Canada and the United States share the longest international border in the world. Stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, the land border has two sections: one between Alaska and Canada and another along the 49th parallel.
According to Consensus, approximately 90% of Canada's 40 million residents reside within 124 miles of the US border, which makes it no surprise there are many trans-border hops that are to cities just south of the US/Canada border.
While we are not here for a geography lesson, Canada is the second largest country in the world by land mass. However, the harsh northern climate means that around 80% of the country is inhabitable.
The country's economy is closely tied to that of the United States, which means that economic efficiency and urbanization are significant factors that have influenced Canada's growth along its southern border.
Traveling from Canada to the United States is extremely popular for business and leisure purposes. This saw the United States establish border preclearance in Canada at various seaports since 1894. Modern facilities were introduced in 1952 at what is now Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and, later, Calgary International Airport (YYC). Fast forward to today, and now eight of Canada's busiest airports enable US-bound passengers to clear US border formalities before departing on their flight, meaning they arrive in the US as domestic passengers, avoiding queues at busy US airports.
Current Canadian airports with US Pre-Clearance are:
- Calgary International Airport (YYC)
- Edmonton International Airport (YEG)
- Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ)
- Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
- Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW)
- Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
- Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
- Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (YWG)
Data for this article was sourced from Cirium , an online aviation analytics company, and is based on total operations in 2024.
Today, many trans-border hops, such as Vancouver to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Montreal to Boston Logan International Airport, or Toronto to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, can take no more than 90 minutes from gate to gate.
However, what are the shortest scheduled flights between the US and Canada? Simple Flying decided to examine five flights under 130 miles; ironically, all are between Washington State and Canada's province of British Columbia.
1 Seattle to Vancouver
127 miles apart
Three carriers go head-to-head for flights between Seattle and Vancouver. The two cities are well connected, and each airline operates multiple daily flights. Spanning just 127 miles apart, 10,796 flights will operate in 2024 between the two airports. Delta Air Lines is the largest operator between Vancouver International Airportand SEA, operating 2,081 flights in total, an average of 5.7 flights per day.
Flight data as below:
|
Airline |
Flights |
Average flights per month |
Total seats |
Available seat miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Air Canada |
1,671 |
134 |
125,704 |
15,964,408 |
|
Alaska Airlines |
1,700 |
141 |
154,339 |
19,601,053 |
|
Delta Air Lines |
2,081 |
173 |
148,040 |
18,801,080 |
Air Canada, the sole Canadian operator on the route, goes head-to-head with two American juggernauts at Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and is the only operator to deploy de Havilland Dash 8-400 on select flights between the two airports.
2 Seattle to Victoria
98 miles apart
Alaska Airlines makes the most of its sole operator status between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Victoria. Operating 1,121 flights in 2024, this, on average, is 93 per month or three per day. AS utilizes its Embraer E175 on the route, accommodating 12 passengers in first class, 12 in premium, and 52 in economy.
2024 total numbers below:
- 1,121 flights in each direction
- 85,196 seats in total
- 8,349,208 available seat miles
3 Boeing Field to Victoria
93 miles apart
While services from Boeing Field to Victoria operate in both directions this November with a stop at Friday Harbor Airport on San Juan Island, Cirium identified that 276 services in each direction operated non-stop this year.
This unique airline is based in Kenmore, Washington; however, it operates a range of scheduled and charter seaplane and landplane services across Washington State and British Columbia. This year, the airline offered 3,588 seats between YYJ and BFI, which equates to 333,684 available seat miles (ASMs).
4 Friday Harbor to Victoria
20 miles apart
At just 20 miles apart, this hop between Friday Harbor and Victoria is the shortest trans-border flight between the United States and Canada. Served by Kenmore Air onboard a Cessna 208 Caravan, the flight takes 30 minutes from gate to gate. On departure from Friday Harbor, passengers transit over San Juan Island and the Haro Strait before landing in Victoria.
Unfortunately, the airport is not equipped with US pre-clearance facilities for passengers departing from Victoria, so passengers must clear US customs upon arrival at Friday Harbor. This year, Kenmore Air will operate 120 flights in each direction, an average of 2.3 per week, equating to:
- 1,479 seats
- 29,580 available seat miles (ASMs)
5 Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base to Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre
120 miles apart
Harbour Air, a floatplane provider at Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, operates a direct link between Vancouver Harbor and Lake Union, Seattle. This provides easy transportation from downtown Vancouver to downtown Seattle.
With over 355 flights this year, Harbour Air, one of the largest seaplane operators in North America, will operate an average of 6.8 flights per week. This unique floatplane service is the only international seaplane service that links two major North American cities. Facts and figures below:
- 355 flights in 2024
- 4,717 total seats
- 575,474 available seat miles (ASMs)
