When it comes to Canadian airlines, there are just two big carriers that dominate the industry:
Air Canada and WestJet. Together, the two airlines account for around 80%
of Canada’s domestic market and dominate most of the country’s popular routes.
In today’s video, let’s examine the fleets of these two Canadian airlines and how they
stack up against each other. Let’s also see if anything might threaten their dominance…
Before we begin, however, it should be noted that we’ll only be examining the mainline fleets
of these two airlines. That means we won’t go into too much detail regarding Air Canada
subsidiaries like Rouge, or Air Canada Express- or WestJet subsidiaries like Swoop and Encore.
So, when it comes to Air Canada’s mainline fleet, data from Planespotters.net indicates
that the carrier has about 172 aircraft at the time of making this video.
This figure excludes three 767s being converted for Air Canada Cargo operations.
However, with the airline still taking delivery of more Airbus A220-300s and Boeing 737 MAX 8s,
this number is sure to change over the coming months.
At present, however, the carrier’s fleet is as follows:
27 Airbus A220-300s One Airbus A319-100
18 Airbus A320-200s 15 Airbus A321-200s
16 Airbus A330-300s 34 Boeing 737 MAX 8s
Six 777-200LRs 18 777-300ERs
Eight 787-8s And 29 787-9s.
When it comes to future deliveries, the carrier is expecting a total of 45 Airbus A220-300s,
meaning that some 18 are left to be delivered. These were ordered back in 2016 when the aircraft
was being produced by Bombardier as the CS300. Air Canada signed on for a firm 45 aircraft but
holds options for another 30. At one point some of this order was canceled due to the pandemic.
However, these were later reinstated due to a faster-than-expected recovery for the airline.
When it comes to the Boeing 737 MAX, Air Canada originally signed for a firm 61 Boeing 737 MAX
aircraft. This consisted of 33 MAX 8s and 28 MAX 9s. The carrier also held substitution rights
between them as well as for the MAX 7. This order was later modified to 50 MAX 8s and 11 MAX 9s.
Due to the pandemic, the airline decided to cancel portions of its deal with Boeing,
cutting out 10 MAX 8s and all 11 MAX 9s from its commitments.
As a result, Air Canada has a small handful of MAX 8s left to be delivered.
The Airbus A220 and Boeing 737 are Air Canada’s newest narrowbodies.
However, the remainder of the narrowbody fleet is significantly older.
Indeed, most of the airline’s A320 family jets are over 20 years of age.
With just one A319 remaining, many of the carriers’ A319s have already been removed from
mainline operations in recent years. Many of these have gone to leisure subsidiary Rouge while a
handful have gone to the airlines’ special charter and VIP transport division, Air Canada Jetz.
Over the course of 2020 and 2021, some 20 A320s were removed from the Air Canada fleet.
Many of these remain in storage in Greenwood, Mississippi, but some have since moved on to
other operators. Just one of these aircraft was moved over to support Rouge operations.
For the airline’s future widebody fleet, we know that Air Canada recently signed-on for a modest
26 Airbus A321neos. It appears that all 26 of the jets will be the extra-long-range
XLR variant- unlocking long-distance, low-demand services for the airline.
These will join the fleet from 2024 with deliveries ongoing until 2027.
Moving on, when it comes to Air Canada’s widebody fleet,
there have been fewer changes to make note of. Due to the pandemic,
the airline turned some of its A330s and 777s into makeshift freighters- also known as preighters.
Two years into the crisis and the airline continues to operate these
larger jets exclusively for cargo- namely three A330-300s and three
777-300ERs. It should be noted that one 777-300ER was retired from the fleet in late March of 2020.
While the carrier’s 767-300ERs haven’t been used in mainline operations for a few years,
it’s worth noting that Air Canada took three 767s out of Rouge operations during the pandemic
and had them converted into fully-functioning freighters.
One has already been converted and is now flying for Air Canada Cargo,
while the other two are in the process of being converted at the time of this video’s production.
Air Canada’s newest widebodies, its Boeing
787-8s and -9s, have been flying throughout the crisis. With an average age of just
under six years, there should be many, many more years of service for this fleet of 37
aircraft. The youngest Dreamliners in the fleet are just three or four years old.
When it comes to WestJet’s fleet- there’s a little bit less to say.
The airline’s fleet is smaller and significantly less diverse
than that of Air Canada’s. Indeed, with just 100 aircraft,
WestJet operates some 94 Boeing 737s and six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Of course, if we dig deeper into WestJet’s 737 fleet,
we find that there is definitely some diversity within the 737 family.
The carrier operates 43 737-700s, 37 -800s, and 14 MAX 8s. Indeed the carrier began its
operations with the 737, and the type has been a solid workhorse for trans-Canada operations.
Interestingly, some 12 of WestJet’s 737-700s left to join Southwest Airlines
where many still fly today. When it comes to the 13 -800s retired from WestJet,
10 of these were moved over to WestJet budget subsidiary, Swoop.
