Air Canada is expanding its service to destinations in Europe and Japan beginning in the summer of 2023. 

The Canadian airline announced the expansion in a press release Thursday, which includes new routes to Brussels, Toulouse and Copenhagen. Air Canada stated that it is also bringing back service to Tokyo-Haneda and Osaka.

The airline is also increasing its frequency of flights to major destinations in Europe, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the South Pacific. 

"We continue to pursue our disciplined approach of expanding our global network in response to anticipated demand. We are especially pleased to be adding three new strategic routes to Europe, resuming important services to Japan, and increasing frequencies to key international destinations for summer 2023," Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s senior vice-president of network planning and revenue management, said the release. 

Matthew Lee, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Corp., said in a note to clients Wednesday that Air Canada could beat revenue estimates in the third quarter, benefiting from increases in travel demand. The airline is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on Oct. 28. 

“We believe that Air Canada was the primary beneficiary of ramping air travel demand in the quarter, with revenue approaching [fiscal year 2019] even with capacity still ~20 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. Despite industry-wide disruptions throughout the summer and still-elevated fuel costs, we expect that the carrier was able to effectively manage its load factors and capacity to maintain profitability,” the note said. 

Demand for air travel amplified between January and July, exceeding pre-pandemic levels in May, according to the note. However, Lee said airlines did reduce capacity in July and August in an effort to alleviate congestion at Canadian airports.

Amid Canada ending COVID-19-related travel restrictions, Lee said he expects the gap between current demand levels and those experienced before the pandemic to narrow. 

“In our view, Air Canada appears to be past the worst of the pandemic and inflationary issues, yet its shares continue to languish, trading below U.S. network peers. We see the potential for a positive revision in the near-medium term as recovering demand on the passenger side meets the easing of fuel costs and pandemic-related supply chain issues,” Lee said. 

EXPANDED SERVICE: 

Europe: 

• Toronto to Brussels five times weekly beginning in June 
• Brussels to Toronto five times weekly beginning in June 
• Montreal to Toulouse five times weekly beginning in June 
• Toulouse to Montreal five times weekly beginning in June 
• Montreal to Copenhagen five times weekly beginning in June 
• Copenhagen to Montreal five times weekly beginning in June 

Asia: 

• Toronto to Tokyo Haneda daily beginning in May
• Tokyo Haneda daily beginning in May
• Vancouver to Osaka four times a week beginning in June 
• Osaka to Vancouver four times a week beginning in June