Airline slashes marketing for U.S. travel because Canadians may view it ‘negatively’

Toronto-based Porter Airlines says it has cut back on marketing for U.S. destinations amid the ongoing, everchanging trade war between Canada and the United States. “We’ve scaled back marketing our U.S. destinations, as some Canadians may view this negatively,” the airline said in a statement to INsauga.com. “It’s important to note that Porter has increased its U.S. presence by approximately 150% year-over-year as part of our overall growth. Schedules are filed months in advance and always have near-term adjustments.” But it’s the time in the season when capacity transitions to summer schedules, Porter said, where 75% of peak capacity is planned for domestic travel. Meanwhile, travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada recently said February bookings to American cities dropped 40% from the same month in 2024, while one in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months. Porter said they’re “mindful of the overall economic situation and are monitoring booking patterns.” “We initially saw some softening of select U.S. leisure markets, but Canadians are continuing to travel to the U.S.,” the airline said. Porter operates in 16 U.S. cities and flights are still operating.<br/>