Tag Archives: YVR

Air Canada and Cargojet sign a LOI to explore strategic opportunities

Air Canada (Montreal) and Cargojet Airways (Hamilton) today announced they have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to explore strategic opportunities in both cargo and airline operations within Canada and in international markets.

The carriers intend to pursue strategic opportunities and increase cooperation in various areas such as global sales and marketing, expanded interline opportunities and enhanced connectivity that would increase revenues and reduce operating costs. Both airlines would work towards providing optimized services to the shipping community on their respective networks.

“We are looking forward to working with Air Canada towards improving the depth and reach of both companies’ air cargo services, both domestically and internationally, among other strategic opportunities,” said Ajay K. Virmani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cargojet.

“We are very pleased to be in discussions with Cargojet to explore opportunities for revenue growth and synergies that will be mutually beneficial for both our companies and customers,” said Lise-Marie Turpin, Air Canada Cargo Vice President. “Developing further our relationship with Cargojet is an exciting opportunity.”

The implementation of new strategic initiatives would be subject to Air Canada and Cargojet making any necessary filings, obtaining regulatory approvals and finalizing documentation.

Air Canada Cargo provides direct cargo service world wide offering the shipping community business solutions that meet their needs efficiently and cost effectively. Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents. Canada’s flag carrier is among the world’s 10 largest commercial airlines and in 2012 served close to 35 million passengers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 destinations in the United States and 67 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America.

Cargojet is Canada’s leading provider of time sensitive overnight air cargo services that constitutes over 50 per cent of domestic overnight air cargo capacity. Cargojet operates its network across North America each business night, utilizing a fleet of thirteen all-cargo aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Cargojet is still an operator of the Boeing 727 but it has also added a Boeing 757-200 and two 767-200 freighters for its longer-range cargo routes. Former Eastern Airlines Boeing 727-225 C-GCJB (msn 21855) waits at Vancouver for the next assignment.

Air Canada:

Cargojet Airways:

Air North to expand eastward to Yellowknife and Ottawa

Air North (Whitehorse) today announced the addition of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Ottawa, Ontario.

The Yukon and NWT capitals haven’t been connected in over three years, and never before by scheduled Boeing 737 jet service.

The expansion adds Ottawa and Yellowknife to the list of Air North’s gateway cities to the Yukon, which also includes Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, and Edmonton (see map below).

Air North’s growth is particularly pleasing to the Vuntut Gwitchin Limited Partnership, which invested in the airline more than 12 years ago. “Our original investment has grown in strength and reach, along with our people,” said Pauline Frost, President of the Vuntut Gwitchin Limited Partnership. “We are all very pleased that Yukon’s airline has grown from a small local carrier to one that serves our nation’s capital, providing northerners with an important connection to Yellowknife and Ottawa.”

Service to both cities will begin during the first quarter of 2014, with the schedule and introductory fares to be announced once a number of regulatory and logistical hurdles have been overcome.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Air North’s Boeing 737-48E C-FANB (msn 25764) arrives at the traditional southern terminus of Vancouver.

Air North:

Current Route Map: The expansion eastward to Yellowknife and Ottawa will bring new traffic to the Yukon.

Premier Aviation to maintain Air Canada’s Embraer fleet

Air Canada (Montreal) and Premier Aviation have announced the signing of a five-year agreement for the provision of airframe maintenance in support of Air Canada’s fleet of 60 Embraer ERJ 190 and ERJ 175 aircraft. With the addition of a second line of maintenance at Premier Aviation’s Trois-Rivières, Quebec facility now in place, the work performed for Air Canada will have created a total of 120 jobs for aircraft technicians on the two lines. This contract follows a successful year of operations meeting the quality and on-time delivery requirements for 37 Air Canada Embraer ERJ 175 and ERJ 190 maintenance visits at Premier’s Trois-Rivières maintenance center.

Premier Aviation performs maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services consisting of airframe, painting and support services for Air Canada’s Embraer fleet at its Trois-Rivières maintenance center. Air Canada’s Embraer fleet consists of 45 ERJ 190 aircraft, with an additional 15 ERJ 175 aircraft now operated by Sky Regional Airlines.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Air Canada’s Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW C-FHNY (msn 19000085) taxies at the Vancouver hub.

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Air Canada:

Cargojet posts a pre-tax profit of C$4.2 million in the second quarter

Cargojet Inc. (Cargojet Airways) (Hamilton) announced today financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013 (all dollar figures are stated in Canadian dollars) .

