Air Canada

Air Canada
IATA code :	AC
ICAO code :	ACA
Call sign :	AIR CANADA
Founding:	1937 as Trans-Canada Airlines
Seat:	Montréal , Canada
Turnstile :	Montréal Toronto Calgary Vancouver
Home airport :	Montréal
IATA prefix code :	014
Management:	Calin Rovinescu (President & CEO)
Number of employees:	26,100 (2016)
Sales:	C $ 14.677 billion (2016)
Passenger volume:	44.8 million (2016)
Alliance :	Star Alliance
Frequent Flyer Program :	Air Canada Altitude
Fleet size:	173 (+ 63 orders)
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.aircanada.com

Air Canada , based in Montreal is the largest Canadian airline and a founding member of the airline alliance Star Alliance .

history

Foundation and first years

A Lockheed Model 10 of the former Trans-Canada Air Lines

On April 10, 1937, Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA for short) was founded as a subsidiary of the state-owned Canadian National Railway (CNR for short) based in Winnipeg . Flight operations began on September 1 of the same year between Vancouver and Seattle with a Lockheed 10A . The first of these fifty-minute scheduled flights carried two passengers and mail. The first transcontinental mail flights between Vancouver and Montreal began in 1938. From April 1939, people were also transported on this route.

The company's headquarters were relocated to Montreal in 1949, and the maintenance facilities followed there later. This move was a major economic blow for western Canada. In 1953, Trans-Canada Airlines was the first airline in the world to introduce a computerized reservation system. In order to emphasize its importance as Canada's national airline, the state-owned company first used the Air Canada suffix for advertising purposes in Europe from March 1959. On June 1, 1964, Air Canada became the company's official name, although the name change was made in steps. From January 1, 1965, the company also used the new Air Canada name in its brand identity. In the late 1970s, the Canadian National Railway was restructured and Air Canada was partially privatized.

1980s and 1990s

An Air Canada Boeing 747-100 in 1983

In 1983 Air Canada placed its first bulk order with Airbus when they ordered 34 Airbus A320s; Since then, Air Canada has been a regular Airbus customer for a long time, several copies of the Airbus A320 family have been reordered, and a long-haul fleet consisting of Airbus A330 / A340 has been built up. In 1987 Air Canada became the first airline to introduce a general smoking ban. In 1989 Air Canada was completely privatized. In 1994 Air Canada introduced a radically redesigned fleet livery and abolished the three-tier system in favor of a two-tier system. Electronic tickets were introduced in 1995.

In 1997 Air Canada, together with Lufthansa , Thai Airways , SAS Scandinavian Airlines and United Airlines , founded the Star Alliance, the first and to this day largest aviation alliance .

21st century

Air Canada Boeing 787-8

In January 2001, Air Canada took over Canada's second largest airline, Canadian Airlines . This made Air Canada the world's twelfth largest commercial airline. Despite these successes, like almost all airlines at the time, they suffered from the global political consequences of September 11th , and due to other difficulties, there was a threat of insolvency in 2003. They went under bankruptcy protection on April 1, 2003 , which they could leave 18 months later on September 30, 2004. During this time the company was radically restructured and it was decided to realign the fleet procurement. The new owner of the airline became the newly founded ACE Aviation Holdings .

On October 31, 2004 Air Canada made the last flight with a Boeing 747-400; it was replaced by smaller Airbus A340s . A large order was placed for 18 Boeing 777s and 14 Boeing 787s for the long-haul fleet; so the tradition of ordering from Airbus was history. This order was increased in 2007. In July 2008 the last A340-600 on order were canceled.

In April 2009, Calin Rovinescu took over as CEO of the airline. In 2013, Air Canada's strategy of systematic overbooking was unveiled, which assigned multiple passengers to the same seat and thus led to booking problems, and urged the Canadian government to introduce a "Basic Passenger Law".

In 2014, Air Canada pilots voted with an 84% majority for a ten-year contract to resolve disputes through arbitration and mediation.

In 2016, Air Canada signed a contract with aircraft manufacturer Bombardier to replace the existing Embraer 190 with new Airbus A220-300s .

In February 2017, the Air Canada planes were given a new retro livery in black and red for the 80th birthday of the airline and the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. The livery was applied directly to three new Boeing 787-9s .

Air Canada has also placed orders for a total of 61 Boeing 737 MAXs , which will be delivered from October 2017.

