Air Canada is currently making some major changes to the composition of its fleet, and it particularly impacts the company’s low cost subsidiary, Rouge. This project is now well underway, and the first aircraft has already been reconfigured, so I’d like to provide an update with all of the details.
Air Canada Rouge transitioning from A320s to 737s
Rouge is Air Canada’s low cost subsidiary, which primarily operates in leisure markets. Up until now, Air Canada Rouge has operated a fleet of 36 Airbus A320-family aircraft, comprised of A319s, A320s, and A321s. That fleet will be completely changing before the end of the year.
Air Canada currently has a fleet of 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, with one more of the jets on order. This is the carrier’s single largest narrow body aircraft type, in terms of the number of frames currently in the fleet. The plan is that throughout 2026, Air Canada will transfer all 737 MAXs to subsidiary Rouge, meaning that there will be no more 737s in the mainline fleet.
It’s worth noting how much this project was moved forward as well — initially this was all supposed to happen by 2028, while now it’ll happen entirely this year, so that’s impressive speed.
The company explains that the 737 MAX has 20% lower costs per available per mile compared to the current A320-family aircraft that Rouge operates, so this will enhance Rouge’s competitiveness in leisure markets. Rouge will also open a crew base in Vancouver, in hopes of the brand expanding a lot more on the West Coast.
So, how will the 737 MAX configurations change when the planes transition from mainline to Rouge? As it stands, Air Canada’s 737 MAX 8s feature 169 seats, including 16 business class seats and 153 economy seats.
Once they move over to Rouge, the 737 MAX 8s will feature 177 seats, including 12 business class seats and 165 economy seats. In other words, one row of business class seats is being eliminated, so that two rows of economy can be introduced (with a slight reduction in pitch in parts of the rest of the cabin, though all seats will maintain a recline function).
This will actually represent a very nice upgrade for the Rouge fleet in terms of passenger experience, since the planes will maintain seat back televisions, and there will also be fast and free Wi-Fi for Aeroplan members (Air Canada Rouge planes currently don’t have seat back entertainment).
The first of these Rouge 737s has now entered service, and is operating flights out of Vancouver. Expect the number of those planes to grow massively in the coming months.
Given the size of Air Canada’s 737 MAX fleet, this also means that the Rouge operation will be growing significantly in the near future, since the fleet should go from around 36 jets, to over 50 jets.
Air Canada is transforming and streamlining mainline fleet
As Air Canada Rouge transitions to the 737 MAX, the plan is to retire the ex-Rouge A319s, and to convert the A320s and A321s into mainline aircraft. This will be good news as well, since it means these planes will be getting Air Canada’s latest cabin standard, which has already been installed on many mainline A320-family aircraft.
So, what can we expect from Air Canada’s overall mainline, narrow body fleet, in the coming years?
- Air Canada has a fleet of 42 Airbus A220-300s, with another 23 on order
- Air Canada has a fleet of 16 Airbus A320s, and they’ll be joined by five ex-Rouge A320s
- Air Canada is otherwise focusing on the Airbus A321; the airline has 20 of these in its fleet, and they’ll be joined by 10 ex-rouge A321s
- Air Canada has 30 Airbus A321XLRs on order, which should be delivered starting in the coming months; while these will partly be used domestically and for transborder flights, they also have the range to operate some long haul flights
All-in-all, I’d say these updates are positive. Air Canada Rouge passengers will get a better experience, while mainline passengers will also get a better experience thanks to the newly updated cabins on the ex-Rouge aircraft.
On top of that, Air Canada Express aircraft operated by Jazz will also be getting new cabins starting this year, including high speed Wi-Fi. Air Canada is putting a huge amount of effort into fleet consistency here, and the pace at which the airline intends to complete all these projects is nothing short of amazing (assuming it can stick to this schedule).
Here’s how Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s EVP and Chief Operations Officer, describes these updates:
“When customers step onto an Air Canada aircraft, they should instantly feel a sense of comfort, care, and pride. Supported by award-winning service from co-workers across the company, this renewal program is about delivering that feeling consistently, across every flight. Whether traveling for business, leisure, or something in between, every update is designed with our customers in mind. Notably, this program includes an entirely new Air Canada Rouge product with cutting-edge in-flight entertainment, Fast, Free Wi-Fi, and seats that recline for all customers.”
Bottom line
This year, Air Canada plans to fully transfer its 737 MAX fleet to low cost subsidiary Rouge, and the first of these planes is now in service. With this, we’ll see Rouge going from being an all-Airbus operator to being an all-Boeing operator, and in the process, the Rouge fleet will be growing considerably. Meanwhile the mainline narrow body fleet will consist exclusively of Airbus aircraft, with the ex-Rouge planes getting the latest Air Canada cabin interiors.
This all seems logical enough, as the company wants Rouge to have a competitive cost structure, and wants to grow it. I’d actually say this is largely positive, given that Rouge 737 MAXs will have seat back TVs (unlike the A320s), while the ex-Rouge planes will be getting new interiors. It’s also great how much Air Canada is aiming for product consistency across aircraft.
What do you make of Air Canada shifting its 737 MAXs to Rouge?
