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Air Canada
Air Canada Logo.svg
Founded 10 April 1937; 86 years ago (1937-04-10)
(as Trans-Canada Air Lines)
Commenced operations 1 January 1965; 59 years ago (1965-01-01)
(as Air Canada)
AOC #
  • Canada: 5262
  • United States: ARNF245C
Hubs
Focus cities
  • Calgary
  • Halifax
  • Ottawa
Frequent-flyer program Aeroplan
Alliance Star Alliance
Subsidiaries
Fleet size 353 (including subsidiaries)
Destinations 195
Headquarters Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada
Key people
  • Vagn Sørensen (Chairman)
  • Michael Rousseau (President & CEO)
Revenue Increase CA$16.5 billion (2022)
Operating income Decrease CA$–187 million (2022)
Net income Decrease CA$–1,524 million (2022)
Total assets Increase CA$29,507 million (2022)
Employees 36,000 (2023)

Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 222 destinations worldwide. It is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Air Canada's major hubs are at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL), and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

Canada's national airline originated from the Canadian federal government's 1936 creation of Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), which began operating its first transcontinental flight routes in 1938. In 1965, TCA was renamed Air Canada following government approval. After the deregulation of the Canadian airline market in the 1980s, the airline was privatized in 1988. On 4 January 2000, Air Canada took over its largest rival, Canadian Airlines. In 2003, the airline filed for bankruptcy protection and in the following year emerged and reorganized under the holding company ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. In 2019, Air Canada flew 51.5 million passengers. In October 2021, the Government of Canada acquired 6.4% of Air Canada in return for financial support to mitigate the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Air Canada has a fleet of Airbus A330, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 Dreamliner wide-body aircraft on long-haul routes and uses the Airbus A320 family aircraft (including the A319, A320, and A321 variants), Boeing 737 MAX 8, and Airbus A220-300 aircraft on short-haul routes. The carrier's operating divisions include Air Canada Cargo, Air Canada Express, Air Canada Jetz (private jet charters), and Air Canada Rouge (leisure airline). Its subsidiary, Air Canada Vacations, provides vacation packages to over 90 destinations. Together with its regional partners, the airline operates on average more than 1,613 scheduled flights daily.

Fleet

C-FSNQ - Boeing 737 MAX-8 - Air Canada
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Air Canada

As of December 2023, the Air Canada fleet consists of 187 mainline passenger aircraft, a mix of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body and wide-body jets.

Additionally, Air Canada's various brands each have smaller fleets. Air Canada Cargo operates a fleet of seven Boeing 767-300F freighter aircraft, Air Canada Express has a fleet of 50 turboprop aircraft and 67 regional jets, Air Canada Jetz operates four Airbus A320 aircraft in an all-Business class configuration, and leisure brand Air Canada Rouge has 40 jets from the Airbus A320 family of narrow-body aircraft.

Current fleet

This section only covers Air Canada's mainline passenger fleet. It does not include the fleets of Air Canada Cargo, Air Canada Express, Air Canada Jetz or Air Canada Rouge.

Air Canada mainline passenger fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
J W Y Total
Airbus A220-300 33 27 12 125 137 Deliveries until 2026.
Order with 15 options.
Airbus A319-100 3 14 106 120
2 12 124 136 Aircraft transferred from and still in Air Canada Rouge configuration.
Airbus A320-200 19 2 14 132 146 8 aircraft to be retrofitted by 2025.
Airbus A321-200 15 16 174 190 All aircraft to be retrofitted to 196 seats by 2025.
1 180 196
Airbus A321XLR 30 14 168 182 Deliveries from Q3 2025 to 2029.
Airbus A330-300 16 1 32 24 241 297 To be delivered in 2024.
2 30 255 285
Boeing 737 MAX 8 40 5 16 153 169 5 leased joining fleet in 2025
Boeing 777-200LR 6 40 24 236 300
Boeing 777-300ER 12 40 24 336 400
7 28 398 450
Boeing 787-8 8 20 21 214 255
Boeing 787-9 31 1 30 21 247 298 Deliveries until 2024.
Boeing 787-10 18 TBA Deliveries begin late 2025.
Heart ES-30 30 30 Deliveries begin 2028.
Total 188 118

