Air Canada Cargo to begin operating transatlantic flights

Air Canada’s cargo division will expand its domestic operations and enter transatlantic cargo with flights to Germany, Spain and Turkey, primarily to meet growing e-commerce demand.

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In January, it launched flights with its first Boeing 767-300(ER) converted from passenger to freighter (BDSF) aircraft, of a total of eight in the pipeline.

This first aircraft is currently flying from Toronto (YYZ) to Mexico City (MEX), Guadalajara (GDL),Quito (UIO) and Lima (LIM). Then, starting April 19th, it will connect Toronto to Halifax (YHZ), and May 1st to St. John’s (YYT), with five and six weekly flights respectively.

A second Boeing 767-300(ER)(BDSF), which will be used for transatlantic flights, will join in May. It will operate flights from Toronto to Frankfurt (FRA) twice a week, Cologne/Bonn (CGN) and Istanbul (IST) weekly, while Madrid (MAD) three services per week.

«The entry into service of our second freighter is another exciting milestone in the growth of our freighter network and brings more choice and service to the cargo community,» says Matthieu Casey, chief commercial officer, cargo.

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Air Canada Cargo’s e-commerce delivery division, Rivo, also partnered with Canadian e-commerce shipping and fulfillment provider eShipper, to offer fast delivery across the country.

Rishi Puran, director of global e-commerce at Rivo, said, «We are delighted to partner with eShipper as we continue down the path to provide fast, cost-competitive shipping to Canadian businesses by leveraging the largest air and ground delivery network.»

Cargojet, Air Canada’s largest competitor, has a fleet of nine Boeing 757-200s (F), Boeing 767-200s (ERBDSF) and 16 Boeing 767-300s (ERBDSF). It also operates transatlantic flights to Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig, London/Heathrow and East Midlands.