The most important development behind the scenes is that the new Rio services are not operating in isolation. Air Transat has signed an interline agreement with Brazil’s GOL that will effectively transform Rio Galeão into a gateway for Canadians heading to more than sixty destinations across Brazil, alongside a network of regional routes in South America. The partnership allows passengers to be ticketed through on a single itinerary, with baggage checked to the final destination.
In practice, this means that a traveler from Toronto or Montreal could connect in Rio to reach cities such as Belo Horizonte, Recife or Porto Alegre without needing to book separate tickets or reclaim luggage mid journey. For many secondary and tertiary Brazilian destinations, this significantly reduces friction and risk, particularly for those unfamiliar with domestic booking platforms or language barriers.
The agreement is also strategically timed. As Transat’s Rio flights ramp up through the first half of 2026, the joint offering with GOL creates a mesh of new one stop options from Canada to much of Brazil. It gives Transat the ability to fill its widebody aircraft with a mix of point to point leisure passengers bound for Rio itself and connecting customers onward across the country, helping to support the economics of the new route.
For Canadian travelers, the message is that Rio is no longer only a final destination. It is becoming a hub through which they can explore Brazil’s vast geography more easily, from Amazon gateways to wine regions and surf towns. When shopping for flights, travelers should look for itineraries that keep connections under three hours in Rio and make use of through checked baggage to minimize stress during transfers.
Air Canada, Air Transat and a More Competitive Brazil Market
Air Transat’s arrival in Rio follows an earlier expansion by Air Canada, which launched its own Toronto Rio seasonal service in December 2025. Air Canada already operates year round flights between Toronto and São Paulo, as well as Montreal São Paulo, and is using its new Rio route to strengthen its broader Latin America offering, which now includes Santiago and Cartagena from Montreal and additional Caribbean and Central American gateways from Toronto.
The result is that, for the first time, Canadian travelers have a choice of carriers for nonstop flights between Toronto and Rio, and multiple airlines competing for Canada Brazil traffic overall. Air Canada’s focus skews toward a mix of business and leisure demand, with higher frequency to São Paulo and a strong corporate base, while Air Transat is positioning Rio squarely within its leisure network aimed at vacationers and visiting friends and relatives.
For consumers, increased competition typically translates into more varied fare options, bundled vacation packages and promotional pricing around key dates such as Carnival, school holidays and long weekends. It also pushes airlines to refine onboard service and connectivity, particularly for those combining South America trips with European or Caribbean segments on the same carrier.
At the network level, the coexistence of Air Canada and Air Transat in Brazil reflects a broader confidence in South America as a growth market out of Canada. Data from the past two years shows only a modest dip in total Canada Brazil traffic, despite economic headwinds, suggesting that demand is resilient and likely to grow as new nonstop routes remove historic barriers to travel.
Inside February’s Wave of Fifty New Airline Routes
Air Transat’s Rio service is launching against a busy backdrop. According to recent industry tallies, airlines worldwide are inaugurating around fifty new routes in February 2026 alone. These span everything from new Canadian leisure flights to Caribbean and Mexican beach resorts to transatlantic additions and regional links designed to feed larger hubs.
Within Canada, Transat itself is rolling out a number of other new winter routes around this time, including Quebec City to Pointe à Pitre in Guadeloupe, Charlottetown and Fredericton to Cancún, and Windsor to Punta Cana. Taken together, these launches underscore a strategy of extending sun and culture destinations beyond the main hubs into secondary Canadian cities, offering more direct access and reducing the need to connect through Toronto or Montreal.
Other carriers are also active. Porter Airlines continues its pivot toward a broader leisure network, having recently added Montreal Nassau to earlier services from Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton to the Bahamian capital. In the United States, American Airlines is introducing the first nonstop flights between Miami and Bimini, further enhancing Bahamas connectivity for North American travelers.
For travel planners and agents, the clustering of these route launches in February is both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity lies in presenting clients with fresh itineraries and more convenient options; the challenge involves staying on top of new schedules, seasonal end dates and route frequency, many of which differ significantly from established year round services.