Gallery

Historical fleet

  • Air Canada's Douglas DC-8-63 fleet was withdrawn from passenger service in 1983. Six of these were converted to DC-8-73F freighters in 1984 and retained for use by Air Canada Cargo eventually being sold off between 1990 and 1994.
  • Air Canada's Douglas DC-9-15s were used up to 1968. One DC-9-32CF was used for cargo flights until 1977. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32s were used from 1967 to 2002.
  • Air Canada's Canadair CRJ-100 aircraft were used from the mid 1990s until the early 2000s when they were transferred to regional affiliate Jazz Air LP operating as Air Canada Jazz.
  • Air Canada's Airbus A340-500s were retired in November 2007 and replaced by Boeing 777-200LRs.
  • Air Canada's Airbus A340-300s were retired in November 2008 and replaced by Boeing 777-300ERs.
  • Air Canada's Boeing 767-200ER fleet was retired from service by the end of 2008.
  • The McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft were operated from 1979 to 2000 by Canadian Pacific Air Lines and its successors Canadian Airlines International.
  • The Boeing 737-200 aircraft were operated from 1968 to 2000 by Canadian Pacific Air Lines and its successors Canadian Airlines International. Subsequent to the merger with Canadian Airlines International, Air Canada operated these aircraft in a mainline two-class configuration, as well as in an all-economy class configuration with the Air Canada Tango and the Zip low-cost carrier brands.
  • In 2020, Air Canada retired their entire Embraer E190 and Boeing 767-300ER fleets. The Embraer E190s were replaced by the Airbus A220-300 and Boeing 737 MAX 8, while the Boeing 767-300ER was replaced by the Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 787s. As of December 2021, certain previously retired Boeing 767-300ER (legacy passenger variant) aircraft are being converted and reintroduced into the fleet as Boeing 767-300ER/BDSF cargo aircraft.
  • Air Canada additionally planned to completely retire its Airbus A319 fleet in May 2020, replacing them with further Airbus A220-300s. The mainline A319s were tentatively retired later than previously planned on February 7, 2021, with the final mainline A319 operating a flight from Calgary to Phoenix; however, Air Canada continued to operate A319s as part of its charter fleet under Air Canada Jetz. Subsequently, mainline A319 service resumed in March 2022. As of September 2023, Air Canada operates 5 A319s as part of its mainline fleet.

Aircraft that Air Canada has operated since 1937, but are no longer in the fleet:

Previously operated
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes Refs
Airbus A340-300 13 1995 2008 Replaced by Boeing 777-300ER.
Airbus A340-500 2 2004 2007 Disposed to TAM Airlines.
Replaced by Boeing 777-200LR.
Avro Lancastrian Unknown 1943 1947
BAe 146-200 5 1990 2005 Operated by Air BC.
5 Operated by Air Nova.
Boeing 727-200 30 1974 1992
Boeing 737-200 44 1976 2004 Taken over from merged Canadian Airlines International.
Boeing 747-100 5 1971 1998
Boeing 747-200M 3 1975 1999
Boeing 747-400 4 1990 2004 Taken over from merged Canadian Airlines International.
Fleet sold to Aerolineas Argentinas and Philippine Airlines due to Air Canada's 2003 bankruptcy caused by the 9/11 attacks.
Boeing 747-400M 3 1990 2004 Fleet sold to Air India, Air Cargo Global, and Guggenheim Aviation Partners due to Air Canada's 2003 bankruptcy caused by the 9/11 attacks.
Boeing 767-200 23 1983 2008 C-GAUN, nicknamed Gimli Glider, was also in service until 2008.
Boeing 767-300ER 44 1988 2020* 23 aircraft taken over from merged Canadian Airlines International.
25 aircraft transferred to Air Canada Rouge.
Fleet replaced by Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A330-300.
*Certain aircraft are being reintroduced into the fleet as Boeing 767-300ER/BDSF cargo aircraft.
Bombardier CRJ100 26 1994 2002 Transferred to Jazz Aviation.
Bristol Freighter Unknown 1953 1955
Canadair North Star Unknown 1946 1961
Douglas DC-3 Unknown 1945 1963
Douglas DC-8-40 11 1974 1979
Douglas DC-8-50 3 1968 1980
Douglas DC-8-50CF 7 1964 1985
Douglas DC-8-60 14 1970 1986 CF-TIW, operating as Air Canada Flight 621, crashed while attempting a second landing at Toronto. Premature deployment of the spoilers on the first attempt resulted in a hard landing and structural damage.
Douglas DC-8-70F 8 1974 1994
Embraer E175 15 2005 2013 Launch Customer, Transferred to Sky Regional Airlines.
Embraer E190 45 2005 2020 Aircraft were leased to Nordic Aviation Capital and were later on sold to Breeze Airways. Fleet replaced by Airbus A220-300.
Fokker F28 Fellowship 30 1986 2004 Operated by Canadian Regional Airlines.
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Series 41 1973 1999 Fleet replaced by Boeing 767-300ER.
Initially retired in 1991. Three aircraft returned to service through 1999.
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation Unknown 1953 1963
Lockheed Model 10 Electra Unknown 1937 1941
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra Unknown 1941 1949
Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar Unknown 1941 1949
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-10 14 1966 1981
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 50 1967 2002 C-FTLU caught fire as Flight 797 in 1983 at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Stearman 4-EM Senior Speedmail Unknown 1937 1939
Vickers Viscount 51 1955 1974 15 – model V.724, 36 – model V.757
Vickers Vanguard 23 1961 1972 23 – Type 952

British Aerospace 146-200 and Fokker F28 jet aircraft were operated by regional airline affiliates of Air Canada via code sharing agreements.

