Air Canada Cargo unveiled the first Boeing 767-300F in its fleet to sport the paint scheme the company introduced in 2017.
The aircraft, registered as C-GXHM, is one of two factory-built freighters delivered to the Canadian carrier earlier this summer. Both aircraft are expected to enter service in 2023. In addition, Air Canada Cargo will acquire two Boeing 777Fs directly from the manufacturer’s production line starting in 2024.
The company expect to have a total of eight Boeing 767s converted from their original passenger-carrying versions. Two of them are already part of its fleet and serve routes in North America, Latin America and Europe.
In this way, Canada’s largest airline plans to operate a fleet of twelve freighter aircraft of its own and consolidate its position in the air cargo segment, one of the industry’s fastest growing markets in recent months and one of the most promising for the foreseeable future.
“Seeing the livery come to life on one of our aircraft is a special moment for everyone at Air Canada, and especially for those of us in cargo” said Jason Berry, the company’s Vice President of Cargo. “After so many months of hard work, we are excited for this important step signalling our strategic growth and can’t wait to see it in the sky soon”, he added.
Recovery after a negative quarter
Despite the upward trend in air cargo movement, the carrier was affected by poor performance and fewer frequencies in major Pacific markets as a result of recent sanitary restrictions in China, Hong Kong and Japan.
Cargo revenues declined more than 16% year-on-year to 299 million Canadian dollars (232.553 million American dollars) between April and June.
As a result, additional capacity was reallocated to other markets. In the Americas, the carrier inaugurated dedicated cargo services to Miami (MIA), Guadalajara (GDL), Quito (UIO), Lima (LIM) and San Juan (SJU). It also landed in Europe with flights to Madrid-Barajas (MAD) and Frankfurt am Main (FRA). In the domestic market, it began operations to Halifax (YHZ) and St. John’s (YYT).
See also: Air Canada Cargo to add two Boeing 777F to its fleet