With an average age of about four years, WestJet’s 737 MAX aircraft are its newest narrowbodies.
The airline has about 10 more of these MAX 8s yet to be delivered. However, it had to cancel
part of its order with Boeing, removing 15 from its commitment. The airline is also expecting to
take delivery of some 13 MAX 7s- a type that should be certified by the FAA this year.
WestJet’s widebody fleet is small and simple. The carrier placed an order with Boeing for 10
787-9 Dreamliners back in 2017, and, to date, the airline has received six of the jets.
Whether or not the airline is ready to take delivery of its remaining four Dreamliners,
it’s likely that Boeing’s production issues with its 787 program
will likely affect WestJet’s timeline. We already know that American Airlines
has had to limit its flight schedules due to its own 787 delivery delays.
Boeing halted deliveries of the 787 in May of 2021 due to production issues.
With almost a year having passed since these deliveries were paused,
there aren’t yet any indications of when Dreamliners will be flown out to customers.
In case you weren’t aware, WestJet had previously operated a small fleet of four Boeing 767-300ERs.
All four of these old jets were acquired from Australian carrier Qantas and were
WestJet’s first foray into the world of long-haul transatlantic services. While the airline’s 767
operations were more of a test-run for a future widebody acquisition, the age of the jets and
subsequent maintenance issues plagued the airline and its flights to London. These four aircraft
have since departed the WestJet fleet and now fly cargo under the Amazon Prime Air brand.
So, when comparing and contrasting the fleets of Air Canada and WestJet, what can we say?
Well, it’s quite obvious that size and diversity are the largest differentiators for the carriers.
Looking at WestJet’s collection of 737s and 787s,
it’s clear that the operator is very much committed to doing business with Boeing.
On the other hand, with its larger international network, Air Canada is all about fleet diversity
and ensuring the right size of aircraft for its operations. Being Canada’s only airline
to fly transpacific and down to South America, the carrier has a number of long-haul widebody
aircraft to choose from- ensuring that seats are filled and services remain profitable.
Both airlines decided to go for the Boeing 737 MAX- a decision which negatively impacted
both carriers as their relatively new 737s were grounded for over a year and a half.
However, with recertificaiton and months of safe and consistent flight over the past year,
it seems like the MAX is back on track to being a short and medium-haul workhorse.
Both carriers have now branched out (or attempted to branch out)
into the business of acquiring competitors.
Air Canada announced that it would be acquiring Air Transat
and its parent company back in 2019. However, this deal faced numerous headwinds, including
scrutiny from the European Commission as well as Canada’s Competition Bureau. Ultimately,
it was the pandemic that sunk this deal, which was officially called off in April of 2021.
Seemingly not discouraged by Air Canada’s lack of success with its Transat deal,
WestJet more recently announced that it would be moving to acquire leisure operator
Sunwing airlines and its parent company. Announced in March of 2022,
the deal still needs regulatory approvals, but is anticipated to close late 2022.
At this time, there aren’t too many details on what this merger will look like-
and whether the Sunwing corporate identity will be completely absorbed into WestJet.
However, we do know that from a fleet synergies perspective, Sunwing is perfectly positioned to
merge its operations with WestJet. That’s because the smaller leisure
airline operates a fleet of 29 Boeing 737s, consisting of 23 -800s and six MAX 8s.
Whatever the fate will be for WestJet’s attempt at acquiring Sunwing, both it and Air Canada will
also need to defend their existing market share from carriers like Flair Airlines-
an ultra low cost carrier that has been on a rapid path of expansion in recent months.
With the help of Miami-based investment firm triple-seven partners, Flair has expanded its
fleet of 737s rapidly over the last year- signing for dozens of 737 MAX 8 jets. The
goal of the airline is to have a fleet of 50 aircraft within the next three or four years.
Flair’s expansion into WestJet and Air Canada territory may threaten
incumbent market share a little. However, the latter two carriers
have much larger networks which extend to interline agreements with international
carriers across the Atlantic and Pacific- something that Flair has yet to develop.
Ultimately, if we go back to Air Canada and WestJet, it’s clear that the latter has come
a very long way in a relatively short period of time. Founded in the mid-90s,
the Calgary-based carrier is significantly younger than Air Canada and its 85 years of history.
Thus, it will be particularly interesting to see how WestJet further expands its fleet
and grows its operations in the future- further competing with Air Canada. The
next few years will be worth watching as the airline now has a fresh new CEO at the helm,
coming over from Austrian Airlines. The airline has yet to launch service across
the Pacific to Asia- but would certainly be capable of doing so with its 787-9s.
For now, however, its long-haul destinations will be limited to popular European destinations.
As the country’s oldest and largest airline Air Canada will need to focus
on offering products and services not available with its Canadian competitors.
At this time, its large fleet of widebodies should be key to maintaining this advantage.
What do you think? How might WestJet grow and expand to better compete with its archrival? And
how might Air Canada adjust to remain competitive and relevant? Let us know by leaving a comment.