Children living with autism learn to fly on Autism Aviation Days

Over the last two months, employees at Air Canada and our partner, Jazz Aviation LP, the Air Canada Foundation and the Canucks Autism Network organized Autism Aviation Days in BC to introduce kids on the autism spectrum and their families to elements of air travel by learning and practicing airport processes. Following the two first events held at Victoria International Airport at the end of April, three single-day events took place on May 4, 25 and 26 at Vancouver International Airport, where 180 children experienced the security process, boarding an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 aircraft, taxiing around the tarmac and de-planing.  

 

“Helping children spread their wings is what we do at the Air Canada Foundation”, said Rebecca Smillie Nedelec, Director, Community Engagement at Air Canada. “By partnering with organizations like the Canucks Autism Network, we can provide these unique experiences that help reduce barriers and improve accessibility to air travel for children of all backgrounds.”  

 

Families with children on the spectrum of autism can face different challenges and barriers, especially when it comes to air travel. These events allowed children to rehearse the entire pre-flight process in a safe and supported environment. Autism Aviation Days aim to decrease anxiety associated with air travel and build confidence for future journeys not only for the children but also the parents.  

 

 

Children living with autism learn to fly on Autism Aviation Days from Air Canada on Vimeo.

Air Canada and Chorus adding capacity.......

Air Canada and Chorus Aviation Inc - the parent company of Jazz Aviation which provides regional operations for Air Canada Express and have agreed to provide additional flying capacity with another airline for up to six De Havilland Canada DHC-8 aircraft. 

"Jazz is our long-term Air Canada Express partner, and we are working together to increase flying activity within the framework of our existing CPA given the current, industry-wide pilot situation.  As these efforts continue, and to help meet the needs and expectations of the travelling public, Air Canada has entered into a bridging arrangement with another airline to provide additional regional capacity on select routes in eastern Canada," said Mr Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.

"Chorus understands that Air Canada is increasing its capacity to meet travel demand and that the addition of these aircraft is a bridging solution. We confirm that this agreement does not impact Chorus financially," said Mr. Colin Copp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chorus. 

Chorus is a leading, global aviation solutions provider and asset manager, focused on regional aviation. Our principal subsidiaries are: Falko Regional Aircraft, the leading pure-play regional aircraft asset manager and lessor, managing investments on behalf of third-party fund investors; Jazz Aviation, the largest regional operator in Canada and provider of regional air services under the Air Canada Express brand.

Air Canada to restart flights between Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport and Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport

Air Canada has confirmed it will resume services between Toronto's city centre Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto Island and Montreal with five daily flights from next Wednesday.

The airline says seats are on sale now and the flights will be operated by Dash 8-400s by Jazz and passengers will get a complimentary snack and drink during the flights. 

"We are pleased to restart our operations at Billy Bishop airport and offer our customers the choice to fly in and out of Toronto Island, which is popular among business travellers for its proximity to the city centre and its ability to connect travellers to our global network through Montreal. Our schedule enables travellers to conveniently fly between Montreal and Toronto Island Airport up to five times per day, linking the two key business and cultural centres as we continue to play our part to reinvigorate Canada's economy. We look forward to welcoming our customers back on board and expanding our daily service as more traffic returns," said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada.

Air Canada's Toronto Island-Montreal Service

Flight	Departs	Arrives	Days of Operation
AC7952	Toronto at 07:15	Montreal at 08:27	Daily
AC7958	Toronto at 10:20	Montreal at 11:33	Daily
AC7970	Toronto at 16:15	Montreal at 17:28	Daily
AC7976	Toronto at 17:15	Montreal at 18:28	Daily
AC7974	Toronto at 18:20	Montreal at 19:33	Daily
AC7959	Montreal at 07:30	Toronto at 08:49	Daily
AC7955	Montreal at 08:30	Toronto at 09:49	Daily
AC7965	Montreal at 13:30	Toronto at 14:49	Daily
AC7971	Montreal at 16:30	Toronto at 17:49	Daily
AC7975	Montreal at 18:30	Toronto at 19:49	Daily

Air Canada offers its customers a complimentary shuttle bus service between downtown and Toronto City Airport. The shuttle brings travellers to and from the west entrance of The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, located at the corner of Front and York streets, directly across from Union Station.

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Air Canada ditching Sky Regional in favour of Jazz

Air Canada this week confirmed its plans to change its deals with Jazz and Sky Regional, which will see Air Canada will transfer the operation of its Embraer E175 fleet to Jazz from Sky Regional and Jazz will become the sole operator of Air Canada Express services. 

