Air Canada at 70
Only a handful of major airlines worldwide have reached the 70th anniversary milestone Of those, the majority of non-US companies have at one time or another have been owned in whole or in part by their respective national governments. Air Canada traces its roots to an airline organized by the Canadian government in 1937 as Trans-Canada Airlines. Reflecting over two decades of international service, the company's name was changed to Air Canada in January 1965. The company was privatized in 1989 and has been engaged in an ongoing program of fleet modernization.
The first Airbus A320 joined Air Canada's fleet in 1989 followed by the shorter
A319 in 1996 and the stretched A321 in 2001. The A319/A320/A321 family
replaced its older Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft as well as
Boeing 737s inherited from Canadian Airlines International upon its acquisition
by Air Canada. The specially painted '70th Anniversary' Airbus A321-211
C-GIUB/453 is seen here during an early evening arrival at Toronto Pearson
International Airport in June 2007.
Deliveries of the Airbus A330 began in 1999 and, together with the A340,
replaced Air Canada's Boeing 747 aircraft. Painted in the most recent
colours, A330-343 C-GFAF/931 gets airborne at Toronto Pearson ahead of a line of
very violent thunderstorms in June 2007.
The
Airbus A340-300 joined Air Canada beginning in 1995 and was joined by the longer
A340-500 in 2004. C-GDVW/909, one of ten A340-300 aircraft in the
inventory, arrives at Toronto Pearson in June 2007 still sporting the markings
used before those seen in the A330 photo above.
The
oldest of Air Canada's fleet, the Boeing 767 has worn the company's maple leaf
logo since 1983 when the first 767-200 arrived. The stretched model
767-300 began to appear in 1993. Wearing the older paint, 767-233ER
C-GDSS/614 is caught just short of the runway threshold at Toronto Pearson in
June 2007.
Air
Canada's newest pride and joy - the Boeing 777. Seventeen examples are
currently planned for and the type, along with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will
replace the current fleet of Airbus A330/A340 and Boeing 767 aircraft.
C-FITU/732, a 777-333ER, approaches Toronto Pearson in June 2007.
A
recent addition to Air Canada's inventory is the Embraer 175/190 family of
regional jets. The first Embraer 175 aircraft arrived in 2005 and was
joined by the similar but larger Embraer 190 in 2006. Embraer 175
C-FEKS/384, with the landing gear up and minimum flaps, climbs out from Toronto
Pearson in June 2007.
Air
Canada Jazz is the result of the amalgamation of several regional air carriers
across Canada in 2001. The largest Canadian regional carrier, the company flies Bombardier
(Canadair) CRJ 100, CRJ 200 and CRJ 705 regional jet on its North American
routes. Leaving no doubt as to the identity of the airline, CRJ 705
C-FCJZ/703 is on final approach to Toronto Pearson in June 2007.
The
partner to the CRJ is the Bombardier (De
Havilland) DHC-8 turboprop regional airliner and both DHC-8-100 and the
stretched DHC-8-300 are operated. A turn on takeoff to clear the immediate
airspace is undertaken by the pilots as DHC-8-102 C-GANQ/833 departs Toronto
Pearson in June 2007.