The national airline of Canada, in terms of both size and passenger volume, is Air Canada. The Saint-Laurent neighborhood of Montreal, Quebec, serves as the home of Air Canada’s corporate headquarters. Air Canada, which was established in 1937, offers scheduled and charter air transportation for people and cargo to 222 locations across the world. The Star Alliance’s first member was Air Canada. Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Montréal-Trudeau International Airport are home to Air Canada’s three main hubs. Air Canada Express is the airline’s regional service.
For traveling long distances, Air Canada’s fleet consists of wide-body Airbus A330, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. When traveling locally, the fleet consists of Airbus A320 family aircraft (including the A320 and A321 versions), Boeing 737 MAX 8, and Airbus A220-300 aircraft. The company’s operational divisions include Air Canada Cargo, Air Canada Rouge, Air Canada Express, and Air Canada Jetz (private jet charters) (leisure airline). Almost 90 destinations are covered by Air Canada Vacations, a division of this company.
In Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, Air Canada flies to 64 domestic and 158 international destinations. Air Canada offers service to more than 222 destinations in 47 nations and across six continents through its regional partners.
Air Canada established a stand-alone Crown business in 1976 as a result of restructuring at CNR. With the passage of the Air Canada Act in 1978, the government’s direct regulatory oversight of Air Canada’s routes, prices, and services was abolished, ensuring that the airline would operate on a more level playing field with other regional carriers like CP Air.
Air Canada officials stated that the carrier would require additional sources of financing to finance its modernization because new fleet expenditures are surpassing earnings. By 1985, the Canadian government had made it clear that it was willing to privatize both Air Canada and Canadian National Railways. [18] With the privatization of Air Canada in 1988, 43% of the company’s shares were sold on the open market, with the initial public offering ending in October of that same year.
When Air Canada implemented a fleet-wide no-smoking policy on December 7, 1987, it was the first airline in the world to do so. In 1989, it underwent complete privatization.
After joining the Star Alliance as a founding member in May 1997, Air Canada began operating codeshare flights with a number of the organization’s members. The airline continued to make money in the second part of the 1990s, accumulating $1 billion in profits from 1997 to 1999.
In January 2001, Air Canada purchased Canadian Airlines International, the country’s second-largest airline. After combining the two companies’ operations, it ranked as the world’s twelfth-largest airline in the first decade of the twenty-first century.
On CRJ-900 and Embraer E175 aircraft operated by Air Canada Express, there are two classes of accommodations: business and economy. All other Air Canada Express aircraft offer a single class of accommodations for passengers. The same onboard Wi-Fi that is being installed on every widebody aircraft is already present on all narrow-body mainline aircraft, as well as Air Canada Express CRJ-900 and Embraer E175 aircraft.