The revisions to the CPA are subject to Jazz reaching an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, International. If this condition is satisfied, the CPA will be amended on a retroactive basis to January 1, 2021.

"Air Canada is consolidating its regional flying with Jazz in response to the ongoing devastating impact of COVID-19 upon the airline industry. This necessary realignment of our regional services will help Air Canada achieve efficiencies and reduce operating costs and cash burn by consolidating its regional operations with one provider. Moreover, by streamlining the regional fleet, this agreement will also position Air Canada to operate more competitively with a single provider as traffic returns following the pandemic," said Richard Steer, Senior Vice President, Operations and Express Carriers.

Jazz Aviation and Air Canada Cargo to operate cargo only Dash 8-400

Photo Air Canada

Chorus Aviation's Jazz Aviation will be operating a special recently approved Dash 8-400 Simplified Package Freighter developed by De Havilland Canada to short and medium-haul markets under the Air Canada Express banner.   

Through its freight division Air Canada Cargo, these reconfigured aircraft will carry a total of 18,000 lbs [8,165 kg] of cargo in the passenger cabin and belly.

Under an agreement with De Havilland Canada, Jazz has ordered a Service Bulletin and conversion kit that will be applied to the first of 13 select Dash 8-400 aircraft. De Havilland Canada will be the exclusive supplier of all future Dash 8-400 aircraft Simplified Package Freighter modifications for Jazz's fleet. 

"De Havilland Canada's Dash 8-400 Simplified Package Freighter will allow us to redeploy aircraft, while contributing to the collective fight against COVID-19 by supporting our customer, Air Canada, in the delivery of essential cargo," said Randolph deGooyer, President, Jazz Aviation LP.  

Jazz Aviation expands instructor pathway with addition of Toronto Airways.

Jazz Aviation, a subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with Toronto Airways Inc. for the carrier to become the twentieth organization in the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program "Jazz APP".

"We are very pleased to welcome TAI to the Jazz APP, furthering our commitment to provide a clear pathway for flight instructors across Canada," said Cal Purves, Director, Flight Operations, Jazz. "TAI has a history of developing and promoting professionalism amongst its instructors and students. We are encouraged by their commitment to this new agreement, which will provide excellent opportunities for flight instructors to expand their careers and forge strong futures for the best and brightest in the aviation industry."

Air Canada adds more Q400 services in the west

Photo Jazz

Canada's leading airline Air Canada recently announced it will boost capacity on regional routes across Western Canada this spring as it deploys more state-of-the-art Bombardier Q-400 NextGen aircraft.  The changes are part of an ongoing transformation of Air Canada Express that will result in enhanced services for customers.

"Air Canada is strategically enhancing the flying experience and increasing capacity this summer on key regional routes in Western Canada.  The ultra-quiet, comfortable, fuel efficient and faster Q-400 aircraft will be well-received by our customers and is larger than the regional aircraft it is replacing.  We are pleased to deploy it to more communities in Western Canada as we further strengthen our regional network to optimize all significant connections between our extensive regional and global markets," said Mark Galardo, Vice President, Network Planning at Air Canada. "With our varied and flexible fleet, we are also adding frequencies to our Vancouver-Anchorage and adding capacity to our Calgary-Winnipeg route with larger Airbus aircraft in response to demand."

Air Canada Announces Improvements to Capacity Purchase Agreement with Jazz Aviation and Equity Investment of $97.26 million in Chorus

                           Air Canada today announced an agreement to amend and extend the Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Jazz Aviation LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Inc., under which Jazz currently operates certain regional Air Canada Express flights. The amendments should provide long term stability for Chorus, reaffirming Jazz as Air Canada's most significant Express carrier well into the future, as well as enabling growth on Chorus' leasing business through Air Canada's equity investment and the predictability of Jazz's cash flow from CPA operations until 2035.  The amendments will bolster the strength and competitiveness of the Air Canada Express brand and its coast-to-coast regional network, and provide significant CPA savings for Air Canada, while optimising network and fleet flexibility when compared to the current agreement.

Amendments to existing Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Jazz will extend duration of the CPA by ten years from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2035; Amendments are subject to ratification of a tentative collective agreement between Jazz and ALPA on behalf of its pilots.
Amendments will simplify and modernise Jazz's fleet and provide additional regional fleet flexibility for Air Canada; Projected annual CPA savings of $50 million in each of 2019 and 2020 from both fixed fee and performance incentive reductions.
Upon Amendments becoming effective, Air Canada will make an equity investment of $97.26 million in Chorus and Michael Rousseau, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Air Canada, will be appointed to Chorus' Board of Directors.