Services

Air Canada has three classes of service, Business/Signature, Premium Economy, and Economy. On most long-haul international and short-haul routes operated by widebody aircraft, Signature Class, Premium Economy, and Economy Class are offered; most short-haul and domestic routes feature Business Class and Economy Class. All mainline seats feature AVOD (Audio Video On Demand) and mood lighting. Air Canada Express features Business Class and Economy Class, on CRJ900 and Embraer E175 aircraft; all other Air Canada Express aircraft have one-class economy cabins. All narrowbody mainline aircraft, as well as Air Canada Express CRJ900 and Embraer E175 aircraft have onboard Wi-Fi installed, which is also being installed on all widebody aircraft.

In the spring of 1987, Air Canada enacted no-smoking flights between Canada and New York City as a test. After a survey reported that 96% of passengers supported the smoking ban, Air Canada extended the ban to other flights.

Cabin crew

On 9 February 2017, a new uniform scheme coinciding with Canada's 150th and Air Canada's 80th anniversaries was unveiled. Air Canada partnered with Vancouver-born fashion designer Christopher Bates to design the new uniforms which incorporate a base colour of black or grey with red lettering and the famous maple leaf.

Between 2004 and 2017, Air Canada uniforms used a midnight blue colour. The uniforms were designed by Canadian fashion designer Debbie Shuchat. At a presentation in the Toronto Airport hangar, Celine Dion helped the newly solvent airline debut its new image.

Frequent flyer program

Aeroplan is Air Canada's frequent flyer rewards program, both allowing for points collection and spending, as well as status and rewards as an Air Canada customer. After Air Canada and Aeroplan changed the division of points collection and redemption, Air Canada introduced an internal rewards program, Altitude. The two programs operate in conjunction.

In May 2017, Air Canada announced it plans to launch a new loyalty program to replace Aeroplan and Altitude in 2020. On 10 January 2019, Air Canada re-acquired Aeroplan from Aimia. In 2020, Air Canada Altitude and Aeroplan merged, with Aeroplan as the surviving entity.

Air Canada Altitude

Air Canada Priority Check-in@PEK (20140405151039)
A priority check-in queue at Beijing Capital International Airport for members of "Air Canada Altitude", the airline's frequent flyers program.

On 20 September 2012, Air Canada unveiled its new frequent flyer status program named "Air Canada Altitude" to supplement Aeroplan. Aeroplan remained the frequent flyer rewards program, collecting miles which can be "spent", whereas status level is determined by Altitude standing.

There are five levels of membership in Air Canada's Altitude Program: Basic, Prestige 25K, Elite 35K, Elite 50K, Elite 75K and Super Elite 100K. The latter three are called "Top Tier" membership levels and provide travel benefits such as upgrades, lounge access, priority services (e.g., check-in, luggage handling), and bonuses when earning miles through air travel. In order to qualify for these levels, a member must earn, through flight activities, a certain number of miles or a certain number of segments and spending some level of money. Altitude refers to these as Altitude Qualifying Miles (AQM), Segments (AQS), and Dollars (AQD).

Prestige members and Altitude Elite 35 K receive Star Alliance Silver status, while Elite 50K, Elite 75K, and Super Elite 100K members receive Star Alliance Gold status.

Air Canada Status Miles are calculated on an annual basis to determine Altitude Membership Status for the following benefit year (1 March through 28 February). At the 35K and above levels, that level of status is granted when achieved, for the remainder of the current year, as well as for the next year.

This coincides with the alliance with Star Alliance, and this can give Star Alliance Gold passengers access to any Star Alliance lounge and discounts or upgrades on another Star Alliance member.

On 8 November 2020, Air Canada Altitude renamed as Aeroplan Elite Status. Altitude Qualifying Miles (AQM), Segments (AQS), and Dollars (AQD) have been replaced by Status Qualifying Miles (SQM), Segments (SQS), and Dollars (SQD).

Privacy concerns

In February 2019, TechCrunch reported that the Air Canada mobile app in the iOS App Store incorporated session-replay software from the Israeli firm Glassbox. This software, without the users' informed consent, recorded users' activities and transmitted the data, including unredacted credit card data and passport numbers, to remote servers. This compromised users' privacy and contravened the rules of the iOS App Store.

See also

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Air Canada para niños

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