The Travel Stories that Defined 2025 for Our Readers

As is the case each year in the dynamic travel industry, 2025 was defined by dramatic events which shaped your world. Besides the exceptional disruptions caused by striking airline workers, the most notable course changer was and continues to be the shifting relationship with the US. As always, travel advisors adapt, rejig, pivot, and reclaim their business no matter what the obstacles.

To round out the year, we’ve recapped the stories that had readers clicking, sharing, and watching, from new aircraft orders and route announcements to visa headaches, and the sudden loss of an industry leader.

US Restricts Travel from More Countries, Including Antigua and Dominica

Several stories about Donald Trump’s policies captured readers’ attention this year, but the most-read was the expansion of the US travel ban in mid-December. The move added five more countries to the ban and imposed partial restrictions on several others, prompting Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica to push back.

Canada’s Airline Duopoly Is Now a Four-Player Game                                

In 2025, the Competition Bureau painted Canada’s airline market as an Air Canada and WestJet duopoly. However, Open Jaw’s analysis told a different story. It shows how the country’s four airlines—Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, and Air Transat—are carving out distinct paths to growth, profitability, and relevance.

The Wait is Over’: Air Canada Announces First New XLR Route

The news that one of Air Canada’s A321XLRs will fly Montréal–Palma de Mallorca in June 2026 drew strong reader interest, as the aircraft will offer lie-flat Signature Class seats on a narrowbody and help the airline expand into new transatlantic markets. Air Canada has ordered 30 A321XLRs, with deliveries starting early 2026.

Air Canada’s Galardo Reveals XLR Wins, YYZ Hub, and Coming ‘Ooh, Aah’ Design

Readers clearly couldn’t learn enough about the A321XLR! Nina’s Pink Couch with Air Canada’s EVP & CCO and President Cargo, Mark Galardo, went viral, as he explained why the aircraft will launch at YUL before YYZ and teased a product reveal of the onboard seating—watch for it in JAN 2026! “It will be a brand new product standard,” Galardo promised.

Cancellations, Delays at Toronto Pearson Following Delta Crash

Open Jaw was the first to report the shocking crash at YYZ on 17 FEB, when Delta Flight 4189 from Minneapolis skidded on a snowy runway, burst into flames, and flipped upside down. Miraculously, all 76 passengers and four crew survived. Delta later offered USD 30K per passenger—about USD 2.3M in total—as a no-strings gesture, though multiple injury and negligence lawsuits remain pending.

Air Canada to Cut US-Bound Flights; WestJet Could Follow

One of the defining shifts of 2025 was Canadians pulling back from US travel following Trump’s return to office, beginning with this February report on Air Canada cutting flights to Florida, Las Vegas, and Arizona amid the US-Canada tariff dispute and a weak Canadian dollar. WestJet followed with similar reductions a few months later.

Permanent Residents of Canada To Face Huge Fee for US Entry

A USD 250 “visa integrity fee,” part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed 01JUL, 2025, made worldwide headlines. Our coverage raised concerns about the fee potentially applying to permanent residents of Canada. While it was scheduled to take effect in October, it has yet to be applied, as authorities continue to debate how best to collect it.

US Ambassador Threatens to Close Pre-Clearance at Canadian Airports

Speaking at the Global Business Forum in Banff in September, US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra warned that Washington could reassess Canada’s airport pre-clearance program—a threat that quickly grabbed advisors’ attention. The program remains firmly intact, however, and pre-clearance is set to expand, with a new facility being added at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport this spring.

RIP Duncan Bureau: ‘That Huge Personality’ Is No Longer

The sudden loss of aviation leader Duncan Bureau on 02DEC prompted an outpouring of grief across the travel industry. Tributes poured into Open Jaw unsolicited, with colleagues, friends, and leaders eager to share heartfelt memories. We continued updating the story as messages arrived—each underscoring his mentorship, generosity, and larger-than-life personality. At an Air Canada event that served as her retirement party, Air Canada Vice President of Global Sales Lisa Pierce also reflected on the lasting impact of her former boss.