This statistic represents the share of seats offered in Canada's domestic air traffic market in the week of August 3, 2020, based on the number of departing seats. During that time period, Canada's leading airlines, Air Canada and WestJet, held around 80 percent of the total departing seats. Airlines market share in Canada Canada’s air carrier market is dominated by the duopoly of Air Canada and low-cost airline WestJet , but other regional and charter operators, like Porter Airlines, serve some small segments of the market. Air Canada is the national flag carrier serving the busiest Canadian hubs Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport. With 21,100 employees, the airline generated only 4.3 million Canadian dollars from its passenger transportation service in 2020, a 75 percent decrease compared with the previous year. The Calgary-based airline, WestJet started as a low-cost airline in 1996 and by 2020, the company carried passengers to over 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. In 2019, the airline generated operating revenue of over 3.8 billion Canadian dollars from transporting passengers on more than 46.5 billion miles. Given the year-on-year growth of low cost carriers in the Canadian market in recent years, there are favorable circumstances but also great challenges for a new player to compete against the abiding duopoly between Air Canada and WestJet. NewLeaf was Canada’s new ultra-low cost carrier (ULLC), supposed to be commencing operations with its first Hamilton-Moncton flight on July 25, 2016 but encountered difficulties getting a licence from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). The airline was based at Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport and sold tickets for multiple domestic and international flights operated by the charter airline Flair Airlines. Another contender for the ultra-low fare battle is Canada Jetlines. The Canadian ultra-low cost airline is headquartered in Vancouver and was expected to begin operations on December 17, 2019 with flights throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

In 2023, the number of passengers carried by Air Canada amounted to approximately 44.8 million passengers. Air Canada Air Canada is the national carrier of Canada, being founded by the Canadian government in 1937. The airline was fully privatized in 1989 and in 2001 acquired Canada’s then second largest airline – Canadian Airlines – to become the dominant airline in the Canadian market. The company experienced financial difficulties throughout the 2000’s and into 2010's but has consolidated their financial position in last ten years, recording strong revenue growth in 2018 and 2019, before affected severely by the coronavirus pandemic .Amid the global pandemic, the company's operating revenue decreased dramatically from 19 billion to around six billion Canadian dollars in 2020. As of 2022, the total operating revenue of Air Canada was 13.6 billion Canadian dollars. This was considerably higher than the previous year but still lower than the pre-pandemic year. Air travel in Canada The two main airlines in the Canadian market are Air Canada and low-cost carrier WestJet, who held domestic market shares of 46 percent and 34 percent respectively in 2018. In terms of passenger numbers, WestJet historically carries around half as many as Air Canada. This discrepancy can be explained by the far greater range of international destinations offered by Air Canada. However, the number of customer complaints received about Air Canada is disproportionately, coming in at 1,997 in 2019 – compared to 369 for WestJet.

Monthly operational statistics (passengers, passenger-kilometres, available seat-kilometres, load factors - scheduled, goods carried, goods tonne-kilometres, hours flown, and turbo fuel consumed, broken down by scheduled and charter services), for major Canadian airlines, level IA (Air Canada and WestJet).

This statistic represents the share of seats offered by air carriers in Canada for international traffic in 2015. Canada's leading airlines, Air Canada and WestJet, held more than 40 percent of the international traffic market.

In 2023, the Canadian airline employed around 35,700 people, a 17 percent increase as compared to the previous year. Air Canada Founded in 1937, Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline for passenger aviation in Canada. With a rich corporate history, Air Canada went through many challenging and transformative times. For instance, the company filed bankruptcy in 2004 and started restructuring the company to enhance its resilience. Since then, the company demonstrated a remarkable growth path. Passenger operating revenue of Air Canada went up steadily throughout recent years, generating over 17 billion Canadian dollars in 2019. Passengers carried by Air Canada increased similarly over the recent years. In 2019, the airline transported 51 million travelers. Based on market value, Air Canada was the 16th largest airline worldwide as of May 2020. Aviation in Canada The Canadian aviation industry encompasses a considerably large market with participant firms, such as Air Canada, WestJet, Porter Airlines and Flair Airlines. Measured by the passenger and freight traffic, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton airports are the leading airports in Canada. In 2019, Toronto Pearson International was the leading airport in Canada by the number of passengers handled. During recent years, there seems to be a decline in the quality of air services in Canada. For example, in a survey carried out in 2017, 44 percent of respondents in Canada stated that the airline service quality in Canada has worsened. The concerns of people surveyed could be also demonstrated by the fact that Canadian air transport services were not ranked as one of the most efficient one worldwide in 2019.