Jazz Pilot Pathway Program Expands again to welcome Keewatin Air

Jazz Aviation, part of Chorus has signed an agreement with Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Keewatin Air for the carrier to become the eighteenth organization in the Jazz Aviation Pathways Programme -("Jazz APP").

"Our Jazz APP program was introduced 11 years ago to provide a clearer pathway for professional pilots across Canada," said Steve Linthwaite, Vice President, Flight Operations, Jazz. "We're very pleased to continue delivering on this commitment by welcoming Keewatin – who has operational bases as far north as Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit, NU – to elevate our Jazz APP further, into a truly Canadian concept."

Chorus Aviation honoured with Bombardier's top Reliability Awards

Chorus Aviation announced today that its subsidiary, Jazz Aviation LP ('Jazz'), has once again been recognized for achieving superior reliability performance in 2017 at Bombardier's annual award ceremony for commercial aircraft operators held in Orlando, Florida on April 23, 2018.

"We are honoured to be the North American award winner in two categories of exceptional reliability performance," said Colin Copp, President, Jazz. "This recognition can be attributed to the exceptional expertise of Jazz Technical Services and Maintenance and Engineering teams, and their unrivalled experience with Bombardier regional aircraft as an Authorized Service Facility (ASF)."

Jazz is the North American recipient of Bombardier's 2017 Airline Reliability Performance Awards in two categories:

CRJ100/200 aircraft programs for North America

CRJ700/900/1000 aircraft programs for North America

Jazz best for diversity

Chorus Aviation is proud to announce that Jazz Aviation has been named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for the seventh consecutive year in an annual national employer survey by Mediacorp Canada Inc.

"We are very proud to be ranked as one of the Best Diversity Employers in Canada for the seventh year in a row," said Colin Copp, President, Jazz. "For Jazz, diversity is not a program. It is core to the makeup of our people and business. Facilitating inclusion by acknowledging the unique and diverse perspectives of all individuals creates one incredible team of employees – something we celebrate."
Canada's Best Diversity Employers is an annual competition that recognizes employers across Canada that have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs. These include successful diversity initiatives in a variety of areas, including programs for employees from five groups: women; members of visible minorities; persons with disabilities; aboriginal peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered/transsexual (LGBT) people.
In recognizing Jazz with this award, the editors of Mediacorp praised the airline for the following initiatives:

Chorus Aviation announces solid year-end 2017 and fourth quarter earnings

Chorus Aviation announced yesterday, solid year-end and fourth quarter financial results for fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.
"I'm very pleased with the significant progress made in 2017 towards our vision of delivering regional aviation to the world," said Joe Randell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chorus.  "The successful launch of Chorus Aviation Capital and its rapid build to a global business has propelled the value of Chorus' portfolio of leased aircraft to over one billion dollars and demonstrated the strength of our growth and diversification strategy. We have been methodical and deliberate in deploying the $200 million gross proceeds from our convertible debt unit financing with Fairfax Financial. Within a relatively short period of time we've concluded leasing agreements with eight well-established regional carriers in eight countries located on six continents. We have strong momentum.

Jazz Aviation named one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People for the sixth year

Chorus Aviation Inc. is proud to announce that Jazz Aviation LP ('Jazz') was named one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People for the sixth year.

"Jazz is honoured to be ranked among the Top Employers for Young People in Canada," said Colin Copp, President, Jazz. "Receiving this recognition for the sixth year affirms our strong commitment to attract and develop the best people – a corporate priority for our company. We continually assess and develop employee programs that are meaningful to talented young people seeking fulfilling career opportunities in aviation."

Jazz takes the safest title!

Jazz Aviation has been named among Canada's Safest Employers 2017 taking gold in the Transportation category at Canada's Safest Employers Awards.  The winners were announced at a gala event in Toronto, Ontario earlier this week. 

"Safety is, and always has been, our top priority at Jazz," said Colin Copp, President, Jazz. "Our common goal is the pursuit of safety excellence at all levels within Jazz. This shared focus allows us to learn, develop, grow and mature as a safe organization."

Jazz's safety culture is top of mind every day. Jazz is successful through its employees taking ownership of safety, without compromise. The dedicated local workplace committees advance safety for all Jazz employees, and healthy and robust safety reporting exists across the organization. Jazz's dynamic internal audit program works by identifying risks, process enhancement opportunities, and procedural changes – all with the goal of constantly striving to further advance safety.