Air Canada (TSX: AC.A, TSX: AC.B) is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Quebec. Air Canada is the world's 8th largest passenger airline by fleet size, and the airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, an alliance of 21 member airlines formed in 1997. Air Canada's corporate headquarters are located in the Saint-Laurent area of Montreal, Quebec. The airline's parent company is the publicly traded firm ACE Aviation Holdings. Air Canada had passenger revenues of CAD$9.7 billion in 2008.
Canada's national airline originated from the Canadian federal government's 1936 creation of Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA), which began operating its first transcontinental routes in 1938. In 1965, TCA was renamed Air Canada following government approval. Following the 1980s deregulation of the Canadian airline market, the airline was privatized in 1988. In 2001, Air Canada acquired its largest rival, Canadian Airlines. In 2006, 34 million people flew with Air Canada as the airline celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Air Canada operates a fleet of Boeing 777, Boeing 767, and Airbus A330 wide-body jetliners on long-haul routes, and utilizes Airbus A320 family aircraft, including the A319, A320, and A321 variations and Embraer E170/E190 family aircraft on short-haul routes. The carrier's subsidiaries include Air Canada Cargo, ground support services, and regional airline partners, including Air Canada Jazz (which is now completely spun-off) and Air Canada Jetz. Air Canada also provides vacation packages to over 90 destinations via Air Canada Vacations. Together with its regional carriers, the airline operates on average more than 1,375 scheduled flights a day.
History
Trans-Canada Airlines
Air Canada's predecessor, Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA), was created by legislation of the federal government as a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CNR) on 11 April 1936. The newly created Department of Transport under Minister C. D. Howe desired an airline, under government control, to link cities on the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. Using $5 million (CAD) in government seed money, two Lockheed L-10 Electras and one Boeing Stearman biplane were purchased from Canadian Pacific Airlines. Experienced airline executives from United Airlines and American Airlines were brought in.
Passenger operations began on 1 September 1937, with an Electra carrying two passengers and mail from Vancouver to Seattle, a $14.20 round trip. On 1 July 1938, TCA hired its first flight attendants. Transcontinental routes from Montreal to Vancouver began on 1 April 1939, using 12 Lockheed L-14 Super Electras and six Lockheed L-18 Lodestars. By January 1940 the airline had grown to about 500 employees.
In 1942, Canadian Pacific Airlines suggested merging with TCA. Prime Minister Mackenzie King rejected the proposal and introduced legislation regulating TCA as the only airline in Canada allowed to provide transcontinental flights. With the increase in air travel after World War II, CP Air was granted one coast-to-coast flight, and a few international routes.
Originally headquartered in Winnipeg, which was also the site of the national maintenance base, the federal government moved the headquarters to Montreal in 1949; the maintenance base later also moved east. With the development of the ReserVec in 1953, Air Canada became the first airline in the world to use a computer reservation system with remote terminals.
By 1964, TCA had grown to become Canada's national airline, and in 1964 Jean Chrétien submitted a private member's bill to change the name of the airline from Trans-Canada Airlines to Air Canada. This bill failed, but it was later resubmitted and passed, with the name change taking effect on 1 January 1965.
1970s
In 1975 Air Canada was headquartered at 1 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal.
In the late 1970s, with reorganization at CNR, Air Canada became an independent Crown corporation.
The 1980s and 1990s
In the 1980s Air Canada's debt grew as it upgraded its fleet and purchased regional airlines such as Air BC and Air Nova. A recession also added to yearly losses, $15 million in 1982. Deregulation of the Canadian airline market, under the new National Transportation Act, 1987 officially opened the airline market in Canada to equal competition. In 1988 Air Canada was privatised, and 43% of its shares are sold on the public market.
On 7 December 1987, Air Canada became the first airline in the world to have a fleet-wide non-smoking policy, and in 1989 became completely privatised. It sold the enRoute card business to Diners Club in 1992. Air Canada is a founding member of the Star Alliance, which was launched in May 1997. The airline code-shares with several of the alliance's members.
On 2 September 1998 pilots for Air Canada launched the company's first pilots' strike. At the end of 1999 the Canadian government relaxed some of the aviation regulations, aimed at creating a consolidation of the Canadian airline industry.
21st century
In January 2001 Air Canada acquired Canada's second largest air carrier, Canadian Airlines, subsequently merging the latter's operations into its own. As a result, Air Canada became the world's twelfth-largest commercial airline.
Bankruptcy and restructuring
On 1 April 2003, Air Canada filed for bankruptcy protection; it emerged from this protection on 30 September 2004, 18 months later.
During the period of bankruptcy protection, the company was subject to two competing bids from Cerberus Capital Management and Victor Li. The Cerberus bid would have seen former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney installed as chairman, being recruited by Cerberus' international advisory board chair Dan Quayle, himself the former vice president of the United States. Cerberus was rejected because it had a reputation of changing existing employee pension agreements, a move strongly opposed by the CAW. At first, Air Canada selected Victor Li's Trinity Time Investments , which initially asked for a board veto and the chairmanship in return for investing $650 million in the airline. Li, who holds dual citizenship from Canada and Hong Kong, later demanded changes to the pension plan (which was not in his original takeover bid), but since the unions refused to budge, the bid was withdrawn.
Finally, Deutsche Bank unveiled an $850-million financing package for Air Canada, if it would cut $200 million in annual cost cutting in addition to the $1.1 billion that the unions agreed on in 2003. It was accepted after last-minute talks between CEO Robert Milton and CAW president Buzz Hargrove got the union concessions needed to let the bid go through.
In October 2004, Canadian singer, Celine Dion became the face of Air Canada, hoping to relaunch the airline, and draw in a more international market after an eighteen month period of bankruptcy protection. She recorded her single, You and I , which subsequentely appeared in several Air Canada commercials.
ACE Aviation Holdings is the new parent company under which the reorganised Air Canada is held.
Fleet modernization
On 31 October 2004, the last Air Canada Boeing 747 flight landed in Toronto from Frankfurt as AC873, ending 33 years of 747 service with the airline. The Boeing 747-400 fleet was replaced by the Airbus A340 fleet.
On 19 October 2005, Air Canada unveiled a new aircraft colour scheme and uniforms. A Boeing 767-300 was painted in the new silver-blue colour, and the green tail was replaced with a new version of the maple leaf known as the 'Frosted Leaf.'
On 9 November 2005, Air Canada entered into an agreement to renew its widebody fleet with Boeing by purchasing 18 Boeing 777s (10 -300ERs, 6 -200LRs, 2 777 Freighters), and 14 Boeing 787-8s. It also placed options to purchase an additional 18 Boeing 777s and 46 Boeing 787-8s and -9s. All of the 777s will be powered by the GE90-115B engine, and the 787-8s, by the GEnx engine. Deliveries of the 777s began in March 2007 and deliveries of the 787s are to begin in 2012. As the 777s are delivered, and as the 787s are delivered, it will gradually retire all Boeing 767s and A340s.
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