The Boeing 737-200’s unique role in Canadian aviation, is a topic that’s been...
well-discussed on this channel.
Very briefly, this early generation of Boeing’s 737, which had been long-retired from the
major airlines, has found a niche operating into gravel strips in the Canadian Arctic.
Since the narrow intake of the JT8D engine allows these aircraft to be fitted with gravel
kits, they can land on unpaved runways, and carry a sizable payload.
At the time of uploading this, Canada has five operators of the 737-200 - Air Inuit,
Canadian North, Chrono Aviation, Glencore Canada, and Nolinor Aviation.
Air North of Canada’s Yukon Territory also operated the 737-200, up until 2019.
For that reason, it is sad to say that another operator will officially be retiring their Boeing 737-200s.
Canadian North revealed in an article published by Nunatsiaq News, that they would be phasing
out their 737 service to two northern communities - specifically, Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
These two communities both have gravel runways, and as such can’t be served by more modern
737s, which don’t have the ability to be fitted with gravel kits to prevent damage
to the engines.
At the time of uploading, Canadian North has two Boeing 737-200s remaining in their fleet.
Both of them are combi models, which can be specially configured in an all-passenger configuration,
all-cargo, or a mix of both.
These include a cargo door on the front of the aircraft for loading larger items, and
with this cargo capability, they serve as a lifeline for these remote communities.
The two aircraft are registered as C-GOPW and C-GDPA, both of which are 40 years old.
OPW first flew in August of 1980, while DPA first flew in April that year, and both have
exclusively flown with Canadian operators.
OPW was originally delivered to Pacific Western Airlines, then flew with Canadian Airlines
International and then Air Canada, before joining Canadian North in 2001.
DPA was delivered to Dome Petroleum, a Calgary-based oil and gas company, before following the
same path through Pacific Western, Canadian, Air Canada, and then joining Canadian North
in 2001 as well.
As useful as the 737-200 is, according to a quote from the article, “To extend [their
lifetimes] further would require prohibitively expensive capital investments”.
Instead, Canadian North’s intention is to “invest those funds into new aircraft acquisitions
to support our entire network”.
One 737-200 will be retired sometime in May,
while the other aircraft will be retired “as early as 2022”.
Canadian North doesn’t publicly state which aircraft will retire first, or give any specific dates.
When both -200s are retired, Canadian North will instead use ATR 42-500s for passenger
services to these gravel strips along with an “unspecified” aircraft for cargo.
It’s not clear what this cargo aircraft could be, but it’s entirely possible that
it could be a chartered 737-200 from one of Canada’s other operators.
Up until 2015, First Air, which merged with Canadian North in 2019, also operated a civilian
Lockheed L-100 Hercules for a similar purpose.
In any case, these 737-200s will certainly be missed by the aviation enthusiasts who’ve
followed these aircraft for quite some time now.
Canada will still have quite a few 737-200s flying around - Nolinor Aviation, based out
of Montreal-Mirabel airport, is the largest operator of the type, with 9 aircraft on the
Canadian aircraft register, and at least 6 of those flying regularly.
Even so, it is sad to see them becoming less common in Western Canada.
The two aircraft were mainly based out of Edmonton or Yellowknife, and would often be
seen in Alberta’s capital city.
On a personal note, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of flying on Canadian North’s 737-200s
a couple times now, between Edmonton and Yellowknife.
As aviation enthusiasts, we Canadians are super lucky to be able to see these classic
aircraft as often as we do, and who knows - if travel to the north opens up before the
last one is retired, I’d love to fly on Canadian North’s 737-200 one last time.
Thank you very much for watching this video, and as always, I’ll see you next time.