Air Canada executives on 2 June praised the performance of its Boeing 787s, calling the type a perfect fit for the long-haul routes that compose the foundation of the Montreal-based airline’s expansion plan.
“This airplane is perfectly designed for everything that we want to do,” Air Canada’s president of passenger airlines Benjamin Smith says during the company’s 2015 investor day. “If you go back through all the jet aircraft that we have had in the fleet since the early 1960s, I would guess that this is going to be the most successful airplane in our fleet.”
Smith’s comments come the same day Air Canada announces that its ongoing international expansion plan is paying better-than-expected results.
The success of the plan led the company to reduce its cost estimates and increase its projected profit margin through 2018.
“It’s as if [the 787] were custom designed just for Air Canada,” says Smith. “If you were to ask me to spec-out what would be the perfect airplane for Air Canada’s growth plans, it would look exactly like the 787.”
Air Canada’s chief executive echoed Smith, calling the 787 perfect for long-haul medium-density routes like Toronto to Delhi and Dubai.
The carrier intends to launch both those routes in November using new 787-9s.
Rovinescu adds that the type has a 31% cost advantage over the 767s it is replacing.
Air Canada’s 787 fleet currently includes eight 787-8s, and the carrier has orders to receive an additional 29 787s through 2019, according to Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets database.
Air Canada has said the remaining 29 aircraft will all be the larger -9 variant, with deliveries through 2019, according to Ascend.