What These Changes Mean for Canadian Travelers to Latin America
From a traveler’s perspective, the emerging pattern is clear: Canada Latin America travel is shifting from a handful of traditional gateways toward a more diverse, choice rich landscape. Direct access to Rio joins expanded links to Santiago, Cartagena and Caribbean islands, while new departures from cities such as Quebec City, Windsor and Charlottetown bring sun destinations within easier reach of regional travelers.
This evolution has several practical implications. First, travel times are shrinking for many popular routes, as one stop or two stop itineraries are replaced by nonstops or single connections. Second, fare structures are becoming more competitive, as airlines vie to fill newly added capacity during the northern winter season. Lastly, loyalty considerations are becoming more nuanced, with passengers weighing the benefits of sticking to a single carrier against the appeal of boutique leisure airlines offering nonstop access from their home city.
For those bound specifically for Latin America, a key takeaway is that more destinations are now viable for shorter vacations. A week in Rio, a ten day journey combining Cartagena and Caribbean beaches, or a city and wine country pairing in Chile, are all easier to arrange without long, multi stop journeys that eat into holiday time. In many cases, travelers can leave Canada in the evening and wake up ready to explore in Latin America the following morning.
However, increased choice also calls for more careful itinerary design. Travelers should consider not only the headline nonstop routes but also onward connectivity, seasonal timing, and local events. For example, choosing flights that align with major festivals in Rio or shoulder season in the Caribbean can dramatically shape the experience on the ground, from crowd levels to pricing and availability.
Booking Strategies and Timing: How to Take Advantage Now
With many of the newly announced routes operating on a seasonal basis, timing is everything. Air Transat’s Toronto Rio and Montreal Rio flights, for instance, are currently scheduled through early June, with peak demand expected from the February launch through the Canadian spring. Travelers eyeing Carnival in Rio or early autumn conditions in Brazil should move early to secure preferred travel dates and cabin classes.
It is also worth paying attention to introductory fare campaigns. Airlines frequently use the first months of a new route to stimulate demand, offering competitive prices and package deals that may not return once the service is established. Monitoring fare trends from now through March can help travelers spot value on Canada Latin America routes before peak holiday booking windows later in the year.
For complex itineraries that combine multiple Latin American destinations, working with a travel advisor or booking engine that can handle interline and codeshare agreements is essential. The new partnership between Air Transat and GOL, for example, can unlock streamlined journeys across Brazil, but only if tickets are issued correctly and baggage rules are clearly understood in advance.
Finally, flexibility remains a valuable asset. While the current schedules are published through the winter season, airlines may adjust frequencies or extend operations if demand outperforms expectations. Travelers who can shift their plans by a day or two will usually find better availability and pricing, especially on routes with limited weekly frequencies like Montreal Rio.
Looking Ahead: Will Rio Become a Permanent Fixture on Canada’s Route Map?
Whether Rio’s new role as a Canadian gateway to Latin America becomes permanent will depend on how well the routes perform over the coming seasons. Early signs are encouraging. The combination of a globally recognized destination, strong diaspora and visiting friends and relatives traffic, and a growing appetite among Canadians for South American travel gives the new services a solid foundation.
Air Transat’s broader winter strategy, which spreads risk across multiple new destinations in Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, further supports the case for sustained Brazil operations. If load factors hold up and connecting flows through its partners grow, Rio could evolve from a seasonal experiment into a recurring pillar of the airline’s long haul network.
For now, though, February 2026 marks a tangible milestone. With Air Transat’s first flights to Rio now in the air, Air Canada’s expanded South America program taking shape, and dozens of other new routes debuting across the hemisphere, Canadian travelers have more reasons than ever to look south. The next wave of Canada Latin America journeys will be shorter, more varied and, for many, more compelling than anything that was on offer just a few seasons ago.
For travelers planning their next winter escape or South American adventure, the message is simple: Rio de Janeiro has moved to the center of Canada’s Latin America map, and February’s route launches are the ideal moment to take advantage of the new connectivity while it is fresh, flexible and full of opportunity.