Private company

Air Canada Express

Logo: Air Canada, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Regional airline of Canada

Air Canada Express is a brand name of regional feeder flights for Air Canada that are subcontracted to other airlines. Presently, Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines are the sole operators of Air Canada Express flights. They primarily connect smaller cities with Air Canada's domestic hub airports and focus cities, although they offer some point-to-point and international service to the United States.2 It is headquartered in Montreal.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

May 3, 2011Founded1
Air Canada Express, De Havilland Canada DHC-8-311 Dash 8, C-FACT - YVR (20384739510)
Photo: Eric Salard, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Air Canada Express is a brand name of regional feeder flights for Air Canada that are subcontracted to other airlines. Presently, Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines are the sole operators of Air Canada Express flights. They primarily connect smaller cities with Air Canada's domestic hub airports and focus cities, although they offer some point-to-point and international service to the United States.2

Corporate structure

Air Canada Express is part of a group headed by Air Canada. 10 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

On April 26, 2011, Air Canada announced its intention to retire the Air Canada Jazz brand and create the Air Canada Express brand. Prior to establishing the Express name, the flights operated primarily under the Air Canada Jazz or Air Canada Alliance banners.

As of January 2020, Air Georgian no longer provided services under the capacity purchase agreement. Those services were transferred back to Jazz Aviation. On March 1, 2021, it was also announced that Sky Regional Airlines would also no longer provide services under the capacity purchase agreement and therefore Jazz Aviation would become the sole operator of the express brand.

However, in May 2023, Air Canada signed a letter of intent with PAL Airlines for a five-year capacity purchase agreement. This deal involved the purchase of up to six Bombardier Q400s from Air Canada, which PAL Airlines would operate under the Air Canada Express brand in addition to their existing schedule and charter business. In the announcement, Air Canada described the prospective agreement with PAL Airlines as a "bridging arrangement" due to a need for additional regional capacity as a result of industry-wide pilot shortages. Service with PAL began in July 2023. On January 9, 2026, Air Canada and PAL renewed the agreement through 2032, adding five additional Q400s into the fleet, as well as protecting services from Montréal–Trudeau to destinations in Quebec and New Brunswick.

From Wikipedia’s article on Air Canada Express, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Current fleet

As of August 2026, the Air Canada Express fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Historical fleet

The Air Canada Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of turbofan and twin turboprop aircraft over the years including the following types:

Bombardier CRJ100

Bombardier CRJ200

Read the full text

Beechcraft 1900D

De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100

De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300

From Wikipedia’s article on Air Canada Express, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. May 3, 2011Founded Founded in Montreal1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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