is an
Airline based in
Halifax ,
Nova Scotia ,
Canada . It is Canada's largest regional air carrier and is wholly owned by
Air Canada . It operates feeder and commuter services for Air Canada. Its main bases are
Calgary International Airport ,
Vancouver International Airport ,
Toronto Pearson International Airport and
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport .
Air Canada Jazz was established in
2001 from the consolidation of the Air Canada connector carriers
Air BC ,
Air Nova ,
Air Ontario and
Canadian Regional Airlines shortly after the successful takeover of
Canadian Airlines by Air Canada. It employs 5,444 staff (at January
2005 ).
In February 2005, Air Canada announced that it would shift much of its flying from its own mainline and regional jets to Air Canada Jazz's planes in cities across Canada and the
United States . The move was controversial, since it essentially shifted high paying Air Canada jobs to lower wage Jazz positions. The former Air Canada employees will be laid off and need to reapply for their former jobs with Air Canada Jazz. In
Prince Edward Island , on
April 26 2005 , an arbitrator ruled that Air Canada employees could retain their jobs when the transition occurs, but they will face a 17.6% wage cut, bringing their pay in line with the lower Jazz rate.
The switch to Jazz service means the elimination of Air Canada jet flights to
Charlottetown ,
Fredericton ,
Saint John ,
Moncton ,
Quebec ,
Regina ,
Saskatoon ,
Thunder Bay , and
Whitehorse . However, customers in most markets will likely not see a change in service, since Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz already operate identical
Canadair Regional Jet aircraft in most markets. The most significant change will be the loss of
Airbus A320 and
Airbus A319 flights (mid-size, dual-class passenger jets seating between 120-140 passengers) to Charlottetown, Moncton, Quebec, Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay and Whitehorse.
In June 2005, the airline announced a new destination:
Hamilton, Ontario , with service from
Montreal and
Ottawa .
In
September 2005 , Previous plans by
ACE Aviation Holdings to spin-off Jazz into an
Income Trust were put on hold indefinitely when Finance Minister
Ralph Goodale suspended advance tax rulings on such trusts.
The plans were revived in November when the Department of Finance resumed the rulings and announced that the trusts would not be taxed. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051125.wxrtrustpipe25/BNStory/Business/
In February of 2006 Air Canada announced that its contract with the
Toronto Port Authority had been canceled, which will result in the termination of Jazz service from the
Toronto City Centre Airport . The operators of the terminal,
REGCO Holdings , are also the owners of the upstart
Porter Airlines which plans to serve the same airport. Air Canada claims that the
Toronto Port Authority has not provided any other terminal space at the publicly owned airport.
The Air Canada Jazz fleet consists of 135 aircrafts as of May 2006):
Bombardier Aerospace delivered the first of its new regional jet variant, the 75-passenger
CRJ 705 , to Air Canada Jazz on
27 May 2005 . The aircraft was the first of 15 CRJ 705 and 15 CRJ 200 aircraft ordered in September
2004 . The new aircraft undertook its first revenue earning flight on
1 June 2005 from
Calgary to
Houston . The CRJ 705 feature leather seats, business class and a class leading 34" seat pitch in economy. The CRJ 705 also features personal inflight entertainment (seatback TV's) in both classes.
On May 1rst, all
Bombardier CRJ 100 had been tranfered from Air Canada to Air Canada Jazz.
Historical Fleet
