{{{{{{ Air Canada IATA AC ICAO ACA Callsign Air Canada Founded 1937 Headquarters MontrĂ©al, Quebec Key people Montie Brewer (President & CEO) Website www.aircanada.com Air Canada is Canada's flag air carrier. Headquartered in MontrĂ©al, Quebec, the airline provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to over 150 destinations, vacation packages to over 90 destinations, as well as maintenance, ground handling and training services to other airlines. Its main base is MontrĂ©al-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, with hubs at Toronto Pearson International Airport, a Pacific hub at Vancouver International Airport. Calgary International Airport is a mini-hub in Western Canada. Air Canada's regional partners include Air Canada Jazz, Air Labrador, Air Georgian, and Central Mountain Air. There is also a premium jet charter service for corporate clients and professional sports teams called Air Canada Jetz. Air Canada Boeing 767-300 (C-GGFJ) in current livery. This colour scheme was introduced in October 2004 Contents 1 History 2 Incidents and Accidents 3 Destinations 4 Fleet 4.1 Historic fleet 5 Other facts of interest 6 Entertainment 7 Subsidiaries 8 External links History Created as a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CNR), Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) on April 10, 1937, it launched its first flight, using a Lockheed 10A, on September 1, 1937 carrying two passengers and mail from Vancouver to Seattle. By 1964, TCA had grown to become Canada's national airline and in 1964, the future Prime Minister of Canada Jean ChrĂ©tien submitted a private member's bill to change the name of the airline from Trans-Canada Airlines to Air Canada. This bill failed on its first attempt but was resubmitted and passed on its second attempt. The name change was effective from January 1, 1965. In a late 1970s reorganization at CNR, Air Canada became an independent Crown corporation. In 1989, Air Canada was completely privatised, the federal government no longer having any share in the company. Air Canada is a founding member of the Star Alliance which was launched in May 1997. On September 2, 1998 pilots for Air Canada launched the first pilots' strike in company history. At the end of 1999, the Canadian government relaxed some of the aviation regulations, aimed at facilitating a consolidation of the Canadian airline industry. In January 2000 Air Canada acquired Canada's second largest air carrier, Canadian Airlines, subsequently merging the latter's operations into its own. As a result, it became the world's twelfth largest commercial airline. Air Canada codeshares services on other Star carriers, such as British Midland's Toronto to Manchester, United Kingdom flight. Another view of C-GGFJ (Boeing 767-300) Air Canada Boeing 747. Air Canada has retired its 747 fleet On April 1 2003, Air Canada filed for bankruptcy protection. Air Canada finally emerged from bankruptcy protection on September 30, 2004, 19 months later. ACE Aviation Holdings is the new parent company under which the reorganized Air Canada is held. In October 2003, Air Canada became the first airline to launch a non-stop flight between North America and India when it launched daily flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq it was the only North American airline to travel to Baghdad International Airport. On August 1, 2004, Air Canada converted the daily Hong Kong – Toronto Pearson International Airport flight AC15/16 with a stop at Vancouver to a non-stop flight taking the Great Circle route near the North Pole [1]. A total distance of 12,569 km (7810 miles), this was accomplished using two brand new A340-500s—this was the first route to Hong Kong applying A340-500 ultra long-haul aircraft. In October 2004, the airline unveiled new in-flight service products and new aircraft livery. The new theme song, You and I, is sung by CĂ©line Dion. On October 31, 2004, the last Air Canada Boeing 747 flight landed in Toronto, ending more than 30 years of 747 service with the airline. The remaining 747-400s which were previously in service have been superseded by the A340-500, which themselves are due for replacement. On April 25, 2005, Air Canada announced that it would renew its wide body fleet