Southern Europe is a huge growth area from the US and Canada. This is mainly due to inbound tourism—people are increasingly seeking out new adventures—and visiting friends and relatives. Airlines have responded with creative new markets. Various places will gain transatlantic flights in 2026, including Malta, Olbia, and Santiago de Compostela. They build on other cities that welcomed them in 2025, such as Bilbao, Catania, and Valencia.
Some developments are extreme. For example, Air Canada and WestJet recently announced Toronto-Ponta Delgada flights for next year, joining Azores Airlines in what is a very thin market. It epitomizes the development of North America-Southern Europe, with major questions about overcapacity and sustainability.
Italy Remains The Largest Southern European Market
According to Cirium Diio data for the all-important Q3 2026 (July-September), the US/Canada to Italy market has almost 3.5 million round-trip seats for sale. Compared to the prior record, capacity has risen by 7%. It has also grown by 41% compared to before the pandemic in the peak quarter of 2019. Up to 72 daily flights are now available each way.
The figures include ITA Airways’ brand-new service from Rome Fiumicino to Houston Intercontinental. Beginning on May 1, the never-before-served route will be Houston’s first-ever passenger service to Italy. After an initial three times a week operation, the frequency will jump to five times a week a month later for the peak season. It is bound to make my celebratory Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition).
The route is primarily materializing because of ITA’s new codeshare agreement with United Airlines and its plan to join Star Alliance. Nonetheless, the local market is of a good size, even before flights begin, which will increase traffic. According to booking data for the 12 months to September 2025, 55,000 round-trip passengers traveled. Rome was Houston’s largest unserved European city, while Houston was Rome’s second-largest unserved US market, after Orlando (72,000).
13 Airlines & 70 Routes In Q3 2026
As of December 3, and subject to change, 13 carriers will operate between the US/Canada and Italy: Air Canada, Air Transat, Alaska Airlines (new entrant), American, Delta, Emirates (fifth freedom to/from New York JFK), ITA Airways, JetBlue (new entrant), La Compagnie, Neos, Norse Atlantic, United, and WestJet. With 22% of the Q3 2026 seats, Delta will be the market leader.
They plan a record 70 routes in the peak summer, up from 64 in Q3 2025. When airlines are stripped out, 50 airport pairs are now available, as shown on the admittedly very hard-to-read map above.
The 50 airport pairs involve 20 airports in the US and Canada, with 
Houston and 
Seattle new to the market in 2026. Nine Italian airports will be served, with the addition of Olbia. Compared to Q3 2025, six airport pairs and seven routes will begin:
|
Start Date* |
Market |
Operations In July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
|
March 28 |
Miami-Milan |
American; daily 787-8 |
|
April 28 |
Seattle-Rome |
Alaska; daily 787-9 |
|
May 6 |
Seattle-Rome |
Delta; four weekly A330-900 |
|
May 17 |
Newark-Bari |
United; four weekly 767-300ER |
|
May 20 |
JFK-Olbia |
Delta; four weekly 767-300ER |
|
May 1 |
Rome-Houston |
ITA; five weekly A330-900 |
|
June 4 |
Montreal-Catania |
Air Canada; three weekly 787-8 |
|
* From the airline’s home country |
A Breakdown Of The 70 Routes
Five airlines each plan one route: Alaska (Seattle-Rome), Emirates (Milan-JFK; beginning/ending in Dubai), JetBlue (Boston-Milan), La Compagnie (Milan-Newark), and WestJet (Calgary-Rome). Norse has two routes (Rome-JFK/Los Angeles), while Neos has three (Bari/Milan/Palermo-JFK). Air Transat has four (Montreal-Rome; Toronto-Lamezia Terme/Rome/Venice).
Air Canada has seven routes (Montreal-Catania/Milan/Naples/Rome/Venice; Toronto-Rome/Venice). ITA has nine (Rome-Boston/Chicago/Houston/JFK/Los Angeles/Miami/San Francisco/Toronto/Washington Dulles). United has 12 Italian routes (Chicago-Milan/Rome; Denver-Rome; Newark-Bari/Milan/Naples/Palermo/Rome/Venice; San Francisco-Rome; Washington Dulles-Rome/Venice).
American has 13 routes to Italy (Charlotte-Rome; Chicago-Naples/Rome; Dallas-Rome/Venice; JFK-Milan/Rome; Miami-Milan/Rome; Philadelphia-Milan/Naples/Rome/Venice). Finally, Delta has 15 routes (Atlanta-Milan/Naples/Rome/Venice; Boston-Milan/Rome; Detroit-Rome; JFK-Catania/Milan/Naples/Olbia/Rome/Venice; Minneapolis-Rome; and Seattle-Rome). Several of these links were new in 2025.
