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The Boeing 737 MAX has been on the ground for several weeks now, with no specific schedule for the next flight of the plane. This has posed major operational problems for several airlines and, of course, it is the airlines with the largest fleets of 737 MAX that are the most affected.
Air Canada has a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 MAXs, making it one of the largest operators of the aircraft. Today, they have shared important updates about their projects for the summer.
Air Canada has removed the 737 MAX from its schedule until August 1, 2019.. This means that the airline had to be creative to minimize the impact on its operations.
So how does Air Canada deal with this situation?
Air Canada Extends Lease of Certain A320s and E190s
Air Canada has extended the lease of three Airbus A320s and three Embraer 190s, which were soon to leave the fleet. This gives them extra capacity in the short term.
Air Canada Rouge leases WOW Air aircraft
Air Canada is taking over six Airbus A321 aircraft from WOW Air, which will join their Red fleet. These leases are not just short-term leases to cover the grounding of 737 MAX, but rather these aircraft will join the fleet in the long term. Air Canada is reconfiguring these planes, equipping them with Wi-Fi and repainting them in the colors of Air Canada Rouge.
Qatar Airways will operate some flights from Air Canada
Qatar Airways will also operate two Air Canada routes as of June 15, 2019. Specifically, Qatar Airways A330-200s will operate daily Air Canada flights between Montreal and Barcelona and between Montreal and Paris.
It will be a wet lease, so it will be the crews of Qatar Airways that will operate the aircraft. On the Montreal line, they will replace an Air Canada Rouge 767-300 and on the Paris line, they will replace an A330-300.
Lufthansa resumes Air Canada flights between Montreal and Frankfurt
For the month of May, the Air Canada flight between Montreal and Frankfurt will be operated by Lufthansa. Lufthansa currently serves Frankfurt and Munich. Thus, in May, Lufthansa will provide three daily flights between Montreal and Germany.
Omni Air operating Hawaii flights
Effective June 2, 2019, Omni Air International will operate Air Canada Rouge flights between Vancouver and Honolulu / Maui. They will use a Boeing 767-200 for the route.
Air Canada suspends certain routes
In some cases, Air Canada has not been able to provide alternatives. As a result, it suspends or adjusts routes:
- Air Canada suspends flights between Halifax and St. John's to London Heathrow until July 31, 2019
- Toronto to Shannon, Toronto to Abbotsford and Calgary to London, Ontario are suspended for the 2019 summer season
In addition, some routes are being adjusted significantly. For example, the Montreal-Bordeaux seasonal flight was to be operated daily with a 737 MAX, but will be operated 3 times a week with an Air Canada Rouge 767-300.
Bottom line
Air Canada has obviously faced significant problems with the grounding of the 737 MAX, although they have handled it very well. They say they have been able to protect 96% of their flights through these initiatives, and the airline deserves to be rewarded.
As you can see, in many cases they do not directly replace the 737 MAX roads, but rather the ability to make things work.
It is particularly interesting for me that Qatar Airways will operate a selection of transatlantic flights for Air Canada from Montreal.
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