Air Canada to launch Montreal–Basel route with A321XLR

Air Canada will fly between Montreal and Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg four times a week from 16 June to 23 October. Flights will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with Airbus A321XLR aircraft. The route puts the carrier in direct competition with Air Transat, which has served it for seven years apart from a pandemic interruption. Air Transat currently operates up to three weekly flights with A321LRs.

Air Canada’s A321XLR has 14 business class suites in a 1-1 configuration and 168 economy seats with 91 cm pitch. Air Transat offers 12 premium economy seats in a 2-2 layout and 187 economy seats with the same pitch. Air Canada now serves all three major Swiss airports.

The airline also announced several other new routes. Vancouver to Guangzhou will run year-round with Boeing 787s. Toronto to Oslo and Shannon will be seasonal with A321XLRs, while Toronto to Nice will use A330-300s. Montreal to Dubrovnik joins the schedule with Boeing 787s. Air Canada is also resuming its Toronto–London Heathrow daytripper service and increasing Shanghai frequency to daily.