- Aircraft with nearly 58 tonnes of capacity put into
commercial service
- First of eight aircraft that will make up Air Canada Cargo
freighter fleet
Editor's Note: A timelapse video showing the work
involved in the conversion of a passenger aircraft into our first
freighter is available here. Video b-roll of our crews training on
the first freighter is available for download here.
MONTREAL, Dec. 9, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada's first
dedicated Boeing 767-300ER freighter aircraft was put into service
today and operated its inaugural flight from Toronto to Vancouver. Originally scheduled to first fly
to Frankfurt, Air Canada Cargo
deployed the aircraft early to provide capacity where needed.
"Our first freighter is being deployed earlier than initially
planned in order to provide additional cargo capacity needed into
and out of Vancouver to meet
ongoing demand as a result of the flooding that disrupted
British Columbia's transportation
network. The freighter is planned to operate 12 trips between our
Toronto and Vancouver cargo hubs. Our teams have also
worked extremely hard over the last several days to get our
freighter into service early to aid in the transport of goods to
Vancouver," said Jason Berry, Vice President, Cargo, at Air
Canada.
Prior to its first freighter operation, Air Canada and Air
Canada Cargo had boosted cargo capacity by 586 tonnes into
Vancouver from Toronto, Montreal and Calgary in November to allow for the transport
of more critical supplies to and from British Columbia.
Freighters part of Air Canada Cargo's growth strategy
The first freighter aircraft is currently planned to operate
between Toronto and Frankfurt for the remainder of 2021, in
addition to the flights to Vancouver. In 2022, primarily out of
Toronto, it will also serve
Miami, Quito, Lima,
Mexico City and Guadalajara. With additional airports
including Madrid, Halifax and St.
John's planned when the second aircraft is delivered in the
first half of 2022.
The Boeing 767-300ER freighters will allow Air Canada Cargo to
offer five different main deck configurations, increasing the
overall cargo capacity of each aircraft to nearly 58 tonnes or 438
cubic metres, with approximately 75 per cent of this capacity on
the main deck.
The addition of freighter aircraft to Air Canada's fleet will
allow Air Canada Cargo to provide consistent capacity on key air
cargo routes, which will facilitate the movement of goods globally.
The freighters will allow Air Canada Cargo to increase its
capabilities to transport goods such as automotive and aerospace
parts, oil and gas equipment, pharmaceuticals, perishables, as well
as handling the growing demand for fast, reliable shipment of
e-commerce goods.
Given the immediate demand for cargo capacity, the first
freighter entered service without its final livery. At a later
date, it will be painted in an Air Canada Cargo variation of the
Air Canada livery introduced in 2017.
Since March 2020, Air Canada has
operated more than 13,000 all-cargo flights globally using its
wide-body passenger aircraft as well as certain temporarily
modified Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft, which have additional
available cargo space due to the removal of seats from the
passenger cabin.
About Air Canada and Air Canada Cargo
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international
airline, and in 2019 was among the top 20 largest airlines in the
world. It is Canada's flag carrier
and a founding member of Star
Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network. Air Canada is the only
international network carrier in North
America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to
independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. In 2020, Air Canada was
named Global Traveler's Best Airline in North America for the second straight year. In
January 2021, Air Canada received
APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+
biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline in
Canada to attain the highest APEX
ranking. Air Canada has also
committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations
by 2050. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media,
follow Air Canada on Twitter and LinkedIn, and join Air Canada
on Facebook.
Air Canada Cargo is an award-winning provider of air cargo
services. It is Canada's largest
air cargo provider as measured by cargo capacity, with a presence
in over 50 countries and self-handled hubs in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, London, and Frankfurt. As the dedicated air freight
division of Air Canada, Air Canada Cargo offers reliable air
freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across
five continents using Air Canada's domestic and international
passenger flights, cargo-only flights with its fleet of Boeing
767-300ER freighter aircraft, and trucking services. For more
information, please visit: aircanadacargo.com.
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SOURCE Air Canada