Air Canada Increasing Flights from Montreal and Toronto
By St. Martin Sotheby’s International Realty · July 7, 2024 · Updated November 10, 2026
island-updates
Air Canada has announced a new Montreal – St. Maarten flight and a doubling of its existing twice weekly Toronto Pearson (YYZ), starting November 17, 2024. Flight AC 1362, will leave Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) for St. Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) at 10:15 am and arrive on island at 3:55 pm, while the return flight AC1363 will depart SXM at 4:55 pm to arrive at YUL at 8:55 pm. This new flight will use the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with a seating capacity of 169, out of which 16 are business class. The increase in flights from Canada means that Air Canada will operate five flights to St. Maarten, the new Montreal route (on Sunday) and the Toronto route, which has been expanded to four, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, as per Air Canada’s 2024/2025 winter schedule.
“This is good news for us,” said Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT), who celebrated Air Canada's announcement as a positive sign for what can be expected in terms of stay-over passengers in the coming high season.
These additional flights from YUL and YYZ to SXM will start after the anticipated reopening of Princess Juliana International Airport's fully renovated arrivals terminal. With a complete reopening of SXM airport in September or October of 2024, this ensures that travelers visiting St. Maarten and St. Martin in the 2024 - 2025 high season from Canada will enjoy a modern and streamlined experience. For travelers leaving the island to return home, the modernized departures terminal has already reopened.
Efforts are being made by the St. Maarten government and the tourism bureau to ensure that airlines not only increase flight to SXM during the high season months, but also year round. In spite of the constraints regarding availability of aircraft, Air Canada’s internal performance evaluation has led to identifying potential room for increased flights into SXM.
“Although this is seasonal, we are going to do all within our power to ensure that the flights remain at the same levels beyond the winter season,” Minister Heyliger-Marten commented regarding the recent announcement from Air Canada. Recently, St. Maarten Tourism Bureau and the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association launched a campaign to enhance tourism for the summer season on the horizon, called Twice the Caribbean, Twice the Summer, to boost travel bookings during the part of the year that is traditionally considered the off-peak season.
Data shows that tourism to St. Maarten is off to a robust start for 2024 and is anticipated to continue rising. Additional air travel routes to St. Maarten and St. Martin airports are great for the island and is a positive indicator for our local real estate market. Caribbean travelers are urged to contact our experienced team of specialists to begin planning their next trip to Sint Maarten and Saint Martin with vacation rentals and more. Furthermore, and real estate investors and those interested in owning a property in the Caribbean should be sure to reach out to discuss their real estate goals.