For the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2013:

Total Revenues were $42.7 million , an increase of $2.2 million or 5.4% versus the previous year.
Gross Margin was $6.3 million , a decrease of $0.9 million or 12.5% versus the previous year
EBITDA was $4.2 million , a decrease of $0.3 million or 6.7% versus the previous year

For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2013:

Total Revenues were $83.4 million , an increase of $2.8 million or 3.5% versus the previous year.
Gross Margin was $11.2 million , a decrease of $1.6 million or 12.5% versus the previous year
EBITDA was $6.9 million , an increase of $0.5 million or 7.8% versus the previous year

“Core overnight and charter revenues have shown some upward trends,” says Ajay K. Virmani, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The major challenge we continue to face is the pricing pressures from the marketplace and we will continue to ensure strict cost control and prudent financial management to ensure our margins stay on plan,” he concluded.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 757-236 (F) C-FKCJ (msn 24792) waits for its evening departure from Vancouver International Airport.

Cargojet Airways:

WestJet expands operations to Hawaii

WestJet (Calgary) has announced new, daily service between Vancouver and Kona (The Big Island) and between Vancouver and Lihue (Kauai), starting in December.

On December 12, 2013 , service between Vancouver and Hawaii Island increases to daily from the four times weekly served last winter. Service between Vancouver and Kauai also increases to daily, beginning on December 14, 2013 , from three times weekly.

In addition to increased service to Hawaii Island and Kauai, WestJet also offers twice-daily service from Vancouver to both Honolulu and Maui.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8CT WL C-GWSZ (msn 37092) in the special Care-antee livery taxies at Vancouver on a beautiful day.

WestJet:

Air North starts new seasonal jet service from Kelowna to Whitehorse

Air North, Yukon’s Airline (Whitehorse) on June 6 started seasonal summer service to Kelowna, British Columbia. This marks the first scheduled expansion to Air North’s route network (below) since the airline began offering Boeing 737 service in 2002. Seasonal service will end on October 13, 2013.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-48E C-FANB (msn 25764) taxies to the gate at Vancouver International Airport.

Air North:

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Hawkair to start the Terrace-Prince George-Calgary route on June 3

Hawkair Aviation Services (Terrace, BC) will start the Terrace-Prince George-Calgary route on June 3. The new route will be operated as a Central Mountain Air (Smithers, BC) flight using Hawkair’s Bombardier DHC-8s.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Hawkair introduced this new look in June 2012. The unique tail design was created by Roy Henry Vickers.

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Hawkair:

Air North brings the Boeing 737 to northern Yukon for the first time

Air North (Whitehorse), Yukon’s Airline, on September 5 announced that for the first time its flight 307/308 from Whitehorse to Dawson City, Old Crow and Inuvik was operated by a Boeing 737 aircraft. The inaugural flight also marked the first time a Boeing 737 had ever landed in Dawson City.

The recent acquisition of a second Boeing 737-500 gave the airline greater flexibility with its fleet – combined with efforts on the part of the Yukon Government to prepare Dawson City and Old Crow airports for jet service, that allowed for the first flight to take place.

The aircraft that flew the route was the airline’s Boeing 737-200 Combi, which is equipped with a $1 million gravel kit to allow for service into unpaved airports such as Dawson City and Old Crow. The aircraft also boasts a large cargo door in the forward cabin, allowing Air North to transport much larger goods into the two communities. Future jet flights will be flown when cargo and passenger service warrant the larger aircraft.

Just over 12 years ago, the Vuntut Development Corporation purchased a stake in Air North. At the time that took place, there were no plans for the airline to purchase jets or fly south of Whitehorse. Now, the airline connects Old Crow, Dawson City, Inuvik and Whitehorse to the three gateway cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary – and is able to provide far greater service and reach than what was feasible at the time of investment made by the VDC and the 1,500 other Yukon shareholders that invested in the company.

Air North:

Frameable Color Prints and Posters:

Route Map:

Please click on the map for the full size image.

Peter Nygard introduces a dazzling new scheme for his Boeing 727

Copyright Photo: Gordon Tan. Boeing 727-17 VP-BPZ (msn 20327) is pictured in the new livery at Vancouver. The airframe is actually coming home when it visits YVR. It was originally delivered to CP Air as CF-CPN on March 10, 1970. 40 years old and still going strong!

Peter Nygård (Winnipeg and the Bahamas) is a Finnish-Canadian fashion executive and chairman of Nygard International (Winnipeg) which produces women’s wear. Nygard is also the owner of Tan Jay Line. Last month he repainted his corporate jet in this very unique color scheme.

Canadian Air Charters PA-31-350 crashes

Piper PA-31-350 C-GIKA (msn 31-8052130) of Canadian Air Charters taxies at Vancouver before the crash on July 9, 2009. Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker.

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