Air Transat to Launch Toronto, Montreal–Rio Flights
Air Transat will enter the Brazil market for the first time in winter 2025-26 with nonstop service to Rio de Janeiro from both Toronto and Montreal.
Starting February 2026, the airline will operate twice-weekly flights from Toronto Pearson to Rio de Janeiro Galeão on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and once-weekly flights from Montreal-Trudeau on Thursdays. All services will be operated with Airbus A330 aircraft.
Currently, Air Canada is the only Canadian carrier flying directly to Brazil, with year-round Toronto–São Paulo and Montreal–São Paulo services, and Toronto–Rio de Janeiro starting in December 2025. Montreal–Rio will remain unserved until Air Transat’s launch.
Sabre Market Intelligence data shows Canada–Brazil traffic totaled 352,000 passengers in 2024, down 1.6% from 2023. Toronto–São Paulo was the largest city pair, followed by Vancouver–São Paulo and Montreal–São Paulo.
The Brazil launch is part of Air Transat’s broader network growth, which includes 14 new routes this winter and increased frequencies on existing leisure and transatlantic services, representing a 6% year-over-year capacity increase.
Chief Revenue Officer Sebastian Ponce said the move aligns with the airline’s diversification strategy, targeting new destinations with strong Canadian demand while leveraging partnerships for greater connectivity.
Other winter 2025-26 additions include Guadalajara, Valencia, Madrid, Bordeaux, and Istanbul, along with seasonal southern flights from smaller Canadian markets such as Charlottetown, Windsor, and Fredericton.
The Rio de Janeiro services—coinciding with the city’s role as host of Routes Americas 2026—remain subject to regulatory approval from Brazilian and Canadian authorities.
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