From a Boeing Stearman mail plane to the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing and Air Canada have a long history. PhOTOS: (Clockwise from far left) A Boeing Stearman mail plane, one of the first airplanes in Air Canada’s fleet. BOEING ARChIVES Air Canada flight crew donned vintage uniforms at the airline’s 75th Anniversary event. GREG ThON/BOEING A Boeing 747-200 in Air Canada livery on a test flight in 1974; a Trans-Canada Air Lines Canadair North Star, a re-engined version of the Douglas DC-4, taxies at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in 1952. AIR CANAdA ARChIVES Air Canada captains Jeff Lewis, left, and Jay Musselman flank Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO, in front of the first passenger aircraft that Trans Canada flew—the Lockheed 10A Electra; a Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrives in Toronto as part of the Dream Tour and to help begin Air Canada’s 75th Anniversary celebration. AIR CANAdA in fuel efficiency is extremely exciting In 2012, Air Canada was ranked a third of its business is trans-border for us,” he said then. Best International Airline in North America traffic from the United States. With hubs The 787 Dream Tour airplane shared in a worldwide survey of more than in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, that the spotlight with a Lockheed 10A Electra 18 million airline passengers conducted is part of what he calls “our global power- all-metal monoplane—the airplane model by independent research firm Skytrax. house strategy to attract traffic through that started it all for Air Canada. And the When Air Canada won the award for the hubs that connect to places where symbolism was not lost. third year in a row, Skytrax itself called passengers otherwise can’t fly direct.” “Today is a double celebration for the feat “remarkable.” The 787 clearly fits that strategy. Air Canada as we welcome the future, Privatized in 1989, Canada’s flag carrier “We can start flying to new destinations embodied by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is now the 15th-largest commercial airline where we haven’t been able to fly before,” and take stock of our accomplishments in the world and in 2011 served more than Rovinescu said. “We’re looking at destina- over our 75-year history,” Rovinescu 33 million customers. Its fleet flies to more tions in India and many other markets that told the crowd. than 180 destinations on five continents. aren’t currently served because we can’t Rovinescu said he is most proud of The airline also is a founding member of make the business case.” n Air Canada’s “innovation and courage Star Alliance, whose member airlines serve kathrine.k.beck@boeing.com to try different things on for size …” more than 1,200 destinations in nearly Air Canada was the first North American 200 countries. operator to offer lie-flat beds in business But Air Canada is more than a national class on international routes, he noted. airline in Rovinescu’s view. Greater than BOEING FRONTIERS / SEPTEMBER 2012 11
Frontiers September 2012 Issue
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