A new motorcoach service by Air Canada connecting Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport with Toronto Pearson Airport will start on June 15.
This one-year pilot program was approved by the city council on Monday, in partnership with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton, Landline Company, and Air Canada.
Local representatives and stakeholders gathered at Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport on Friday morning to celebrate the announcement.
Local officials board the Air Canada motorcoach. March 13, 2026. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Nick Johnson, Vice President of Landline Company, mentioned that passengers who want to use this service will find the bus fare included in their plane ticket at no additional cost when they book directly through Air Canada.
“The bus portion is relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things, so this is a way for Air Canada to build feed into their network, to maybe take people who were going to drive to Detroit and take another airline instead. This is an incentive for that passenger to choose Air Canada instead and buy a ticket to Vancouver, Tokyo, or London.”
Landline Company Vice President Nick Johnson and Air Canada Manager of Regional Markets and Airlines Bernard Tavernier speaking with Sarnia Councillor Brian White. March 13, 2026. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Landline Company started working with Air Canada to set up this bus service in Ontario back in 2024. Since then, there’s been an increase in customers for Air Canada.
“There are many customers online who have testified that they will now fly Air Canada because of this product. So we’ve definitely seen some improvements as far as yield,” said Bernard Tavernier, Manager of Regional Markets and Airlines at Air Canada.
This summer, Landline will run 26 daily trips to and from Pearson Airport covering six communities across Ontario.
“It’s a huge moment. We’re going to be hiring 30 or 40 new employees so we’ll have a total of 80 or 90 folks in the region. Bus drivers hired right here from the community, customer check-in agents for the Sarnia airport hired right here in the community, so it’s going to be a huge push to recruit and hire the right folks,” said Johnson. “Also, we’ve purchased additional vehicles to support this big expansion across Ontario.”
Mike Roberts, manager at Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport stated it’s “huge for business.” While details are still being worked out, they aim to have one staff member present in the terminal for customer service help and maintaining cleanliness.
“We manage the entire airport which includes taking care of runways, snow plowing, grass cutting routines as well as daily inspections along with managing navigational aids,” Roberts explained. “Air Canada was here for 35 years; it’s sort of a legacy connection with them so we’re thrilled to have them back like this.”
Clare Webb from Scottsdale Aviation Operator expressed excitement about the bus service especially on mornings like Friday when snow squalls could delay flights from Sarnia to Toronto.
“This will be a much more reliable relaxing service,” Webb shared. “The more that people use this service means it could potentially cost nothing for the city.”
Kelly Provost director of Economic Development confirmed during Monday’s council meeting that if profitable enough revenue comes back under their Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG). The city is collaborating with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton towards an agreement splitting $375k MRG between both parties involved.
Director of Economic Development Kelly Provost. March 13, 2026. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
The key question remains-will this lead flights returning at Sarnia’s airport?
“We’ll look closely at how well this does over next year maybe two years before deciding anything further based on demand,” said Tavernier.” So definitely not off our table.”
Air Canada Manager of Regional Markets and Airlines Bernard Tavernier. March 13 , 2026. ( Photo by Natalia Vega )
The buses themselves feature single/double leather seats complete with tray tables & power outlets while also providing Wi-Fi onboard!
Travellers can park free at Sarnia’s airport check-in directly through staff members ensuring bags get tagged appropriately! Once arriving into Pearson guests proceed straight towards self-serve bag drop-off plus security processing!
The motorcoach operation consists two daily round trips departing early morning/afternoon timeframe!
Johnson pointed out there’s also potential earning Aeroplan points alongside using multi-modal ground-to-air services depending upon entire trip length involved!
If already holding existing reservation via Pearson passengers may add bus access without extra fee simply calling reservations team ahead until April end!
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Landline Company Vice President Nick Johnson and Air Canada Manager of Regional Markets and Airlines Bernard Tavernier speaking with Sarnia Councillor Brian White. March 13, 2026. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Landline Company started working with Air Canada to set up this bus service in Ontario back in 2024. Since then, there’s been an increase in customers for Air Canada.
“There are many customers online who have testified that they will now fly Air Canada because of this product. So we’ve definitely seen some improvements as far as yield,” said Bernard Tavernier, Manager of Regional Markets and Airlines at Air Canada.
This summer, Landline will run 26 daily trips to and from Pearson Airport covering six communities across Ontario.
“It’s a huge moment. We’re going to be hiring 30 or 40 new employees so we’ll have a total of 80 or 90 folks in the region. Bus drivers hired right here from the community, customer check-in agents for the Sarnia airport hired right here in the community, so it’s going to be a huge push to recruit and hire the right folks,” said Johnson. “Also, we’ve purchased additional vehicles to support this big expansion across Ontario.”
Mike Roberts, manager at Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport stated it’s “huge for business.” While details are still being worked out, they aim to have one staff member present in the terminal for customer service help and maintaining cleanliness.
“We manage the entire airport which includes taking care of runways, snow plowing, grass cutting routines as well as daily inspections along with managing navigational aids,” Roberts explained. “Air Canada was here for 35 years; it’s sort of a legacy connection with them so we’re thrilled to have them back like this.”
Clare Webb from Scottsdale Aviation Operator expressed excitement about the bus service especially on mornings like Friday when snow squalls could delay flights from Sarnia to Toronto.
“This will be a much more reliable relaxing service,” Webb shared. “The more that people use this service means it could potentially cost nothing for the city.”
Kelly Provost director of Economic Development confirmed during Monday’s council meeting that if profitable enough revenue comes back under their Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG). The city is collaborating with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton towards an agreement splitting $375k MRG between both parties involved.
Director of Economic Development Kelly Provost. March 13, 2026. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
The key question remains-will this lead flights returning at Sarnia’s airport?
“We’ll look closely at how well this does over next year maybe two years before deciding anything further based on demand,” said Tavernier.” So definitely not off our table.”
Air Canada Manager of Regional Markets and Airlines Bernard Tavernier. March 13 , 2026. ( Photo by Natalia Vega )
The buses themselves feature single/double leather seats complete with tray tables & power outlets while also providing Wi-Fi onboard!
Travellers can park free at Sarnia’s airport check-in directly through staff members ensuring bags get tagged appropriately! Once arriving into Pearson guests proceed straight towards self-serve bag drop-off plus security processing!
The motorcoach operation consists two daily round trips departing early morning/afternoon timeframe!
Johnson pointed out there’s also potential earning Aeroplan points alongside using multi-modal ground-to-air services depending upon entire trip length involved!
If already holding existing reservation via Pearson passengers may add bus access without extra fee simply calling reservations team ahead until April end!Source link
