Airline will replace A330/A340 fleet after signing Boeing deal that includes trade-in option and launch of 787-9
Air Canada says its deal last week for up to 96 Boeing 777s and 787s will ultimately see its Airbus widebodies eliminated from its fleet. The airline has the right to trade its Airbus A330/A340s to Boeing as part of the deal.
The fleet-renewal plan comprises 18 Boeing 777s and 14 787s along with purchase rights for another 18 777s, with options and purchase rights for as many as 46 more 787s. The pivotal deal represents the formal launch of the stretched 787-9 as well as the 777 Freighter, a derivative of the -200LR.
The Air Canada contract now firmly establishes the 787-9 schedule, which as a result is now earmarked for a late 2010 entry into service. "We have Air Canada and one other customer so far committed to the -9," says 787 senior vice-president Mike Bair. He adds that it is not decided whether Air Canada will be the first to take delivery of the larger 787 derivative.
The order includes two 777 Freighters set for delivery in 2009, and a yet-to-be determined mix of 777-200LRs and 777-300ERs. The 787–8s will replace Air Canada's 45 Boeing 767-200/300ERs while the –9s will serve as a replacement for its A330s, says Robert Milton, chief executive of the airline's parent ACE Aviation Holdings.
Deliveries will begin next year with three 777-300ERs arriving in May, June and December to operate between Vancouver and Tokyo. The 787s will arrive from 2010. The 767 fleet will be refurbished at a cost of around $5 million per aircraft before the 787s start to replace them in 2010.
The 777s will be powered by General Electric's GE90, while the 787s may have GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. A decision on the 787 powerplant may come by the end of July, Milton says.
The new fleet "is expected to provide C$300 million [$245 million] per annum of improved profitability to Air Canada mainline operations by 2010", says Milton. Air Canada chief financial officer Rob Peterson says the airline will apply to the US Export-Import Bank for the bulk of financing for the deal, with Boeing providing "back-stop" support. Air Canada says the fleet renewal is part of a strategy stressing long-range, direct passenger and cargo routes.
ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI/VANCOUVER & GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES
Source: Flight International