Subsidiaries

Air Canada Jazz / Express

Air Canada's headquarters in Montréal

The airlines Air BC , Air Ontario , Air Nova and Canadian Regional Airlines merged in January 2002 to form the regional company and subsidiary of Air Canada: Air Canada Jazz ( ICAO : ARN; IATA : QK; Callsign: Transcan). Air Canada Jazz mainly served a large network within Canada . The company's more than 85 destinations included: Toronto , Vancouver , Montréal , Calgary , Halifax , Yellowknife , Victoria , Prince Albert , Yarmouth, Regina , Kenora , Comox , Repulse Bay, Saskatoon , Timmins , Winnipeg and Whitehorse in Canada and Seattle , Chicago and Fairbanks in the USA . Air Canada Jazz was thus one of the largest regional airlines in the world.

In 2006 Air Canada sold its shares in Air Canada Jazz, which is now owned by Chorus Aviation Inc. under the name Jazz Aviation , but continues to operate regional flights for Air Canada under the name Air Canada Express .

Air Canada now

Air Canada NOW was incorporated on October 31, 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Canada. Former President of the Air Alliance , Robert Perrault, was the head of the company from the start. The airline is currently managed by Alain Boudreau. During the 2006-2007 NHL season, the teams of the Vancouver Canucks , Calgary Flames , Edmonton Oilers , Ottawa Senators , Canadiens de Montréal and Toronto Maple Leafs were transported by Air Canada Jetz aircraft. For the 2008 season, the Boston Bruins team was also promoted. In addition, the NBA team now also transports the Toronto Raptors . In 2005 and 2006 Jetz promoted, among others, the Irish rock band U2 on their Vertigo tour , the Rolling Stones on their North American tour and many other well-known groups and business people.

Air Canada Rouge

In December 2012, Air Canada announced the creation of a new charter airline called Air Canada Rouge . The low-cost airline flies to vacation destinations in Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and the USA. The fleet consists (as of October 2019) of 22 Airbus A319-100 , 4 Airbus A320 , 14 Airbus A321-200 and 25 Boeing 767-300ER .

Destinations

Business Class in an Air Canada Boeing 767

Air Canada Economy Class

Air Canada serves five continents on its route network. In Asia, destinations in China as well as Hong Kong , Tokyo , Seoul-Incheon and Tel Aviv are served. In Europe there are flights to France, Germany, Ireland, Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Turkey and Switzerland. In the USA, Air Canada is represented at almost every major airport and offers the largest foreign offer.

Air Canada connects Frankfurt with Calgary , Montreal , Toronto and Vancouver as well as Geneva with Montréal, Vienna and Munich with Toronto. There are also connections from Zurich to Toronto and Vancouver.

Code sharing

Air Canada has codeshare agreements with the following airlines ( Star Alliance members are marked with *):

• Aegean Airlines *
• Aer Lingus
• Air China *
• Air India *
• Air New Zealand *
• All Nippon Airways *
• Asiana Airlines *
• Austrian Airlines *
• Avianca *
• Brussels Airlines *
• Egypt Air *
• Ethiopian Airlines *
• Etihad Airways
• LOT *
• Lufthansa *
• Middle East Airlines
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines *
• Singapore Airlines *
• SriLankan Airlines
• Swiss *
• South African Airways *
• TAP Portugal *
• Thai Airways *
• United Airlines *
• Turkish Airlines *

fleet

Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8

Air Canada Embraer 190

Air Canada Airbus A330-300

Current fleet

Douglas DC-8-43 of Air Canada

Vickers 952 Vanguard and Douglas DC-9, 1971

As of August 2020, Air Canada's fleet consists of 173 aircraft with an average age of 12.7 years:

Aircraft type	number	ordered	Remarks	Seats ( Executive / Eco + / Eco )	Average age (August 2020)
Airbus A220-300	8th0	37	Deliveries between 2019 and 2022 (+ 30 options)	137 (12 / - / 125)	0.4 years
Airbus A319-100	13			120 (14 / - / 106)	23.1 years
Airbus A320-200	36			146 (14 / - / 132)	26.0 years
Airbus A321-200	15th			183 (16 / - / 174)	17.4 years
Airbus A330-300	15th			292 (27/21/244) 285 (- / 30/255) 297 (32/24/241)	15.5 years
Boeing 737 MAX 8	24	26th	all inactive since March 13, 2019; + 18 options (also Boeing 737 MAX 9); Air Canada reached an agreement with Boeing for grounding compensation and canceled the Boeing 737 MAX 9 order	169 (16 / - / 153)	2.2 years
Boeing 777-200LR	06th			300 (40/24/236)	12.8 years
Boeing 777-300ER	19th			400 (40/24/336) 450 (28/24/398)	10.1 years
Boeing 787-8	08th		first delivery on May 12, 2014	251 (20/21/210)	5.9 years
Boeing 787-9	29		first delivery on July 27, 2015	298 (30/21/247)	3.6 years
total	173	63			12.7 years

Other aircraft are operated by Jazz Aviation , an independent successor to the former Air Canada subsidiary Air Canada Jazz , and Sky Regional Airlines under the name Air Canada Express .

