With new planes still hard to come by due to ongoing supply chain disruptions, Air Canada’s decision to store two 30+-year-old planes in the desert during the pandemic rather than scrapping them, is looking like a wise decision.
Published reports say the airline is preparing two 767-300ER planes for reintroduction into its passenger fleet. Air Canada was a major operator of the 767, with over 60 planes from that family in its fleet over the years. Currently, AC still uses half a dozen 767s in its cargo operations.
Air Canada logo for blog (Photo Credit: Air Canada logo for blog)
During the pandemic, some airlines scrapped older planes like these ones. Air Canada decided to store them in the desert near Phoenix. Earlier this year, they travelled to Hamilton, where they are being prepared to once again fly passengers. One of the 767s is 33 years old, while the second is 34 years old. Both feature 211 seats, with 24 Business Class seats and 187 Economy Class seats.
Air Canada has plenty of fleet-refreshing planes in the pipeline, including one Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner expected to be delivered by end of year, and 18 stretched 787-10 Dreamliners that are scheduled to arrive between 2026 and 2029. Over the next four years, Air Canada also plans to take delivery of as many as 30 Airbus A321XLR jets, 27 Airbus A220s and 12 Boeing 737MAX jets.
But with demand currently very strong and delivery delays common with both Boeing and Airbus, AC can use the 422 additional seats provided by these venerable workhorses. It wouldn’t likely be their first choice, but it beats restraining capacity.