Air Canada Orders Boeing 777, 787 Craft

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Air Canada Orders Boeing 777, 787 Craft

James Joyner | Monday, April 25, 2005

Air Canada Orders Boeing 777, 787 Craft (Forbes-AP)

ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., the parent company of Air Canada, said Monday it plans to purchase 18 777 aircraft and 14 787 Dreamliners from Boeing Co. as part of a wide-body fleet renewal plan. Montreal-based Air Canada made a firm order for the 32 jets, and also has the option to purchase 18 additional 777s and 46 more Dreamliners. Air Canada’s 777 deliveries are scheduled to begin next year with the arrival of three 777-300ERs in 2006. The carrier’s first 777-300ERs will operate its Vancouver-Tokyo service. Air Canada’s first 787 is scheduled for delivery in 2010.

Robert Milton, chairman, president and CEO of ACE Aviation Holdings, said, “We have estimated the fuel burn and maintenance cost savings alone on the 787 to be about 30 percent versus the 767s they will replace. Particularly important in the current high fuel price environment is that the savings on these two line items alone will be more than twice the incremental ownership costs in acquiring these aircraft.”

The airline said it is planning to dispose of more than 60 wide-bodies over the next 10 years, with the age of the Boeing 767s to be replaced averaging about 22 years.

Good news for Boeing in its struggles to compete with government subsidized Airbus. Despite a growing political divide, the US and Canada remain each others’ biggest trade partners.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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