PUDLEY

GROUP A | Canada Air | CA | CAN | DOMINION | Vancouver, BC | 2020

Canada Air is one of the largest carriers in Canada, and was previously the national airline of Canada before being privatized at the end of the Cold War. It was originally founded by the Parliament of Canada as the Royal Dominion Airways Corporation (R-D-A-C or Rodac) in 1939 to provide air service between Britain and its Far East and Caribbean colonies after the more direct Europe-Africa-Asia routes were affected due to the outbreak of World War II. After the start of the Pacific War in 1941, it ceased operations until peace was declared. Through the 1950s and 1960s, it expanded rapidly and gained a reputation for its glamorous passengers and luxurious in-flight service, first focusing on its South American and European destinations served by its hubs in Toronto and Montreal, and Asian destinations by its headquarters in Vancouver. On July 1st, 1967, R-D-A-C was officially renamed to Canada Air to coincide with the nation's centenary, as well as due to a joint venture between R-D-A-C and fellow crown corporation and major supplier of airframes, Canadair.

By the start of the twenty-first century, the only Canadair left in service was the CL-415 Flying Boat, and Canada Air was seeing increased competition from smaller regional and low-cost carriers such as CanJet, Cascade, and Air Laurentian. After privatization and downsizing in the late '90s and early '00s, morale was low and one of the factors was the rebranding the company did in the early 2000s. The traditional livery of Canada Air's All-Boeing mainline fleet was always a burgundy cheatline and matching hockey stick paint scheme, affectionately called the 'The Red and Grey' by older pilots. By 2000, it was replaced on all aircraft by a garish bright red and black livery, derided by the older pilots. Even after additional growth in the mid to late 2010s, the livery remained the new and much-maligned variant. Though rumours circulate to this day, Canada Air corporate has no plans to change the livery, which is one of the last in the world to feature a cheatline, still practiced due to tradition.

Canada Air’s self-identity is largely formed by its golden age, between the introduction of the Lockheed L-1649 Starliner Super Constellation and the end of the Cold War, and there still remains a large contingent of both employees and customers who want Canada Air to bring back it’s old livery.

By Q4 of 2020, Canada Air's active fleet consists of the following;

CANADA AIR MAINLINE

18x Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

10x Boeing 787-10 Super Dreamliner

21x Boeing 777-200ER [50 total on order, further delivery paused, being phased out with 787-10 by 2030]

33x Boeing 767-200ER [Being phased out with 787-8, circa 2012-2025]

12x Boeing 757-200 [Being phased out with 737 MAX 10, mid-2020s]

110x Boeing 737-600 [Being phased out with 737 MAX 7, circa 2025-2030]

CANADA AIR CONNECT

91x Bombardier CRJ-700 [Being phased out with Embraer EMB-175, starting 2021]

26x Canadair CL-415 Flying Boats

Lady Lansdowne (CF-TOD), pictured here in her pre-2000 livery, had a long career operating out of Montreal on Canada Air's European routes. In 2000, she witnessed the crash of the Concorde in Paris from her gate in Terminal 2 at Charles De Gaulle Airport. A year later, she was one of the planes diverted to Gander during 9/11. She was retired in 2007 and scrapped a year later, replaced by a modern 777-200ER, which remains in service.

Lady Clarkson (C-GWSJ) is one of Canada Air's 737-600's, entering service in 2002, and seen here in Canada Air's current and controversial livery. Lady Clarkson continues to fly twice daily between Victoria International Airport (CYYJ) and Toronto Pearson (CYYZ) as Dominion 131 and Dominion 132, respectively. She is slated for retirement in 2024.

Lady Elizabeth (C-FRTW) was the first 787-10 delivered to Canada Air, and it currently operates on the Vancouver-Tokyo route. She's noted for the spelling error of her nameplate that she received at the Boeing Paint Shop before her delivery, and has caused some friction between Boeing and Canada Air, though her crews have pushed back on fixing the mistake, seeing it as endearing.