Coming In 2026: 8 Exciting Brand-New Transatlantic Routes From The US & Canada

When writing, the US and Canada are set to welcome eight never-before-served transatlantic airport pairs in 2026. Of course, they will inevitably be joined by other new additions. Recent announcements include Air Canada from Montreal to Palma de Mallorca on the Airbus A321XLR and Montreal to Catania on the Boeing 787-8, along with Royal Jordanian from Amman to Dallas/Fort Worth.

This article does not consider airport pairs that were previously served, even if that was a decade or more ago. And it does not consider routes that are new to a particular airline’s map but which are already served by another carrier. As such, many links that will take off next year are not discussed further, including Air Canada from Toronto to Budapest, Delta from Boston to Madrid, Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Keflavik and London Heathrow (not scheduled yet), and American Airlines from Dallas/Fort Worth to Zurich, Miami to Milan, and Philadelphia to Budapest and Prague.

These 8 Transatlantic Airport Pairs Will Have Their 1st Flight In 2026

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The first of the new markets will be Etihad from its Abu Dhabi hub to Charlotte. The Gulf carrier will become the first Middle Eastern operator at the North Carolina airport, which is best known for being American’s hub, where it has 88% of flights.

The long route, which will cover 6,437 nautical miles (11,921 km) each way, will obviously focus on connections in Abu Dhabi. Passengers will be able to avail of US pre-clearance, as I did when I joined Etihad on its inaugural Atlanta service earlier this year. In the past year, approximately 600 daily passengers flew between Charlotte and South/Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern/Southern Africa. Unsurprisingly, India was critical, and will be for Etihad.

Dallas Will Become Royal Jordanian’s 7th North American Destination

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At 6,114 nautical miles (11,323 km) each way, Royal Jordanian’s brand-new service from Amman to Dallas will be the second-longest of the eight airport pairs mentioned above. It will become the Texas airport’s ninth foreign long-haul oneworld member.

In the past year, 545 daily round-trip passengers flew between Dallas and the Middle East, of which 63 people traveled to/from Amman. Only Dubai and Tel Aviv were more popular. However, the carrier’s arrival time in Amman means that few places will connect on a two-way basis with a competitive schedule. Only a few cities, including Cairo (68 daily), Jeddah (42), Riyadh (22), and Dubai (165), will do so. Of course, Emirates already serves Dubai-Dallas nonstop, and many airlines compete for that one-stop market.

Higher-yielding local Amman traffic will be important to Royal Jordanian, and not just from Dallas. It will also carry passengers who connect in Dallas to reach the Jordanian capital, such as from Los Angeles (88 daily passengers), San Francisco (66), Houston (55), New Orleans (28), and Phoenix (27). Of course, these cities already have one-stop options to Amman.

​​Air Canada’s New Palma Service Is Timed At Up To 8h 55m

Montreal to Palma de Mallorca is the first of many new long-haul links for Air Canada’s incoming A321XLRs. It will be the first time that Canada has had scheduled service to Spain’s Balearic Islands, and connectivity to/from the US will be critical. Timed at up to 8h 55m, it will be the Canadian carrier’s longest XLR-operated route so far.

Its XLRs will have 182 seats, comprising 14 in business (1-1; herringbone) and 168 in economy (3-3). Only 8% of the seats will be premium, which is a low proportion. However, it seems pretty apt, at least based on the initially disclosed routes that focus on leisure traffic: Montreal to Edinburgh (replacing the 737 MAX 8), Palma (brand-new), and Toulouse (replacing the 787-8).

IATA Code

AC

ICAO Code

ACA

Year Founded

1937