Canadian North Airlines is one of the largest airlines in Canada,
and they have quite an interesting operation. As a 100% Inuit-owned airline, they serve the
communities of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut with a fleet of 30 aircraft.
Their scheduled flights take place mainly out of their northern hubs in Yellowknife and Iqaluit.
These are connected to their southern gateway cities by three routes - Edmonton to Yellowknife,
Ottawa to Iqaluit, and Montreal to Iqaluit, with a stop in Kuujjuaq.
Seeing as they and First Air have finalized their merger earlier this year,
it’s worth taking a look at the Canadian North fleet and their operations as of October 2021.
Starting off with their turboprop operations.
For some of their smaller routes, especially their multi-stop flights up north,
Canadian North has 13 ATR 42s. Of these, 7 are ATR 42-300s, and 6 are ATR 42-500s.
Some of these slightly older ATR 42-300s are capable of flexible combi operations,
meaning they can seat anywhere from 10 to 42 passengers, with cargo in the front.
The ATR 42-500s on the other hand, are in an all-passenger configuration, seating 42.
Until recently, Canadian North also had several De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100s,
as well as a single Dash 8-300. These aircraft served a similar role to the ATRs prior to the
merger, but have now all left the fleet in favour of a single turboprop type.
These ATRs are also capable of using gravel runways, which is quite important,
seeing as 17 of the 28 airports on their scheduled service route map are gravel only.
Some of these runways are actually too short for the ATRs though,
and those flights use De Havilland Canada Twin Otters operated by Kenn Borek Air instead.
Speaking of gravel runways, Canadian North’s arguably most notable aircraft is a single
Boeing 737-200 Combi. This particular aircraft, like other 737-200s in Canada, is fitted with
a gravel kit, and is one of the very few jet aircraft that can operate on gravel runways.
It typically flies out of Yellowknife to the towns of Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk
in the Northwest Territories, both of which are gravel runways.
This sole 737-200 will unfortunately be retired sometime next year,
ending another era in Canadian North’s history. Its replacement,
especially for these cargo operations on gravel runways, is yet to be publicly confirmed.
The 737-200s have slowly been withdrawn from service over the past few years,
although you can still find some of them around. In Edmonton,
one of them is used as a cabin trainer, and another is used for firefighting practice.
Their second-to-last 737-200 was transferred to sister airline Air Inuit back in May,
and now flies cargo out of Montreal.
The original generation of 737s aside, Canadian North is easily the largest
operator of 737 Classics in the country, with 10 Boeing 737-300s, and 4 Boeing 737-400s.
Two of the 737-300s are “quick change” combi aircraft, with the ability to seat either 80
passengers with 3 pallets of cargo, or 120 passengers in an all-economy layout.
The rest of the 737-300s are passenger-only, seating 136.
Canadian North also has two 737-300s in special liveries.
One of these is a special Celebrity Cruises livery, painted in 2014 to commemorate Canadian
North’s partnership with them. The other one is painted with the logos of CFL teams,
commemorating Canadian North’s status as the “official airline of the CFL” back in 2014.
Meanwhile, the 737-400s are mainly based out east, with three of these being fixed combis, carrying
78 passengers and 4 pallets of cargo. The fourth one is an all-passenger aircraft, seating 156.
In recent months, Canadian North has begun flying two Next Generation Boeing 737-700s,
seating 134 each. These former WestJet aircraft are pretty significant for the airline,
since they offer greater fuel efficiency over the 737 Classics. They also have the range to
open up new markets for Canadian North, like Greenland sometime in the future.
A third 737-700 is reportedly joining the fleet soon as well.
When it comes to the 737 operation,
a surprisingly large portion of their flying is done exclusively in Alberta,
as part of workforce transportation contracts. These 737s, with the exception of the -400s,
fly out of Calgary and Edmonton to the oil sands just north of Fort McMurray. Those flights, along
with other charter work, make up the majority of Canadian North’s operations in Western Canada.
All in all, it’s safe to say that this airline is one of the most
interesting Canadian operators. With more next generation 737s hopefully soon to come,
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what’s next for Canadian North.
Thank you so much for watching as always, and I’ll see you in the next one!