Some Air Canada aircraft are equipped with a system for Internet use on board the provider Gogo , which means that you can surf the web for a fee during a flight, but currently only within the USA. According to the manufacturer, the supply of Canada with this service is currently under construction.

Special paints

Aircraft type	Aircraft registration	Painting	Period	image
Airbus A319-100	C-FZUH	"Trans Canada Airline"	since August 1997
Airbus A321-200	C-GITU	" Star Alliance "	since November 2014	-
Airbus A330-300	C-GEGI C-GEGP C-GHLM		since November 2019 since October 2019 since December 2007

Previously deployed aircraft

Air Canada's Lockheed Tristar 150

Previously, Trans-Canada Air Lines and Air Canada u. a. the following aircraft types:

• Airbus A340-300 / 500
• Avro Lancastrian
• Boeing 727-200
• Boeing 737-200
• Boeing 747-100 / 200/400
• Boeing 767-200 / 300
• Bristol 170
• Canadair CRJ 100
• Canadair North Star
• Douglas DC-3
• Douglas DC-8-40 / 50/60
• Douglas DC-8-73
• Douglas DC-9-10 / 30
• Embraer 175
• Embraer 190
• Fokker F28 Fellowship
• Lockheed Model 10
• Lockheed 14 Super Electra
• Lockheed Lodestar
• Lockheed Super Constellation
• Lockheed TriStar
• Vickers Vanguard
• Vickers Viscount

Subsidiaries

• Air Canada Cargo
• Air Canada Express
• Air Canada now
• Air Canada Rouge
• Air Canada Vacations

Former subsidiaries

• Airplane
• Air Canada Jazz
• Air Canada Tango
• Zip (airline)

Incidents

From 1938 to the renaming in 1964, Trans-Canada Air Lines suffered 14 total aircraft losses. There were a total of 252 fatalities.

Subsequently, the renamed Air Canada lost another ten aircraft by December 2016, killing 139 people.

• On August 12, 1948, a Canadair North Star of Trans-Canada Air Lines ( aircraft registration number CF-TEL ) collided with an unlit pile of earth at the start of the runway when landing in Sydney (Nova Scotia) . The landing gear tore open tanks and a fire started. All 17 inmates survived; the aircraft suffered a total loss.

• On November 10, 1958, a Lockheed L-1049D Super Constellation from Seabord & Western Airlines (N6503C) lost control during a training flight at New York-Idlewild Airport , and the machine was finally parked with a Vickers Viscount 724 from Trans-Canada Airlines (CF-TGL) collided, in which there were only two crew members. The trigger was an incorrectly built reverse thrust device that suddenly activated itself. All five crew members and the two in the Viscount survived. Both planes burned out and were total losses.

• On November 28, 1963, a Douglas DC-8-54 of Trans-Canada Air Lines (CF-TJN) crashed 19 km northwest of Montreal-Dorval Airport , Canada five minutes after take-off due to a defect in the trim of the elevator . All 118 people died (see also Trans Canada Air Lines Flight 831 ) .

• On May 19, 1967 rolled out a DC-8F-54 Air Canada (CF TJM) on a training flight landing at the Ottawa International Airport to the side and crashed in inverted flight to the ground. All three crew members were killed. In the investigation report, the flight accident investigators accused the crew of having carried out a flight training maneuver under conditions that made it impossible to maintain control of the machine (see also the accident involving a Douglas DC-8 operated by Air Canada near Ottawa ) .

• On April 7, 1969, shortly after an Air Canada (CF-THK) Vickers Viscount 757 took off from Sept-Îles Airport, a fire broke out in the left main landing gear bay. The pilots managed to fly the plane back to the airport, but engine no. 1 could not be switched off due to the fire and the brakes on the left main landing gear failed. The evacuation was carried out while the machine was rolling clockwise in a circle. During the evacuation, a passenger fell, was run over by the machine and was killed. The other 20 occupants of the machine survived the incident (see also Air Canada's Vickers Viscount accident near Sept-Îles ) .

