Three Canadian airlines have received top ratings at a major airline awards show.
For the sixth consecutive year, Air Canada received a Five Star Global Airline Award at the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) 2026 Awards, which were presented last night. Air Canada’s onboard Wi-Fi sponsored by Bell, which is complimentary for Aeroplan members, was ranked as the Best Inflight Connectivity. (It’s a great service I use on all my Air Canada flights, allowing me to stay in touch with work issues and communicate with family and friends at 36,000 feet.)
WestJet was honoured as a Four Star Major Airline at the awards ceremony, which took place in Long Beach, California.
Porter Airlines was rated a 2026 Four Star Regional Airline by APEX, which also named it one of the top three regional airlines in the world.
“On behalf of Air Canada’s 40,000 global employees, I thank APEX for confirming our status as a leading global carrier by conferring this award and our customers for their demonstrated loyalty in choosing to fly with us,” said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada. “And I am also pleased to see our investments to become an industry leader in inflight connectivity recognized with an award for Best Inflight Connectivity, which is complimentary for our Aeroplan Members.
Air Canada’s Paris Summer Olympics 777 airplane. Air Canada Photo
“We remain committed to delivering the best possible experience every time a customer uses our website or digital app, or are seated onboard our aircraft. We have some exciting developments coming very soon that I am confident our customers will greatly appreciate,” he said.
“Porter Airlines proudly now ranks in the top three APEX passenger-ranked regional airlines around the world. With its recent enhancements with complimentary premium snacks, in glass beverage service, as no middle seats, and high speed WiFi, it is not just delivering an amazing product, Porter is elevating Canadian airline service,” APEX Group CEO Dr. Joe Leader stated. “Porter continues to redefine what excellence looks like in Canadian air travel. Porter’s commitment to service innovation and passenger experience sets a new benchmark, and we are proud to honor their advancement.”
Other global airlines given Five Star status by APEX include Air France, Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Qantas, SWISS, United and Virgin Atlantic.
Ten airlines were awarded “World Class” status: All Nippon Airways, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudia, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines. I was lucky enough to fly Turkish Airlines business class last year and had a great experience.
Turkish Airlines business class.
Other Global Apex Awards:
• Best Entertainment: Emirates
• Best Cabin Service: Korean Air
• Best Food & Beverage: Qatar Airways
• Best Seat Comfort: Eva Air
• Best Wi-Fi: Delta Air Lines
The awards are based on votes from more than 1 million customers.
The APEX Five Star and Four Star Airline Awards stand as the only global awards entirely based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt from Concur, the world’s most used travel-organizing app. For the 2026 Awards, over one million verified flights have been rated by passengers spanning over 600 airlines from around the world using a five-star scale. The APEX Five Star and APEX Four Star Airline Awards are independently certified by a professional external auditing company.
Air Canada’s 2026 APEX Five Star Award is the latest in a series of awards received by Air Canada for its industry-leading products and services this year, which include:
• Best Airline in North America in 2025 (Skytrax)
• 2025 Skytrax World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining for the second straight year for the Toronto Signature Suite
• 2025 Skytrax Best Cabin Crew in Canada and North America.
• 2025 Skytrax Best Low-Cost Airline for its Rouge subsidiary
• 2025 Skytrax Most Family Friendly Airline in North America
• 2025 Skytrax Best Premium Economy Class Onboard Catering in North America
• 2025 Skytrax Best Business Class Onboard Catering in North America
• 2025 Skytrax Best Business Class Lounge in North America
CANADIAN TRAVEL TO THE U.S. REMAINS VERY SLOW
New figures from Statistics Canada show many Canadians continue to avoid visiting the United States.
As political tensions over tariffs and other issues continue, Stats Canada says the number of Canadians returning from the U.S. by car was down 33.9% in the month of August, 2026 (compared to August of 2025). That’s a huge number, but a little better than July of this year, when car trips by Canadians to the States were down 36.9%.
Stats Canada said return air trips from the U.S. by Canadians were down 25.4% in August of this year. But the agency also noted that the Air Canada flight attendants’ short strike impacted that number. For July of this year, return air trips from the U.S. by Canadians were down 25.8%.
While Canadians seem to be avoiding the U.S. in considerable numbers, the same isn’t true for trips to other places. Stats Can says Canadian air trips from overseas destinations actually ROSE 6.6%.
According to new data from Moneris, more than a quarter of Canadians changed their travel plans to avoid crossing the border, and instead explored provinces here in Canada. CP24 reports a new Angus Reid travel survey commissioned by Moneris found that 26% of Canadians changed, postponed or cancelled their travel plans to the U.S.
The survey also said 30% of Canadians decided to travel to other provinces, while 44% of Canadians chose to travel within their own province. And that’s great news for the Canadian tourism industry.
In August 2025, non-resident arrivals to Canada by air totalled 1.2 million, edging up 0.4% from August 2024. This total comprised 589,700 arrivals by US residents (-3.6%) and 609,700 arrivals by overseas residents (+4.6%).
Stats Can also said U.S. resident trips to Canada by car declined declined by 4.5% from the same month in 2024.
The U.S. Travel Association earlier this year warned that even a 10% drop in Canadian visits to the U.S. would cost $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 U.S. jobs.
