[YUL,TLS],[YUL,CPH]

On Thursday, June 1, Air Canada launched a strategic route between their Montreal (YUL) hub and Toulouse (TLS). The two cities are aerospace powerhouses, with aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus having assembly lines for various aircraft in both cities. On the same day (June 1), the airline also launched Montreal (YUL) to Copenhagen (CPH).

Montreal to Toulouse

On June 1, just past 21:00 local time, Air Canada flight AC 878 lifted off from Montreal (YUL) bound for Toulouse (TLS). The flight was 1 hour and 30 minutes delayed despite there being no obvious festivities at the departure or arriving airports. The flight was operated by an Airbus A330-300, registered C-GEGI. 

As previously mentioned, this route is significant to Air Canada, as it will allow Airbus employees to travel as fast as possible on a non-stop flight between two of Airbus' major manufacturing hubs. There are also numerous important aerospace laboratories in Toulouse, such as Météo France and IAGOS, a laboratory dedicated to solving issues in aviation with carbon emissions and air quality.

To compound this, Québec is the only French-speaking province of Canada with quite a large Francophone population. 

As expected, this novel route will be operated year-round due to its importance to Airbus and aerospace employees. The schedule for the route is as follows:

*YUL - Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau Int'l Airport

**TLS - Toulouse Blagnac Airport 

"We are very excited to have launched our long-awaited, year-round new flights between our Montreal global hub to the French-speaking world, and Toulouse!...connecting the two significant business cities in the international aerospace industry...providing travellers from Toulouse connections to a wide variety of destinations via our Montreal hub..." states Mark Galardo, the Executive Vice President for Revenue and Network Planning at Air Canada. 

Montreal to Copenhagen 

While Air Canada's new route to Toulouse is largely aimed at business travelers, the airlines' other novel route from their Montreal hub is aimed the most towards tourists.

Despite Air Canada's Montreal to Copenhagen route having a departure time earlier than the airline's new Montreal to Toulouse route (two hours difference between the two flights), the inaugural flight to Copenhagen took off later than the Toulouse inaugural - around 22:10 local time. The inaugural flight between Montreal (YUL) and Copenhagen (CPH) was operated by one of Air Canada's 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, C-FSBV. The aircraft arrived in Copenhagen (CPH) at 10:45 local time, 3 hours and 45 minutes delayed. 

On top of being a potentially lucrative route due to its allure to European/Canadian tourists, the newly inaugurated route connects an Air Canada hub (Montreal) to an SAS (Copenhagen) hub, allowing for a higher degree of mobility for travelers looking to get to the European, African, or Eurasian continent.

As an example, a passenger looking to fly between Montreal and Thessaloniki (SKG) will now have a one-stopover option, flying Air Canada and SAS via Copenhagen, as opposed to a two or three-stopover option prior to the opening of the YUL-CPH route. 

Due to the high seasonality of the route, Montreal (YUL) to Copenhagen (CPH) will be operated seasonally during the summer season, between June 1 and mid-October. The full schedule for the route (seasonal) is as follows: 

*YUL - Pierre Elliott Trudeau Int'l Airport

**CPH - Copenhagen Airport

***Depends on demand on the route; will most likely shift from current 787-9 to 787-8 come September

This new Copenhagen route also complements Air Canada's already existing service to the Danish city from Toronto (YYZ), which operates on a year-round basis.

"We are thrilled to inaugurate our second route from Canada to Copenhagen...These two exciting routes [statement also includes comments on Toulouse route] are a further sign of our commitment to Montreal as an important hub in Air Canada's global network growth..." added the previously mentioned Executive Vice President for Air Canada's Revenue and Network Planning, Mark Galardo.

What Mark Galardo is referring to with "Air Canada's global network growth" is the recent plans for the expansion of the airlines' Montreal (YUL) hub and partnerships with airlines flying to the Canadian city. In April 2023, Air Canada and Emirates announced a partnership, which you can read about here.

Ticket Prices - Montreal to Toulouse

For a two-week trip during the summer season of 2023 (mid-August), the average ticket price for a basic economy ticket is around 975 CAD (725 USD) on a non-stop flight. In the off-peak season (November 2023, February 2024, March 2024, April 2024), a two-week trip costs an average of 800 CAD (600 USD).

Ticket Prices - Montreal to Copenhagen 

For a two-week trip on this seasonal route (mid-June, mid-July, and mid-August), the average ticket price for a basic economy ticket is around 1,175 CAD (875 USD). 

To book tickets on either of these new non-stop flights, you can do so through any airline ticket website (CheapOair, Expedia, KAYAK), or on Air Canada's website.