Air Canada launches first nonstop Palma de Mallorca–Montréal, unlocking US preclearance

Quick summary

Air Canada is launching the first-ever nonstop service between Palma de Mallorca (PMI) and Montréal (YUL), with the inaugural flight scheduled for June 17, 2026. The seasonal route operates four times weekly through October 24, 2026, using the new Airbus A321XLR — making it the first brand-new route Air Canada has launched with the type. Economy, Premium Economy, and Signature Class cabins are all available, with lead-in return fares from around CAD 932 in Economy on selected August dates.

No other carrier operates this corridor nonstop — every competing option still requires a European hub connection. The Montréal hub also unlocks US preclearance, letting Palma travelers arrive in American cities as domestic passengers.

The first direct air link between the Balearic Islands and Canada opens in weeks. Air Canada confirmed flights AC924 and AC925 will connect Palma de Mallorca and Montréal–Trudeau four times weekly from June 17, running through late October on the newly delivered Airbus A321XLR. Bookings are live now at aircanada.com.

For Mallorca-based travelers and the large Spanish diaspora in Québec, this ends a long-standing inconvenience: until now, every PMI–Canada itinerary required a change of plane in Lisbon, Paris, or London, adding two to four hours to a journey that the A321XLR covers nonstop in around seven and a half hours.

The route is also the first commercial deployment of Air Canada’s new narrowbody on a brand-new corridor — a deliberate choice by the airline to showcase the XLR’s extended range on a transatlantic leisure market it has not previously served directly from Montréal.

Through the Montréal hub, passengers from Palma gain onward connections to destinations across Canada, the United States, and South America. US-bound travelers benefit from preclearance facilities at Montréal–Trudeau, clearing US customs and immigration before departure and arriving stateside as domestic passengers — a meaningful time saver at busy American airports.

What the schedule and aircraft actually mean for travelers

Air Canada’s official route announcement confirms AC924 departs Montréal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; AC925 returns from Palma on the same four-day pattern. The season runs roughly 19 weeks, covering the core European summer and extending into the shoulder period through late October.

The A321XLR is a purpose-built long-range narrowbody — not a stretched regional jet. Its range of approximately 4,700 nautical miles comfortably covers the roughly 3,788-mile great-circle distance between YUL and PMI, and the single-aisle cabin keeps operating costs lower than a widebody, which matters for a seasonal leisure route that needs to pencil out in its first year. Air Canada is acquiring 30 A321XLRs in total, with first deliveries from Air Lease Corporation arriving in Q1 2026; Palma is the launch route.

Early reports circulated suggesting the service would use a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on a three-weekly basis from June 18. The confirmed operation is different: the aircraft is the A321XLR, frequency is four times weekly, and the season opens June 17.

Why this route matters beyond the Balearics

Air Canada has run a quiet but consistent playbook on Mediterranean leisure routes from Montréal. Nonstops to Nice and Athens launched as limited summer-season services and were later extended or had frequencies added once demand proved out. The Spain story follows the same arc: Montréal–Madrid and Montréal–Barcelona began as highly seasonal operations and have since grown in capacity and schedule stability as tourism flows between Canada and Spain deepened. YUL–PMI is being positioned as the next test case in that sequence.

The Montréal hub angle is worth taking seriously for travelers who aren’t starting or ending in Palma. US-bound passengers using preclearance at Trudeau arrive at American airports through domestic terminals — shorter queues, faster connections, no separate customs hall. For Canadians, the hub feeds an extensive domestic network. And for anyone with a few days to spare, Montréal in summer is a legitimate destination in its own right, not just a transit point.

The stopover option is underused. Air Canada‘s multi-city booking tool at aircanada.com lets travelers build in a one-to-three day Montréal pause on a single ticket, often at modest incremental cost versus a pure through fare. Competing one-stop carriers offer similar flexibility: TAP Air Portugal runs a formal stopover program allowing up to 10 days in Lisbon on eligible routes, often without a base fare surcharge, while Air France‘s multi-city search at airfrance.com can construct a Paris layover on the same itinerary. The new nonstop actually sharpens the value of those alternatives — travelers now have a genuine choice between speed and a deliberate detour.

For those planning broader North American trips after Palma, the Montréal hub also connects onward to Asia via Air Canada’s transpacific network, making a PMI–YUL–Asia routing a viable option for travelers combining a Balearic summer with an Asia-Pacific leg.

How to act before peak-season seats go

The inaugural flight is weeks away and four-times-weekly capacity on a narrowbody fills faster than a widebody operation — premium cabin inventory on peak July and August dates is the first thing to disappear.

• Book the nonstop now if your dates align: The season runs June 17–October 24, 2026. Check availability directly at aircanada.com/en-ca/flights-to-mallorca — the consumer page is live with bookable itineraries across all three cabin classes.
• Compare nonstop against one-stop fares before committing: TAP, Air France, and British Airways still sell PMI–Canada via their hubs. On shoulder dates (late June, September, early October), one-stop fares can undercut the nonstop — use a schedule aggregator like FlightsFrom.com to cross-check block times and total journey duration before deciding whether the convenience premium is worth it.
• Price the Montréal stopover option: Use Air Canada’s multi-city tool to compare a pure PMI–YUL return against an itinerary that adds two or three nights in Montréal. The fare gap is often small, and the city’s summer festival calendar makes the detour genuinely worthwhile.
• Use Aeroplan points strategically: AC924/AC925 are bookable on Aeroplan. Award space on new routes tends to be more available in the first weeks of a season before revenue demand firms up — check now if you’re sitting on points. New-route launch fare promotions can also surface in the first weeks of service.
• Set a fare alert for shoulder-season dates: Late September and October fares on YUL–PMI are likely to soften as the season winds down. If your travel is flexible, waiting for a dip on those dates carries less risk than holding out on July or August.

Watch: Air Canada’s next full summer 2026 schedule update — expected alongside Q4 2025 results and subsequent timetable loads — will indicate whether YUL–PMI sees any frequency increase, which would signal strong forward bookings and potentially unlock additional award inventory. If the route reappears in IATA’s preliminary 2027 northern summer filings (expected late 2026), it confirms the nonstop is becoming a recurring seasonal fixture rather than a one-year trial.

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