Airlines Air Canada Rouge to undergo growth

With this decision, the Canadian flag carrier wants to react to upcoming ultra-low-cost-carriers (ULCC) such as Westjet´s Swoop, Flair Airlines or Jetlines.

At the presentation of the annual report, Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said, that the airline has to save up to CAD250 Million in order to keep up the good economics the airline generated in 2017. Therefore, the focus shifts on intensifying the move of routes from Air Canada´s mainline to Rouge.

Benjamin Smith, Air Canada President Passenger Airlines, added, that the airline has a lot of flexibility within its fleet and might even put the Boeing 737 MAX in the low-cost section.

Air Canada has 61 Boeing 737 MAX on order. The deal contains orders for 49 737 MAX 8 and 12 737 Max 9. Currently, Air Canada mainline operates four Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Air Canada Rouge operates with 50 aircraft in total. 26 of them are narrow-body aircraft; 20 Airbus A319 and 6 Airbus A321 are being used for short-haul and mid-haul routes. Air Canada Rouge is also active in the long-haul market. 24 Boeing 767-300s operate mainly on destinations to Europe. Most of the routes were served by Air Canada beforehand. In summer 2018, one further B767 and two A319 will be transferred from Air Canada mainline to Rouge.