• On July 5, 1970, the copilot of the Douglas DC-8-63 CF-TIW accidentally fully deployed the spoilers on final approach to Toronto . When attempting to take off , the aircraft landed very hard on the runway for a brief moment, tearing off an engine and damaging a tank shell. After taking off, several explosions destroyed the right wing. All 109 occupants were killed in the crash (see also Air Canada flight 621 ).

• On June 26, 1978, the pilots of an Air Canada Douglas DC-9-32 (CF-TLV) in Toronto stopped take-off after the machine had a blown tire. The machine rolled over the runway and against an earth wall, the hull breaking apart. Of the 107 people on board, 2 passengers were killed.

• On June 2, 1983, on the flight from Dallas / Fort Worth , USA , to Toronto , Canada aboard a Douglas DC-9-30 , heavy smoke developed. As a result of cable fires, some cockpit instruments also failed. Nevertheless, the pilots managed to make an emergency landing at Northern Kentucky Airport . In the subsequent evacuation of the aircraft, 23 passengers died from the fire, while all other 18 passengers and 5 crew members were able to save themselves (see also Air Canada flight 797 ).

• On July 23, 1983, a Boeing 767-200 with 61 passengers and 8 crew members on its way from Montreal , Canada via Ottawa to Edmonton at cruising altitude suffered a total engine failure, because not enough fuel was carried due to a mix-up of the units of measurement. However, the aircraft was able to land on a runway at Gimli Airport that had already been disused and (also on this day) used for car races . The nose landing gear collapsed, but there was no personal injury (see also Air Canada Flight 143 ).

• On March 29, 2015, an Airbus A320 landed in front of the runway on the flight from Toronto to Halifax. 23 of the 137 inmates were injured. At the time of the accident, the weather was bad. (see also Air Canada Flight 624 ).

See also

• List of airlines

Web links

Commons : Air Canada  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Air Canada website (partly in German, otherwise in English or French)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Executive Biographies. Air Canada, accessed February 3, 2020 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Summary of Air Canada 2016 Fiscal Year Results PDF, accessed on April 29, 2017.
3. ^ Flight International, April 15, 1965
4. ↑ ^{a b} Air Canada: " Air Canada Innovations "
5. ^ Flight International, March 20, 1959
6. ^ Flight International, June 4, 1964
7. ↑ David Kaminski-Morrow: Air Canada cancels outstanding A340-600 order. In: FlightGlobal. July 9, 2008, accessed February 3, 2020 . 
8. ↑ John Ivison: John Ivison: Throne Speech's 'consumers first' agenda will likely pit Tories against airlines and telcos. In: National Post . September 16, 2013, accessed February 3, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Air Canada Finalizes order for 61 737 MAXs. boeing.com, April 1, 2014, accessed March 8, 2017 . 
10. ↑ flyjazz.ca - History accessed on August 27, 2011 (English).
11. ^ Air Canada Rouge Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. October 30, 2019, accessed February 3, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Stefan Eiselin: New USA connections - Air Canada wants to snatch US airlines away from customers. In: aero telegraph. November 24, 2015, accessed February 3, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Air Canada Codeshare Flights, accessed January 10, 2015.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Air Canada Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. August 9, 2020, accessed on August 9, 2020 . 
15. ↑ Airbus - Orders & deliveries. In: airbus.com. April 30, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 . 
16. ↑ Boeing - Orders & deliveries. In: boeing.com. April 30, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 . 
17. ↑ Air Canada - aircraft fleet. Retrieved on May 17, 2020 (German). 
18. ↑ Air Canada annule sa commande de Boeing 737 MAX-9. March 17, 2020, accessed on April 14, 2020 (Fri-FR). 
19. ↑ Gogoair.com Participating Airlines ( Memento from December 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 4, 2014.
20. ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international. Zurich Airport 1966 to 2007.
21. ↑ Accident Statistics Trans-Canada Air Lines , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on December 20, 2016 (English).
22. ↑ Air Canada accident statistics , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on December 20, 2016 (English).
23. ^ Accident report Canadair North Star CF-TEL , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on December 20, 2016 (English).
24. ↑ accident report L-1049D N6503C , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 22 December of 2019.
25. ↑ Accident report Viscount 700 CF-TGL , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 22, 2019.
26. ^ Accident report DC-8-54 CF-TJN , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on December 20, 2016 (English).
27. ↑ Accident report DC-8F-54 CF-TJM , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on February 25, 2019 (English).
28. ↑ Accident report Viscount 757 CF-THK , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on June 3, 2020.
29. ^ Accident report DC-9-32, CF-TLV , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 25, 2019.