Air Canada's route between Charleston and Toronto took flight in 2024. It's back with changes.

By Megan Fernandes

The return of Air Canada's flight between Charleston and Toronto in 2024 after a decades-long pause produced more demand for connections to other destinations than the carrier originally anticipated.

The route, which re-established Charleston International as a truly "international" airport, is on final approach to start up again in 2025 but with some changes.

The first cross-border flight from the Lowcountry took flight in late March. Alexandre Lefèvre, a vice president of scheduling and network planning for Air Canada, described last year's inaugural run as a "solid season."

The route carried more than 20,000 passengers on 400 flights through October, according to the airline.

Roughly a third of them went on to other cities, which the carrier said was a surprisingly high number.

Within Canada, Quebec, Montreal and Vancouver were among the most popular final destinations, Lefèvre said.

Also, the demand for international connections from Toronto exceeded expectations. Flights to Greece, Japan, Italy, Denmark and Spain accounted for the most ticket sales on Air Canada jets by passengers who began their trips at Charleston International.

"We expected a lot of connections to London and Europe in general, but it was surprising to see destinations we didn't expect," Lefèvre said. "We want to bring value to the communities we serve by connecting them to domestic Canada and to the world."

The second season starts March 30 and runs through Oct. 25.

Air Canada carried in excess of 20,000 customers on nearly 400 flights in and out of Charleston last year, with roughly a third connecting onto other flights from Toronto.

The Montreal-based airline previously served the Lowcountry with Toronto service from 2001 to 2002. It was the first regularly scheduled nonstop flight from CHS to a city outside the U.S.

More than two decades later, the carrier returned with daily nonstop service. The airline said the spring and summer months were particularly strong.

Among the changes coming this year, Air Canada will operate on a Thursday-Monday schedule rather than seven days a week.

"We've adjusted it to support the demand around weekend travel, which is very strong compared to weaker mid-week days like Tuesdays and Wednesdays," Lefèvre said.

Also, Air Canada said it plans to step up its marketing to entice more Canadians to the Lowcountry via Toronto Pearson International, which accommodates more than 50 million passengers each year.

The business travel segment, especially, "is something we'll keep chasing," Lefèvre said.

He added that Air Canada hasn't ruled out the possibility of a longer season or increased flight frequency to CHS in the future depending on the demand.

Charleston International CEO Elliott Summey said he views the return of Air Canada's route as the product of a successful launch year.

"Toronto isn't just another destination to fly to, it is a great hub airport where you can go pretty much anywhere internationally from there," he said.