over several years by purchasing a mixture of Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The order included a firm order for 32 aircraft (18 777s and 14 787s) plus options for 64 more aircraft (18 777s and 46 787s), totalling 96 aircraft. The first 777s would begin arriving in 2006 and the first 787s would begin arriving in 2010. Among the 777s to be delivered to Air Canada are freighter versions, making Air Canada a launch customer of the 777 Freighter (along with Air France-KLM.) Air Canada Boeing 767 However, on June 18, 2005 the Boeing wide body fleet order was cancelled due to rejection by members of the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) over costs and other issues. In light of this, Air Canada announced that it will accelerate refurbishment of its long-haul 767 fleet including new video systems and seat recovering. One way to increase fuel efficiency on these planes is to add winglets, which would reduce fuel burn, increase range, and increase lift. On September 23, 2005, three months after cancelling the Boeing order, Air Canada resolved the pilot issue regarding wages on flying the 777 and 787. Air Canada reconfirmed its order as it stood originally. The 777 would begin deliveries in early 2007, while the 787 would begin deliveries in 2010. The order for the 777s would gradually phase out all A340s, such as the A340-300 and A340-500. In addition, the Boeing 787 would gradually replace the current Boeing 767 and A330-300. Air Canada has also begun to take delivery of Embraer 175 and 190 aircraft which will be used to expand their domestic and transborder routes. Older Airbus A319//A320 will be replaced with some of these new aircraft as delivery permits. On November 9, 2005, nearly three months after resolving the pilot issue, Air Canada signed a contract for up to 96 wide-body Boeing jets (including options). With this order, Air Canada will be able to renew its fleet of Airbus A330 and A340, and Boeing 767. [[2]] Air Canada's new Boeing 777 and 787 Air Canada is wholly owned by ACE Aviation Holdings and employs 29,198 staff (at January 2005). In November 2005 Air Canada stopped serving hot meals to all economy class seats for flights within Canada and the United States. A selection of cold foods has been made available for purchase on those flights. Also in November 2005, Air Canada removed the paint from C-GDSP (A Boeing 767-233/ER, Tailfin No: 613), leaving a shiny silver fuselage. This was done in an effort to reduce fuel costs by reducing the weight of the plane, with over 300 pounds of paint being removed. If all goes well, all the 767's in the fleet will have their paint removed in a similar manner. Incidents and Accidents May 19, 1967: McDonnell Douglas DC-8, crashed and burned on a training flight while attempting a three-engine landing at Ottawa, Ontario. All 3 crewmembers were killed. There were no passengers on the flight. July 5, 1970: (AC621) McDonnell Douglas DC-8 exploded from a fuel line rupture caused by engine 4 striking the runway in Toronto, Ontario during the first landing attempt. All 109 passengers/crew were killed. June 21, 1973: McDonnell Douglas DC-8, caught fire and burned to the ground during refuelling at Terminal 2, Toronto, Ontario. The Terminal was evacuated. There were no deaths or injuries. June 26, 1978: (AC189) McDonnell Douglas DC-9 overran the runway in Toronto after a blown tire aborted the takeoff. 2 of 107 passengers/crew were killed. June 2, 1982: McDonnell Douglas DC-9 exploded during maintenance period in Montreal, Quebec. No deaths. June 2, 1983: (AC797) McDonnell Douglas DC-9 caught fire after emergency landing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. 