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Air Canada Rouge

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Air Canada Rouge
IATA ICAO Call sign
RV ROU[1] ROUGE[1]
FoundedDecember 2012;
12 years ago (2012-12)[2]
Commenced operationsJuly 1, 2013;
11 years ago (2013-07-01)
AOC #Canada: 17978[3]
United States: 6CDF397F[4]
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programAeroplan
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate)
Fleet size40
Destinations51
Parent companyAir Canada
Websitewww.flyrouge.com

Air Canada Rouge (Rouge meaning 'red' in French) is a subsidiary of Air Canada, focused on operating lower-cost flights for leisure travellers. It is fully integrated into the Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Express networks; flights are sold with AC flight numbers but are listed as "operated by Air Canada Rouge" (similar to regional flights operated under the Air Canada Express banner).

History

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A former Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300ER which had been used mainly on services to Europe prior to the type's retirement in 2020

The airline was launched in December 2012 and began services on July 1, 2013.[citation needed] The first destination was Kingston, Jamaica, from Toronto, as part of the Air Canada Leisure Group to compete more efficiently with Air Transat, Sunwing, and WestJet in the leisure and vacation travel market, largely operating routes to Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States.[citation needed]

At the time of the launch, it had a fleet of four aircraft, two Airbus A319s and two Boeing 767s, transferred from the parent company. Its fleet expanded to 28 aircraft within 18 months and was expected to reach 16 Boeing 767s, 20 Airbus A319s and five Airbus A321s by mid-2016.[5] By early September 2016, the airline had expanded its Boeing 767 fleet to 19 aircraft.[6]

On March 24, 2014, Air Canada announced plans for Air Canada Rouge to expand into Western Canada beginning in Spring 2014, to serve predominantly leisure markets from Vancouver and Calgary to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Honolulu, Maui and Anchorage.[7] A seasonal service from Vancouver to Osaka/Kansai started in May 2015.[5] In December 2015, new routes were announced including Toronto to Miami, Fort Myers, Charlottetown, and Deer Lake. Year-round routes include Toronto and Montreal to Fort Lauderdale; Montreal to Miami; Vancouver to San Diego and Mexico City; and Calgary to Phoenix.[8]

In May 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Air Canada announced the retirements of 79 aircraft among its mainline and Rouge fleets. This included Boeing 767, Embraer 190, and Airbus A319 aircraft. Air Canada Rouge was significantly affected, as the airline lost all 25 767s, and 2 A319s, leaving it with only 18 A320/A321, and 20 Airbus A319 as their fleet. This means the airline will no longer be able to reach some of its destinations in Europe, such as Budapest or Zagreb. Plans were in the works to continue to fly to some European destinations that are in range of these narrowbody aircraft.[9][10] As of February 2021, the airline removed most of its Central and Eastern European destinations from their schedule,[11] including Warsaw and Bucharest due to a lack of suitable aircraft.

Air Canada Rouge service was suspended from February 9, 2021 to September 7, 2021 to adhere to new travel rules by the government aimed at reducing non-essential travel.[12][13]

Destinations

[edit]
Main article: List of Air Canada destinations § List of destinations served by Air Canada Rouge

Air Canada Rouge serves leisure destinations in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico predominantly, and the United States with all former routes to Europe and South America being cancelled after the retirement of the Boeing 767-300ERs.

Fleet

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Airbus A319-100
Airbus A320-200
Airbus A321-200

Current fleet

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As of December 2024, Air Canada Rouge operates an all-Airbus fleet composed of the following aircraft: [14]

Air Canada Rouge fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers[6] Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A319-100 18 2 12 124 136 To be replaced by Boeing 737 MAX 8.[15]
Airbus A320-200 5 — 12 156 168
Airbus A321-200 17 — 12 184 196
8 176 184
Boeing 737 MAX 8 — 53 TBA All to be transferred from Air Canada by 2028.[15]
Total 40 55

Former fleet

[edit]
Air Canada Rouge historical fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 767-300ER 25 2013 2020 Early retirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some converted to Air Canada Cargo freighter.

Service concept

[edit]

Seating

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The Air Canada Rouge Airbus A319 has 16 more seats than a regular Air Canada Airbus A319[16] with 136 seats, the first four rows being for Rouge Plus and Premium Rouge passengers.[5] The former Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300ER carried 71 more passengers than most regular Air Canada Boeing 767-300ER aircraft,[16] with 282 seats. Of these 223 were economy, 35 Rouge Plus and 24 Premium Rouge.[5] The 29-inch seat pitch on their A320 series aircraft is one of the smallest in North America, resulting in less leg room than on most other comparable aircraft.[17]

Entertainment

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Air Canada Rouge is equipped with a wireless streaming entertainment system, called Player, that passengers can use directly on their personal devices, such as Apple iOS and Android devices, as well as laptops.

All Air Canada Rouge aircraft are equipped with Wi-Fi provided by Intelsat (formerly Gogo Wi-Fi). In November 2022, Air Canada announced that Wi-Fi would be offered complimentary to customers flying in the Premium Rouge cabin.

On-board services

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The baggage policy is the same as Air Canada's. On flights longer than two hours in duration, a full meal service is provided in Premium Rouge and a buy-on-board food offering in line with mainline service exists in Economy. [18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "ICAO Designators for Canadian Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services" (PDF). Nav Canada. May 4, 2023. p. 1. Retrieved February 24, 2023. Air Canada Rouge: ROU, ROUGE
  2. ^ meet Air Canada rouge. aircanada.com, Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  3. ^ Transport Canada (August 28, 2019), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  4. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d "Applying rouge". Airliner World: 88–96. March 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Air Canada Fleet". Air Canada.
  7. ^ "newswire.ca - Air Canada rouge Expands to Western Canada". Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  8. ^ "Introducing new Air Canada rouge routes: summer 2016 - Book at aircanada.com". www.aircanada.com. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  9. ^ "Temperature scans in, 767s out for Air Canada, Rouge". Paxex.aero. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  10. ^ "Air Canada slashes Rouge fleet, shrinks mainline". skiesmag.com. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  11. ^ aircanada.com - Flight Schedules retrieved 6 February 2021
  12. ^ "Air Canada puts all Rouge flights on hiatus | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Air Canada Rouge resumes service". Routes. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Air Canada Rouge". Transport Canada. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Air Canada Shifts 737 MAXs to Rouge Brand". December 17, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Aircraft Summary. seatguru.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  17. ^ "SeatGuru Seat Map Air Canada Airbus A319 (319)". www.seatguru.com. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  18. ^ flyrouge.com retrieved 15 February 2018
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Media related to Air Canada Rouge at Wikimedia Commons

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