American Airlines Celebrating 80 To Canada

American Airlines is celebrating 80 years of service to Canada. The airline’s first-ever international passenger flight operated from Buffalo, New York, to Toronto, Canada. The aircraft operating this historic flight was a Douglas DC-3 aircraft with 21 customers onboard.

Eighty years later, and despite the toughest year on record for the aviation industry due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Canada remains an integral part of American’s international network.

The carrier has provided critical service during the pandemic from four airports: Calgary (YYC), Montreal (YUL), Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR). Three additional stations, Halifax (YHZ), Quebec (YQB) and Ottawa (YOW), are scheduled to resume operations in Spring 2022.

José A. Freig, American’s Vice President of International Operations, said: “I want to thank and congratulate our incredible team members in Canada who have formed our proud history operating our Canadian routes for 80 years. Our first flight to Toronto paved the way for our international network expansion, I am grateful to our customers, Toronto Pearson Airport, and our team members for being part of this remarkable journey.”

Today, American is committed to the safe reopening of travel and has been working directly with policymakers at all levels as they work to establish acceptable travel protocols.

Nate Gatten, Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs for American Airlines, said that: “We’re eager to build back our service to Canada as the recovery from the pandemic progresses. As Canadian officials consider the path forward for travel and deliberate the easing of restrictions still in place, American stands ready to reconnect friends and family, enable long-awaited getaways, and support the economic connection between the U.S. and Canada all with an unwavering focus on the health and safety of our customers and team members.”