Canadian Airlines

Canadian Airlines International
Lignes aériennes Canadien International
IATA
CP		 ICAO
CDN		 Callsign
CANADIAN
Founded 1987 (amalgamation)
Ceased operations 2000 (acquired by Air Canada)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer program defunct (formerly Canadian Plus)
Member lounge defunct (formerly Empress Lounge)
Alliance formerly Oneworld
Fleet size 163
Destinations 160 in 17 countries
Parent company Canadian Airlines Corporation
Headquarters Calgary, Alberta
Key people Kevin Benson (President and CEO)

Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, and carried more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996. Canadian Airlines served 105 destinations in Canada, more than any other airline.

Canadian Airlines was headquartered in Calgary, Alberta,[1] and had revenue of approximately $3 billion at the end of 1999. The airline and its aircraft were acquired by Air Canada in 2001.

Contents

History

Canadian Airlines International Ltd., formerly doing business as Canadi>n Airlines was the principal subsidiary of its parent company Canadian Airlines Corporation. The new airline was formed on March 27, 1987 when Pacific Western Airlines purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines, which in turn had recently acquired Eastern Provincial Airways and Nordair.

In 1989, Canadian Airlines acquired Wardair, giving them access to new routes including long sought-after routes to the UK and Europe. Its major hubs were at Montréal-Dorval International Airport (now known as Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport), Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Calgary International Airport.

Canadian Airlines streamlined its operations and went through the financial restructuring of over $700 million in debt, after the 1991 airline industry slump.

On November 1, 1996, Kevin Benson, then president and CEO, unveiled a restructuring strategy to improve the profitability of Canadian Airlines. The operational restructuring plan was supposed to be phased in over a four year period, addressing the main issues of cost control, revenue growth, capitalization and fleet renewal. It was also one of the founding members of the Oneworld airline alliances, along with Qantas, American Airlines and British Airways. The plan started off well but with the Asian economic downturn 1998, air traffic decreased and Canadian was suffering on what was previously its most profitable route.

The first Canadian Airlines logo

Canadian Plus was the largest frequent flyer program in Canada with more than 60 airline, hotel, car rental, and financial partners worldwide. The program had more than three million members.

In its last few years of operation, Canadian Airlines extended its international route network in Asia, with the most recent expansion of service to Malaysia and the Philippines, which gave it eight destinations in Asia. At that time Canadian Airlines had the distinction of flying to more places in Asia, more often, than any other Canadian carrier.

Canadian Airlines' core business strategy focused on building its Vancouver hub into the leading gateway between North America and Asia. It leveraged its codesharing agreement with American Airlines in order to help capture a greater share of U.S.-Asia traffic flows.

After continued poor performance, Canadian Airlines was acquired by Air Canada in 2000. Numerous other proposals for survival had been considered and rejected, including a competing bid led by American Airlines to purchase Canadian Airlines. American Airlines had already owned a 25% stake in Canadian Airlines, the maximum allowed under regulations. Then-American CEO Donald J. Carty, who had formerly headed Canadian predecessor Canadian Pacific Airlines and Air Canada, planned to acquire a controlling interest in the new Air Canada, with the purpose of moving it from the Star Alliance to Oneworld. American has since sold its shares in Air Canada, after unsuccessfully lobbying Canadian federal government to ease foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian airlines.

Canadian Airlines Boeing 737 at Ottawa International Airport.

Destinations

Livery

Upon its founding in 1987, Canadian revealed its new livery using the colours light grey, dark grey, navy blue, and red. The lower half of the aircraft's body was navy blue, topped with light grey and red borders while the tail was two-thirds blue, with the remaining third taken up by a light grey colour. Over the light grey were five dark grey lines, representing the five continents served by the carrier. Over these lines was a thick, bright red chevron ">". This character was a clever alternative to a true bilingual name on the fuselage (Canadian/Canadien).

Canadian adopted a short-lived new livery in January 1999, less than a year before the airline was merged into Air Canada. The livery, known as "Proud Wings", featured a large Canada Goose painted at the tail of the aircraft and the airline's name in a new Celeste font[2]. The new livery, however, came so late that most of the fleet still retained the existing chevron livery by the time of the merger. Until the merger process with Air Canada was completed in 2001, most Canadian aircraft featured a transition livery with an Air Canada tail design while retaining the name "Canadian" on the sides.

Fleet

At the time of its acquisition by Air Canada, it operated a fleet of 163 aircraft. The following is a list of aircraft belonging to both Canadian Airlines and CP Air:

Classes

Canadian Airlines offered three classes:

First Class was available on flights using wide body jets and Business Classes on flights not using regional jets or turbo prop aircraft.

Food

Food from flights within Canada were provided by LSG Sky Chefs and all other flights by local contractors.

Maintenance

Maintenance was provided by in-house operations during the existence of the airlines. Aircraft would be serviced by other airlines at airports without CA operations.

Ground handling

Ground handling was provided by in-house operations during the existence of the airlines. Aircraft would be serviced by other airlines or handling agents at airports without CA operations.

Entertainment

Most international and medium haul flights provided both video and audio entertainment. Short haul flights provided audio entertainment only.

Newspapers and magazines

Newspapers provided in-flight on most aircraft:

Lounges

Canadian lounges were called Empress Lounge and were located at several airports in Canada and abroad:

Subsidiaries

Canadian Airlines' domestic network was broken down into five divisions:

Other information

Canadian Airlines operated the largest tour operator in Canada called Canadian Holidays and the Canadian Getaways program. The operator flew to destinations which included:

Canadian Air Cargo provided general air cargo services in Canada and the United States.

Services included:

In 1994, the Canadian Children's show Mighty Machines filmed one of their episodes (Mighty Machines at the Airport) at Toronto Pearson International Airport, starring a couple of Canadian Airlines jets (a DC10 and an A320) and several other of the carrier's vehicles. Canadian jets and staff also had cameos during the Airport scene of Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey 2.

Accidents

No fatalities occurred during the existence of Canadian Airlines. There were only two major incidents:

References

  1. ↑ "Investor & Financial Information." Canadian Airlines. March 3, 2000. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Typographic Branding." Upper & Lower Case Magazine. Issue 28.1.1. Retrieved on June 24, 2009.

External links

Members of Oneworld

American Airlines • British Airways • Cathay Pacific • Finnair • Iberia • Japan Airlines • LAN • Malév • Mexicana • Qantas • Royal Jordanian • S7 Airlines
Future members: Air Berlin • Kingfisher Airlines
Former members: Aer Lingus • Canadian Airlines