United Airlines Scraps New Los Angeles – Toronto Route

With geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty putting downward pressure on demand for flights between the USA and Canada, United Airlines has quietly removed its new Los Angeles – Toronto route from the schedule and also adjusted service frequencies to three Canadian cities from its Washington Dulles hub.

United Airlines Pulls New New Los Angeles – Toronto Route From Schedule

We’ve seen recent reports of falling demand between the US and Canada and while it still may be too early to quantify, United Airlines has decided to scrap its new Los Angeles (LAX) – Toronto Pearson (YYZ) route, which was set to launch during the summer season between May 22, 2025, to September 24, 2025.

As an Angeleno who was planning a trip to Toronto this autumn, this particular route cut hits me hard, but it just makes sense in the current environment: Air Canada already flies several frequencies per day between LAX and YYZ, including some on widebody jets. Air Canada and United have a transborder joint venture, meaning revenue is shared and the extra segment on the Los Angeles – Toronto route on United metal simply becomes duplicative in the face of falling demand.

United confirmed the route cut, telling Live And Live Let’s Fly, “We make regular adjustments to our flight schedule based on seasonality, demand and other market factors.”

Last month, CEO Scott Kirby told investors, “We’ve already started the process of where that capacity is coming out, a lot of it transborder, big drop in Canadian traffic to go into the US so it’s going to come out in government markets where we’re seeing less demand.”

United Reduces Canadian Frequencies From Washington Dulles

In addition to the LAX route cut, United Airlines will make three adjustments to to its flight schedule from Washington Dulles. Effective May 22, 2025, frequencies will be reduced to Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal:

• Montreal (YUL) – from three-times daily to twice-daily
• Ottawa (YOW) – from four-times daily to three-times daily
• Toronto (YYZ) – from four-times daily to three-times daily

A recent poll suggests nearly half of Canadians are less likely to travel to the US this year than last year.

CONCLUSION

United Airlines is cutting a new Toronto route from Los Angeles before it even starts due to weak demand and also trimming back flights to other Canadian cities from its Washington hub. It remains to be seen whether this dip in demand is a temporary blip or the start of a long-term change in demand for air service between US and Canada.