Air Canada

Air Canada has several regional partners, including Air Canada Jazz, Air Labrador, Air Georgian, and Central Mountain Air.

There is also a low-cost airline supported by Air Canada called Air Canada Tango.

Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA), Air Canada's predecessor, launched its first flight, a Lockheed 10A, on September 1, 1937. It carried two passengers and mail from Vancouver to Seattle. In 1964 the company changed its name to Air Canada and in 1989 became fully privatized. Air Canada 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.

On September 2, 1998 pilots for Air Canada launched the first strike in company's history.

In 2000 after acquiring Canada's second largest air carrier, Canadian Airlines, it became the world's twelfth largest commercial airline.

As of 2002, Air Canada provides scheduled and chartered passenger jet service directly to 20 Canadian cities, 35 destinations in the United States and 47 cities in Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, India and South America. Air Canada averages nearly 740 flights each day, and serves 23 million customers annually. It is a member in the Star Alliance network, a grouping of 14 airlines offering seamless travel worldwide. Together, Star Alliance carriers serve 729 airports in 124 countries. As of 2002, Air Canada has about 40 000 employees and 357 aircraft.

In 2002 Air Canada had 77 wide-body jets of several types including the Boeing 747 and 767, Airbus A330-300 and A340-300, and 148 narrow-body jets: Airbus A320, A319, A321, Boeing 737 and Canadair Regional Jet.

On 1 April 2003, Air Canada asked for bankruptcy protection.

Accidents

• 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 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 in Covington, Kentucky. 23 of 46 passengers/crew were killed.
• 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.

Other facts of interest

• During the middle 1990s, Air Canada repainted one of their jets to reflect the Trans-Canada livery.
• Air Canada is the official carrier of the Toronto Raptors basketball team, and it painted one of its Airbus 320's to honor the team.
• Its safety record rates a “A", the highest grade possible, according to Air Rankings Online (see rankings at Airline Rankings).

Reference

• AirDisaster.com

Referenced By