23 of 46 passengers/crew were killed. See: Air Canada Flight 797 July 23, 1983: (AC143) Boeing 767 made an emergency landing in Gimli, Manitoba after running out of fuel. No deaths. See Gimli Glider December 16, 1997: (AC646) Bombardier Canadair CRJ-100 crashed on a go-around in Fredericton, New Brunswick. No deaths. Destinations Further information: Air Canada destinations Fleet The Air Canada fleet consists of the following 315 aircraft (as of December 2005): 48 Airbus A319-100 52 Airbus A320-200 10 Airbus A321-200 8 Airbus A330-300 10 Airbus A340-300 2 Airbus A340-500 12 Boeing 767-200 33 Boeing 767-300 18 Boeing 777-233LR/-333ER/Freighters on order, with 18 options (replacing all Airbus A340s) 14 Boeing 787-833/-933 on order, with 46 options (replacing all Boeing 767s and Airbus A330s) 19 Bombardier CRJ 100 31 Bombardier CRJ 200 (Jazz) 15 Bombardier CRJ 705 (Jazz) 39 De Havilland Dash 8-100 (DH-1) (Jazz) 23 De Havilland Dash 8-300 (DH-3) (Jazz) 13 Embraer 175 (further 2 on order) 45 Embraer 190 (on order, deliveries beginning December 2005) In September 2004, the airline confirmed orders for 45 Embraer 190 aircraft (delivery beginning in November) and 30 additional Canadair Regional Jets. It also has orders for 15 Embraer 175 aircraft. The long-term plan of the carrier is to have the 175s replace some of the A319s on shorter routes, allowing those older aircraft to take over numerous A320 routes. As delivery of the Embraer 190 permits, the oldest Airbus A320 will be retired. This is in accordance with Air Canada's ultimate goal of providing more point-to-point service with fuel efficient aircraft. Historic fleet Boeing 747-100 -200 Combi -400 -400 Combi (1971-2004) Boeing 727-200 (1974-1992) Boeing 737-200 Bristol 31 (1953-1955) BAe 146-200 Douglas DC-10 Douglas DC-3 (1945-1963) Douglas DC-8-40 -50 -60 -70 (1960-1983) Lancastrian (1943-1947) Lockheed Super Constellation (1954-1963) Lockheed Electra (1937-1941) Lockheed L-1011 -1 -15 -100 -500 (1973-1996) Lockheed Lodestar (1941-1949) Lockheed Super Electra (1938-1949) Douglas DC-9-30 (1966-2002) Canadair North Star (1946-1961) Stearman (1937-1939) Vickers Vanguard (1961-1972) Vickers Viscount (1955-1974) Fokker F28 Other facts of interest Air Canada's 2005 suggestive poster targeting gay audience During the mid-1990s, Air Canada repainted an Airbus A319 in the Trans-Canada retro livery. Air Canada is the official carrier of the Toronto Raptors basketball team. One of its Airbus A320's was repainted to honour the team. It was painted with the raptor dinosaur logo on an all-black fuselage, earning it the nickname "Dino-bus". Air Canada's parent company, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol, ACE.RV. Air Canada unveiled a new aircraft colour scheme, and blue uniforms, on 19 October 2004. A Boeing 767-300 was painted in a silvery colour with a blue tint. The green tail has been replaced with the same silvery paint, but retains a version of the red maple leaf. Air Canada was the winner of Best North American Airline in the 2005 World Airline Awards Entertainment On most Air Canada jets, there is a main screen (with overhead TVs on top of every few seats) which broadcasts recorded CBC news and other Hollywood movies. On the A340-500, every passenger has a TV, which is powered by a custom design Linux variant, and their enRoute program. Passengers can learn facts and figures of cities, and where they are using the GPS system installed on the plane. Air Canada plans to introduce personal TV's on its entire widebody and narrowbody fleet, beginning in 2006. Subsidiaries Air Canada A330-300 In 2001, Air Canada consolidated AirBC, Air Nova, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional into Air Canada Jazz a wholly owned subsidiary of ACE Aviation Holdings. In 2001, Air Canada launched Air Canada Tango, which offered no-frills service and lower fares between major cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and also to some holiday destinations such as Fort Lauderdale. Tango aircraft were painted with the Air Canada design but in purple. The Tango service was dissolved in 2004. Air Canada calls their lowest fare class "Tango" as an homage to the low-cost experiment. In 2002, Air Canada launched Zip, a discount airline to compete directly with Westjet on routes in Western Canada. Zip operated as a separate airline with its own staff, and had brightly painted aircraft. It also was disbanded in 2004. Launched in 2002, Air Canada Jetz still exists as a charter service for sports teams and professionals. In 2005, it split off a portion of its frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, into a separate company. Aeroplan has evolved into a broader customer loyalty program, with partnerships with Bell Canada, Future Shop, and others. 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